Upcoming Events in the Diocese |
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Upcoming Webinars Improving Your Parish Website Thursday, September15 8PM EDT/9PM CDT |
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Landing page on a parish website.
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In 2011 parish websites are the primary way that parishes communicate with:
- Orthodox new to the area.
- Inquirers looking to experience Orthodox Christianity.
- Parishioners looking for schedule and other information.
- Neighbors wondering --just who are those people?
On September 15, 2011 at 7:00PM CDT/8:00PM EDT Joe Kormos, Parish Development Ministry leader for the OCA's Diocese of the Midwest will host a webinar titled Improving Your Parish Website.
Topics include setting parish web site objectives, balancing internal and external audiences, understanding your audience, telling your parish story, and common parish website mistakes. Additional webinar content will be adapted to the needs and interests of participants.
As you should know by now: you must register to attend and --the best part-- attendance is free!
More info
Register
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Reducing the Risk of Sexual Misconduct Thursday Oct. 13 7PM CDT/8PM EDT
A shortened version of a presentation offered at the 2010 Diocesan Assembly will be delivered by Michael Herzak,on Thursday October 13. In the webinar Mr. Herzak will review key legal and practical factors to help parishes maintain a vigilant attitude toward their duty to protect the safety of all parishioners. Topics include: statistics about sexual misconduct in churches,legal vulnerability, the importance of demonstrating systematic action to prevent misconduct events. elements of an action plan, practices for who will work with children; how will they be scre ened; safe practices to follow. More info
Workman installs glass door in parish office.
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To register click here. |

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Parish Development Grants Five Parishes and Three Missions Receive Grants | In a sign that more and more communities
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This urban parish, St. Michael's Church in St Louis MO, received an important grant for creating a community garden on a vacant lot near the church.
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are considering new ways to strengthen their parish and to shine the light of Christ into the world,the Diocesan Parish Development Ministry received a record number of applications for Parish Development Grants this summer. Three applications were received from mission communities. Three came from urban parishes and one from a rural parish. Most applications were from parishes that had never submitted a development grant application.
The Diocese' Parish Development committee, with the blessing and participation of Bishop MATTHIAS, recently evaluated the proposals and made the difficult decision of apportioning funds.
The application receiving the strongest positive reaction was a proposal from St. Michael's Church in St Louis MO for a community garden.The parish, which is partnering with FOCUS North America's St Louis location, is located in the heart of an urban neighborhood.The garden consisting of a veggie garden, rain garden, icon pathway and benches will transform an adjacent abandoned lot into a peaceful, attractive, welcoming place of rest. The goal is to continue to building positive interactions between the church, its parishioners and the surrounding neighborhood. St Michael's was the only parish to be awarded the full amount requested in its proposal.
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A 2009 parish development grant enabled this outreach effort aimed at building awareness of Orthodox Christianity in a local mall.
| Overall eight diocesan parishes, including St. Michael's will receive grant funds totaling almost $18,000. Other grant receiving parishes and their projects are:
- St. Stephen the First Martyr Church, Crawfordsville IN will receive grant funds to assist the mission in delivering a community outreach initiative that is designed to provide wholesome social activities to families and teens (mostly non-Orthodox) from the Crawfordsville area. The events will largely be planned and implemented by parish youth.
- Ss. Peter and Paul Church Lorain OH, Holy Assumption Church Canton OH, St. Nicholas Mission Lawrence KS, and Holy Apostles Mission, Bloomington IL will all receive grant funds to begin or strengthen campus outreach efforts. Many partnered with OCF's (Orthodox Campus Fellowship) on nearby campuses.
- St. Mark's Church Rochester MI will receive grant funds, for the third time in four years, for developing parent training materials to assist parents in teaching the Orthodox faith to their children and for a community outreach effort focused on at risk children.
