Planning a Church Organizational Summit
Appreciative Inquiry Adopted by St. Joseph’s Catholic Community
Jan 21, 2009
Pastor Matt Pennington of the Capitola, CA parish, along with the Commission of Ministries, made the decision in January 2008 to conduct this innovative program among parishioners. Plans were a year in the making.
Father Matt stated in his June 2008 church bulletin: “The needs of a community change as time progresses and the only way we can determine how best to plan for the future is to take its pulse. Using a series of focused questions, our team members will conduct one-on-one interviews to discover the strengths and gifts of our community.” He invited parish members to say “yes” to this request.
What is Appreciative Inquiry?
Appreciative Inquiry has been in use for over 20 years as an alternative approach to conventional team building.
To appreciate means to value; inquire means to study, ask questions and to search. An Appreciative Inquiry, also referred to as A-I, can be conducted for the benefit of any type of organization. Groups use the process as a tool to identify an organization’s strengths, its potential and hopes for the future.
Interview Training Process
A group of 25 St. Joseph parishioners, who offered to conduct interviews, attended a training session to learn how to properly ask a series of focused questions. The questions would deal with how things were working at their best...listing successes rather than what may not be working.
Sample Questions Were:
- When did you first become a part of the St. Joseph community and why?
- What were the most memorable times for you here? Tell us about at least one high point.
- What are St. Joseph's special strengths? How have they contributed to your life?
- What are your unique gifts and how have you been able to contribute them to the community?
- What are your hopes and visions for St. Joseph's in the future?
The theme chosen by the planning team was “Forging Our Dynamic Life and Future in Community and Wonder.” The symbol used on all materials was a photo of the church’s venerated stained glass window of the risen Jesus.
Pre-Summit Planning Meeting
Stories collected from the interviews of over 200 parishioners helped design a pre-Summit meeting for interviewers and the core planning group. The meeting was designed to develop an action plan allowing for the future that was envisioned during the interviews.
This gathering provided an opportunity to build a church community reflecting the hopes of the parishioners that would serve as a powerful tool toward shaping a successful future for St. Joseph’s. Six committees were formed to structure the marketing of the Summit to the parish; Project Leadership, Communication/Marketing, Website, Invitations and an After-Summit Action Group.
A slide show portraying artifacts reflecting the history of St. Joseph’s parish was created by historian Sister Marie Wiedner and parish photographer James Ancheta.
Two Day Summit
These procedures culminated in a two day summit attended by over 140 participants in January 2009, facilitated by A-I expert and parishioner Dr. Frank Barrett and fellow parishioner Dr. Bob Montgomery.
Planning Chair Linda Beaston thanked all parishioners who attended, participated in interviews and those who prayed for its success. “It is obvious the Holy Spirit is alive in our community!,” she said.
More A-I History
Dr. Frank Barrett, professor at Naval Post-Graduate School, is the co-creator of A-I along with Dr. David Cooperrider. As graduate students at Case Western Reserve University, they applied theory to methods that were working in various group actions and then defined the steps necessary to take for the creation of a positive outcome.
For more information, visit Appreciative Inquiry Commons.
Related articles by June Smith:
Catholic Church Organizational Summit
Catholic Church Organizational Summit Interviews
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