- Grant funds provided to St. Elizabeth the New Martyr Mission in Eagan MN will strengthen the mission's existing partnership with Joshua Anew, a non-profit organized by a parishioner to focus on the relationship of suicide to physical, verbal and sexual abuse. The grant will help the parish to develop a resource center to develop and disseminate information and offer assistance in this ministry area.
These Parish Development Grants funds are provided from the Diocesan budget for the Parish Development Ministry.
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The Urban Ministry Summit Second Urban Summit held at St. Gregory of Nyssa Church, Columbus OH |
A second "Urban Summit," focusing on identifying opportunities for urban centric parish ministry was held at Saint Gregory of Nyssa Church, Columbus OH on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26-27, 2011 with a registration of over fifty persons.
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Fifty clergy and laity participated in the Diocese' second Urban Summit in Columbus OH in late July.
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After welcoming remarks from His Grace Bishop MATTHIAS the agenda included presentations from Archpriests Daniel Rentel, retiring rector of the host parish and Archpriest Thomas Mueller.
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Columbus' St Gregory of Nyssa parish's urban neighbors served dinner for Summit attendees
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Other contributors included Daria Mueller of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and Julia Demarree, director of Emmaus House, an Orthodox Neighborhood Outreach Center in Harlem NY.
In addition the sessions included workshops dedicated to designing a potential outreach ministry for a mythical (but almost recognizable!) parish, a review of the life of two actual urban parishes and a brainstorming effort to identify possible future Diocesan, OCA, seminary policies, practices and actions to better address the needs of urban parishes and to promote neighborhood outreach ministry.
The Fruits of Neighborhood Ministry
The session was unquestionably enhanced by its venue --a vibrant Orthodox urban parish with a full liturgical cycle, active leadership and a variety of inward and outward focused ministries where neighborhood persons are an active visible part of the parish. Attendees met parish neighbors, some of whom now call the parish their spiritual home. Neighborhood persons, often the recipients of hospitality from the parish, were in turn able to offer hospitality to attendees by serving the onsite dinner on the evening of the Summit's first day. Some of the materials covered in talks and workshops can be found here.
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Tidbits Dual Tax Status for Clergy |
An article from churchlawandtax.com may be a useful review for clergy and parish treasurers and bookkeepers. It reminds us that clergy have dual tax status. Most are employees for federal income tax purposes and self employed for social security purposes. See article +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Is Your Religion Your Financial Destiny?
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Pew Study shows relationship between education and family income for various religious bodies.
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A recent NY Times article provides insight into the relative income and education rates of members of various religious bodies. According to a survey, conducted by the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life, Orthodox Christians are less affluent than Hindus, Reformed and Orthodox Jews, and Anglicans while financially ahead of virtually all others. The study finds a direct relationship between education levels and earning power across all religious bodies with a few exceptions. Unitarians, Buddhists and Orthodox Christians are comparatively less affluent than they are educated. There is much to question about the article but you can read it for yourself here.
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Stewardship Starts Early
In an encouraging sign for churches, a release from Christianitytoday.com, states that 98 percent of those surveyed in the Pew Forum's View from the Pew survey regularly supported their church. When asked when they learned this practice, sixty percent said it was before age thirty.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Myth: "If complaints are going down, things are getting better. Right?" Fact: Fewer complaints may mean fewer people are complaining because they've given up! According to customer satisfaction and loyalty experts, when businesses that observed a decline in complaint rates dug deeper they often found the decline could be traced to customers and suppliers feeling that feedback was not wanted and was not acted upon. They had given up on them. This insight into human nature may apply to parishes as well. We're not suggesting that the Church is a business or that every aspect of a parish can or should meet with universal agreement and satisfaction. And few want a parish with an atmosphere of perpetual complaining and griping brought about by being overly welcoming to grousing. Occasionally however, people need to know that their constructive contributions and insights on how to strengthen the parish are desired, valued and considered. In most instances occasionally asking for input, openly thanking those with helpful ideas and making people feel the door is open will likely do more good than bad we think. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  Financial Audit Manual Within the next 2-5 months most parishes will end their fiscal year --which in turn triggers the time for a review/audit of parish finances. Please recall that the Diocese has a manual with suggestions and guidelines for such audits. The manual can be found here. |

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Understanding Long Term Facilities Costs Replacement Cost Reserve Analysis |
Orthodox Christians love their temple -- no matter how elaborate or modest. Most parishes we visit take great pride in keeping their church interior sparkling and immaculate. Most, not all, parish halls or basements are also tidy and in good condition. (Exterior tidiness is often a challenge in some parishes.)
But as we've often said the the "P" in "Orthodoxy" is for planning. So our wild guess is that most Orthodox parishes are unprepared for funding the true long term cost of ownership of their facilities. Whether you are in a new building or an ancient one it behooves your parish to take a serious look at undertaking a well thought out, comprehensive "Replacement Reserve Analysis".
Say what? Owners of apartment buildings, shopping centers and other real estate complexes have a reasonable understanding of the importance of planning for replacement and maintenance of their property. Churches less so. Orthodox Churches -- probably below that.
While many parishes have some sort of 'building reserve fund' our guess is that often these accounts are severely under funded and will encounter a short fall when a period of major expenditures hits. This is most likely because the fund was based on an eyeball guesstimate --rather than a thorough evaluation.
An article in the online newsletter "Church Executive" (who knew!) got us to take a closer look at this issue. We were led to the websites of a number of consulting organizations that develop thorough replacement cost analyses for churches are other entities. We suspect few of our parishes have the real estate and facilities complexity that requires hiring an expert -- but we can still learn a bit from these organizations.
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In this sample report a thorough replacement reserve analysis found a severe short fall for this large Maryland church. The annual funding to the reserve was 57% less than needed. The account would be depleted in ten years leaving the church with no reserves for major building costs.
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The point of doing a replacement reserve analysis is to identify an annual amount of money that needs to flow into a replacement
reserve account to maintain appropriate reserves and handle peaks in building related expenses.
Steps
How to do this? A published example report from an analysis done by one professional for an elaborate church complex can be found here. Simply reading the document gives a basic outline for what needs to be considered.
Step 1
Inventory cost areas. Our guess is that there are many future costs that have really not been considered by your building ministry team or parish council. Your analysis should include:
HVAC; parking lots; sidewalks; fencing; painting interior/exterior; carpeting; roofs; gutters & downspouts; seating (pews/chairs); lecterns, cabinetry; church school area furnishings;
... take a deep breath reader...
accordion walls; meeting room furnishings; windows; caulking; tuck pointing; doors; stain glass; foundation; out buildings; signs; storm water management; handicap lifts; office equipment and furnishings; restrooms; kitchen appliances; electrical wiring; bells, cupolas, outdoor lighting... and probably much more.
Step 2
Identify remaining the remaining economic life for each and probable replacement year for each item. (This is of course no small task.)
Step 3
Estimate probable replacement cost for each item and include that on a schedule looking out 15, 20 or better 30 years. (Likewise no small task.)
Step 4
Summarize and identify a minimum annual deposit to a common pool of replacement reserve funds that:
- will allow replacement to be funded as projected
- prevents your replacement reserves from dropping below a minimum recommended balance (suggested to be five percent of the one-time replacement cost of the projected replacements listed in the Inventory)
- allows a constant annual funding level between peaks.
(Get some smart accountant type to help here.)
You Must be Kidding!
We think we hear some parish leaders mumbling, "How can we possibly think about examining long term building costs, and making significant annual/monthly payments to a reserve fund in this economy? We can barely balance the budget as it is."
Obviously no parish is looking for large additions to the cost side of its budget. But if your budget does not include a proper contribution to long term building costs your budget is not balanced. Its been balanced on the back of a hidden inability to fund future costs. If you think such future unpleasant outcomes don't really occur please contact us. We'll put you in contact with real parishes facing these issues.
Is it not the essence of good stewardship then to perform the due diligence to understand what it will take to keep the church real properties in good shape over the long haul? Even if we can't afford the reserve contributions now don't we need to inform parishioners of the reality?
Or, do we get a pass because, as some like to say, "Orthodox don't plan".
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Parish Health Inventory Model What, Why, How to Use It |
We are hearing from a number of parish communities that they plan a structured review of the Diocese' Parish Health Inventory Model (PHIM) this autumn. We have also had in depth conversations with other Diocese's planning to use these materials as they establish their own version of a parish development ministry.
Given the flurry of activity we thought it might be useful to share few pointers and answer a few often asked questions.
Why a Model?
Certainly the most commonly asked question is "Why do we need a model? Why not just get to work? We know what our challenges and opportunities are."
While some parishes are capable of accurately discerning their needs on their own, and following that up with effective action, those parishes are the exception rather than the rule. ("The doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient."Or, as Mark Twain said, "We do not deal much in fact when we are contemplating ourselves.")
In situations when a parish is in decline everything gets questioned and opinions are polarized. Achieving agreement on the most important problem or opportunity can become brutal. Dialogue stops. Blame begins --usually focused on the clergy. Often the loudest voice wins. This unstructured conversation burns resources and saps energy.
The key benefit of a using assessment framework will be to accelerate a parish's ability to achieve consensus on where they should focus revitalization action and to get busy with building or rebuilding vitality into parish life.
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The Parish Health Inventory Model (PHIM) consists of eight areas (33 subareas) for examining the strength of parish life.
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Implementation Points Many Diocesan parishes have used the inventory as a framework for discussions on renewal and future direction. Key practical points we can pass on about experiences with using the model are:
- It is not a catechism. Though the model has formative value for parish leaders, parishioners and even clergy, it is NOT designed to teach the Orthodox faith. It is a collection of good practices and principles that seem to have worked well in many parishes.
- Its one model not the model. Disagreeing or rethinking the contents can be useful and healthy. One the other hand we caution users not to simply go to work to disprove the contents. There is abundant evidence that most ideas are effective.
- Broader View. As you've read on these pages before, the model was constructed a few years ago with the input of twelve rectors from growing parishes in the Diocese. As a result the items in the inventory provide a partial view into the life of a number of good parishes --a view not readily available to most clergy or laity.
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Structured, open dialogue is the big payoff for many parishes using the model.
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- Intentional even "driven". Some have commented that the model seems to portray a parish with a hyperactive personality. Some parishes with a more contemplative (but hopefully not somnolent!) atmosphere will want to use the ideas in moderation. Catch your breath occasionally. Sip slowly.
- Not the next big thing. Some reject using any tool simply because it appears to be "oversold" or"hyped". Heed well. The PHIM is NOT a silver bullet. It is a tool that when used well can help accelerate action, build consensus and raise the quality of the discussion.
- Decline Only? The tool is NOT only for use by parishes in decline or peril. Growing parishes, those on a plateau or those with new priests will also find it works well.
What's that? Feel like you've read some of this info before in Parish Pulse? Probably so. We are following the advice of C.S. Lewis who said, "People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed." |
On Line Survey Version of Parish Inventory Tested | One of the strengths of the Parish Inventory is that it promotes (and even provokes) worthy face to face discussion and dialogue. A limitation however is that given busy lives and various demands the opportunity to get people to drive to church for a "meeting" can be a challenge. As a result even the most diligent exploration of the model will involve a subset of parishioners, compressed into a reduced time slot or piggy backed on another activity. (Like a parish council meeting.) As a result users of the model sometimes become reticent to push for implementing their conclusions."This is what we (our group) see as our parish's most important opportunity --but we're only a small subset of the parish. We need everyone involved."
How to Engage a Broader Parish Cross Section? W
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Survey includes ~ 60 multiple choice and eight optional open ended responses.
| e've thought about this limitation for some time. How could a parish eager to build consensus on areas of focus and development build a stronger mandate? Even more basically, how could a broader cross section of parishioners be encouraged to think about the many useful ideas in the PHIM document?
Online Survey Version As an experiment we created an online survey version of a significant subset of the inventory. We tested it out with one willing parish. We are encouraged by the results.
In the pilot parish well over half of the parishioners participated -- and participants included some persons who exist in the margins of parish life --whose insights would often not be heard.  |
The survey helped the parish converge on an area of important effort.
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Respondents reported that it typically took about 20-25 minutes to complete the survey -including optional open ended answers. Survey results are completely anonymous --there was no tracking of answers by email address. Results For this proof of concept parish the online results helped them to learn a variety of useful information. First questions about worship scored high - confirming that parishioners really valued their worship life. This was a clear strength to build upon.
Conversely the survey identified the model area "Active Service" as their least strong area of parish life.In addition the recommended good practice "we make our parish known in the community" scored low.
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Lack internet access? Get help from a friend with a laptop!
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These two findings combined to clearly define an action agenda for the future.
Not a Panacea -- Or a Silver Bullet
The online approach has definite limitations. For example access via the internet unquestionably makes participation by older parishioners more difficult. (See nearby photo for solutions!) And, we're not advocating operating a parish with a gallup poll mentality. Nonetheless the results seem promising. In the case of the pilot parish it served to help generate important forward looking parish wide conversations that have generated a positive buzz in the parish. Some clear priorities emerged.
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Digging into Demographic Differences
| The online inventory survey used various control questions to examine demographic characteristics of respondents. This allowed interesting, if not surprising cross comparisons. For example we found that in this parish:
High Donors
Households donating greater than six percent of their of their income per year to the church attend church more often, gave more positive answers to survey questions, were about eight years older and gave more postive answers to questions about the importance of stewardship.
Regular Attenders
Those who said they attended Liturgy four times per month rate the parish more postively, are nine years younger and are more likely to attend non-Sunday services (vespers feast days)
Relative Newbies
Persons who have attended the parish for less than ten years seem to value education more highly; are less critical of parish leaders and, most interestingly, see the parish as less welcoming and less easy to assimilate than veterans see it.
Low Social Relationship
Respondents who through answers to various questions represented a group whose level of social relations and friendships in the parish was below the mean, rated the parish significantly less positively; attend church less often; feel that making friends in the parish is difficult and are less positive about leadership, budgeting, attitudes, worship and ministry.
Again this data is only from one parish.
Parishes interested in further exploring the online survey can contact us. We can explore whether this online version of PHIM may have possibilities for you.
Want to See a Sample?
Oh yes, if you would like to see an generic version of the online tool click here.
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Crafting Your Parish Vision A Toolbox
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"Who are we and what are we about" is a key
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Discussing a parish vision means something different to most everyone.
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question that needs to be front and center for all parishes with a future. Not every moment in time requires big picture conversations, but occasionally it is time to review where we've been and where we're heading. And, since the rear view mirror always seems clearer than the windshield - this isn't easy. Illusive Topic In our parish workshops the conversation often turns to the topic of "parish vision". It can be an illusive topic. Many see a "Parish Vision" as a theological, ecclesiastical, high prose description of our journey to the Kingdom of God. Others simply want to express a practical picture of what our parish community is striving to be like/"look like" three, five or ten years from now. . (Both have their place.) Still others want to do anything but talk about vision. We understand their pain as well.
How to do this well? The trick is to get people talking --respectfully but openly. Replacing politeness with real dialogue. But keeping the "pragmatists" and "dreamers", important contributors to every parish, from driving one another to separate corners of the room takes some effort --and luck!
Some Helpful Approaches -- Tools for Your Toolbox Here are a few (thirteen actually!) tools and facilitation devices that you might consider in planning a session to talk about the "vision thing". None are perfect but they've all shown applicability in the right situations.
Face Facts/Vital Signs Building and implementing a future vision requires a sense of urgency. And, honestly, most parishes lack urgency.
One approach to getting started is to create an inventory of key facts or vital signs - sometimes, but not always, in the form of numbers. A "Face Facts" list can be found here.
We've done a couple of workshops where dealing with these questions in the beginning really opened eyes and got the group to buckle down. Even in excellent parishes. Is membership down? Donations? Median age increasing? Vespers attendance? On time arrival at liturgy? Church school attendance? Youth retention? What's that -- haven't attracted a new convert in eleven years? Have no idea how to engage change in the parish? If so face it. Often the discussion about various categories can provoke helpful discussion about what is important here.
Build a Parish Time Line
 | Use a double width of butcher paper to mark off decades of parish history. Attach to wall or conference table. Use "post-its" to identify significant course changes in parish life.
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Many times vision discussions run aground when some participants get stuck in the rut of nostalgically remembering the good old days while 'newbies' act like the parish has no heritage, history or inheritance whatsoever. ("Nothing important happened before I arrived.") One approach to overcoming this is to explicitly include a time line session in your vision efforts. It will force you to look back in order to look forward.
- Tape twenty or so feet of butcher paper to a wall (double width) or lay out on a long table.
- Divide up the horizontal axis into decades of parish existence.
- Ask people to place notes of their recollections of important events, crossroads, changes, pivot point in parish life and identity.
Parish veterans feel appreciated. New members, often the ones agitating for new ideas, are forced to take a breath and consider the whole story of the parish. Having participated their credibility rises in the eyes of veterans.
People resist change because they fear the unknown. We have found that people have more confidence in the future when they carry forward parts of the past. But of course the parts we carry should be the best parts!
As you build the timeline search for more than the obvious. ("Fr. Smith came." "Sold rectory." "Replaced roof." "Purchased bell.") Some parishes note a painful loss or tragedy and an exemplary response, the arrival of new ideas from 1-2 parishioners or the eventual elimination of a painful distraction had a significant catalytic effect (pro or con) on a new sense of purpose or ministry. Beware looking for a big bang cause or culprit. Its rarely one thing.
The time line need not be created in one session. Leave it on the wall and encourage people to add to it during coffee hour. It becomes a way of building momentum for the vision conversation.
Categorize Past/Current/ Emerging Ideas
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What caused certain past ideas to be Dead on Arrival?
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As you discuss your timeline reflect upon various ideas that have emerged in past years and add those in play today. Since the level of understanding, commitment and consensus is critical to achieving traction for new things, consider categorizing them as: - Ideas that have arrived -- and taken root in the parish in the past x years.
- Ideas in progress -- emerging in various pockets of conversation but not on the most people's radar screen.
- Ideas in conflict --those causing gridlock. Ideas which are clear enough and important enough to generate differing opinions.(Don't mention that!)
- Ideas in anticipation -- future issues not yet begun to be addressed
- Ideas DOA or rejected? What caused that? Have conditions changed.
Propellers and Anchors ("Force Field")
A favorite tool of facilitators is the "force field"-- a device to help a group to understand the positive and negative factors that affect a particular situation. To pep things up label the opposing forces "Propellers" - factors that are causing us to consider change and growth - and "Anchors" --what is holding us back. "OK group its time to play the 'Motor Boat Game'."
Stop/ Start/ Continue
A bit simpler but often useful approach is to simply list actions, ministries or behaviors that individuals or the group feels should be continued as is, need to be expanded or should be eliminated. This lacks the transcendent big picture quality of a true vision conversation --but many in your group just can't operate "up there". Take three large sheets of paper. Label one "Things to STOP", the next "Things to START" and the last "What to CONTINUE". It won't take long to fill the sheets. Steer away from excessive detail. Newspaper Article
Identifying likes and dislikes (ala "Stop, Start, Continue") is usually easy for a group. However, it may not always produce real insight. A tougher more potent exercise is to ask a small group -4-6 to write (or outline in bullet point fashion) a newspaper article you would hope that could/would be written about your parish at the end of your vision horizon. (3, 5, 10 years.) Or, since many have seemingly never actually held a newspaper in their hands, write a descriptive article about your parish for your website.
Sabbatical Scenario A similar exercise is the sabbatical scenario. Posit to your group that they have been transferred to another city for e.g. five years (or whatever the time horizon of your discussion). As part of the transfer they will return "home" at assignment's end. Get them to describe what they hope to find in the parish when they get back. How will it look, feel and behave?
Photo Collage
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Sometimes just the right photo can help participants envision a brighter, warmer parish future
| Generating new images of "possibilities" for a parish is not easy for most. It's well nigh impossible for others. One difficulty is that words -- spoken, and particularly written -- are difficult for some. Images or photos can help. To seed the conversation about what our vision could be, use a collage of photos of parish life, behaviors and ministries. These can be from your parish or others. From the collage of 15- 30 photos of parish life ask small groups to discuss what is most important to their version of a future parish. Settle on 4-6 that best represent that vision. We've collected a good set of photos and can easily share them if you ask.
Multiple Points of View Sometimes it is useful to ask group members to look at the vision idea from multiple points of view. Walk people up the ladder from considering "What I want" to >>> "What We Want" to >>> "What Future Generations Need" to >>> "What God Expects from Us". Ask "How would we like our neighbors to see/understand us?"
Particular Sub-Groups
Having trouble getting people to participate in your session? In some parishes it may be valuable to earmark a series of separate discussions to focus of the views of disparate parish subcultures like teens, choir, veterans, "recents", parents, converts, ethnic group xyz, singles, the "too often voiceless". Obviously cross pollinating ideas is best --but multiple sessions with a target group for each may increase overall participation and generate sentiments unvoiced in a cross sectional group. Individual Submissions
Consider inviting parishioners to offer written views of important future priorities. You'll need to do a bit of pre-work perhaps to create a starter vision --then ask for comments and critiques. This approach keeps people from feeling left out and may attract those on the margins. Some folks are more reflective and don't like to talk in groups. (But, honestly, don't expect any award winners from this approach.)
Structured Questions Discussion GuideOur favorite approach we have used with some success is to walk a group through a set of structured, open ended questions. The questions are designed to engage the group in various aspects of the topic. Email the guide before the session and ask people to consider them -even write a brief answer. This approach also helps generate attendance. If people are giving up an evening or afternoon --they want to know what's in store. Contact us for more details. Good QuestionsWhether you use the structured guide approach above or not, the most important aspect of planning for parish discussions is good questions. A discussion is not a presentation or an education class. Communication and feedback, ideas and dreams are being sought. The job is to help develop a converging sense of where to head next as a parish. Here are a some questions we find effective: - Are we achieving what we set out to achieve?
- What do we do best in our parish? What are our true strengths and assets? How can we build on them? Put them to better use?
- What does true excellence look like for this parish in the area of _____. (E.g. church school, youth ministry, evangelization etc.) What would we do? What would that take?
- What parish assets/resources are we not using well? (Physical/ Financial? Contacts? Location? Talents/Gifts? Energy?)
- What kind of (e.g.) adult education program could consistently attract 40 adults from our parish, 15 from the neighborhood and 15 from other Orthodox churches in the city? What would that cost? Is that really outside our possibility?
- What things have we said "we can't do that" or "we tried it" that are actually possible if we see ourselves and our talents in a different way? Has new technology made something previously impossible now very doable?
- What would we need to be doing in this parish that would turn you on to a degree that would actually surprise you? ("If you had asked me if would ever have participated in this or given to this etc. I'd have said 'No'. But here I am!")
OK, we have a few other thoughts on this topic --but we have probably overstayed our welcome for this issue! |

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