Using Appreciative Inquiry
in Parish Pastoral Planning
to Discover More Abundant
Life, Strength and Hope
Presented by: Rick Krivanka
Diocese of Scranton February 2013
Three Pillars of a
New Movement
Appreciative
Inquiry
Strengths
Focus
Positive
Psychology
A Starting Context
An essential role of
leadership:
Creating the culture
of our communities
in our conversations
What kind of culture?
A culture of life and hope
“I came that they might have life
and have it more abundantly.”
-
that sees and reverences the sacredness of
life in everyday life and ministry!
(people’s gifts, energy, initiative, creativity)
-
that builds hope!
Be mindful of my presence:
How do I leave people in my wake?
Pastoral Leadership
•
is a relationship
- Mission of Jesus is essentially relational
•
is a resonant relationship
- being in tune and in touch with others
“the good shepherd…”
•
moves, inspires and mobilizes people to:
- a more abundant life
- join together in common mission
- cooperative anticipation of a
shared future
Conversation & Hope
“To advocate human conversation as the means to restore hope to the
future is as simple as I can get. But I have seen there is no more
powerful way to initiate significant change than to convene a
conversation…It is always like this. Real change begins with the simple
act of people talking about what they care about… There is no power
greater than a community discovering what it cares about. Ask what’s
possible, not what’s wrong. Keep asking.”
--Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science
Leadership, Conversation, Hope
•
Hope is dependent upon the quality of our conversations.
•
Conversations build relationships. Relationships build
hope.
•
The key to our future is in tending to our conversations.
•
Hope springs from the appreciation of life and goodness
among us. There is more is going on around us than first
meets the eye.
•
Discouragement comes more from the words we exchange
than from the realities that confront us.
•
When we have right relationships, we sense that no matter
what the future holds, we will be together.
And hope abounds.
- Bishop John Hopkins, East Ohio United Methodist Church
Comparison
“Problem Solving”
(medical diagnosis approach)
“Appreciative Inquiry”
(life-centered approach)
• Identify the Problem
(“symptoms”)
• Identify What Gives Life
> Discover the best of “what is”
• Determine the Cause
(“diagnosis”)
• Imagine Ways to Enhance Life
> Dream “what could be”
• Propose a Solution
(“prescription”)
• Co-construct the Ideal
> Design “what should be”
• Implement It
(“treatment”)
• Empower Innovation
> Do – create “what will be”
What is Appreciative Inquiry?
1. A collaborative and rigorous search to identify and
understand the individual’s/group’s/organization’s
(parishes) strengths, in order to…
2. Imagine our highest hopes and greatest possibilities,
to stimulate…
3. Co-construction of the ideal future, and…
4. Launch self-directed change and innovation
Dr. Ron Fry, Case Western Reserve University
9
History
David Cooperrider, Ph. D.
Case Western Reserve University, 1986
Doctoral Dissertation:
Appreciative Inquiry: Toward a Methodology for
Understanding and Enhancing Organizational
Innovation
Used internationally in all kinds of organizational and cultural
settings - local, global, religious, corporate, government,
NGO’s, inter-generational…
Spirituality
Scripture
“I came that they might have life
and have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10
Spirituality
Scripture – St. Paul
“Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence and
if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard
and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4: 8-9
Spirituality
Theology
“To see anything for what it is,
is to see the goodness of it,
the love of God for it,
God’s grace.
The challenge is to see things as they are,
as God sees them,
and as God says about creation:
‘It is good. It is very good.’
That which is always and everywhere,
God’s grace,
must be noticed,
accepted and celebrated.”
Fr. Michael Himes
Cleveland, April 18, 1999
Leading with
an Open Heart
We diminish ourselves – we squeeze the juice out of our
souls, we close our hearts when we fall into…
• ‘Cynicism’ dressed up as ‘realism’:
‘I’m not cynical. I’m realistic.’
• ‘Arrogance’ dressed up as ‘authoritative knowledge’.
• ‘Callousness’ dressed up as ‘a thick skin of wisdom’.
‘I know how it is – and this is all there is.’
Ronald Heifetz
Founding Director, Center for Public Leadership
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
Leading with
an Open Heart
To stay alive in our spirit, in our hearts, requires the courage
to keep our hearts open… we need to give witness to…
• ‘Innocence’ that maintains hope even when things seem
hopeless – a naïve perspective realizing that naïve has
the same root as ‘genius, ingenuity, Renaissance’ – a
child-like quality
• ‘Curiosity’ to be genuinely interested, to want to learn more
than we already know
• ‘Compassion’ to respect and appreciate the pains and
changes people are going through
Ronald Heifetz
Basic Principles
1. Constructionist Principle
our words create our worlds
2. Poetic Principle
organizations are like poems, or like Scripture,
open to infinite interpretation
3. Principle of Simultaneity
change begins the moment you ask the first question
Basic Principles
4. Anticipatory Principle
deep change = change in our images of the future
5. Positive Principle
positive questions  positive image  positive emotion
 positive energy  positive relationships
 positive change
6. Narrative Principle
sharing stories unites people across boundaries and
generations and creates lasting bonds
Conversation & Emotions
in Parish Life
Growing an Engaged Church – Al Winesman
Gallup Research: Belonging leads to believing
Engagement describes the degree of belonging to
church.
Emotions matter – the emotional connection is
key to people’s engagement and the life of
growing churches.
Application
The “4-D” Cycle
Discovery
What gives life?
Destiny
Sustain. Empower.
Improvise.
AFFIRMATIVE
TOPIC
CHOICE
Design
Co-constructing
what should be.
Dream
Envisioning ways to
enhance life.
Exercise
The Five Basic Appreciative Questions
1. Beginnings
• What attracted you to our parish / ministry setting?
• What were your initial excitements and impressions when
you began there?
2. Most Life-Giving Experience
• Recall a time when you felt most alive, most proud, most
committed or most enthused about our parish / ministry?
What made it such a “fulfilling” experience?
3. Things Most Valued
• What do you value most about yourself?
• The nature of your involvement in our parish / ministry?
• Our parish / ministry and what it has contributed to your life?
Exercise
The Five Basic Appreciative Questions
4. Core Image
• As you think about the overall parish / ministry, what is the
core image or factor that reflects what most gives life
and represents its most essential, life-giving quality?
5. Images of Future
• If you could enhance or transform our parish / ministry in
any way you wished, what three things would you do to
enhance its life and vitality?
Application
Appreciative Topics
Select 3 to 5 Key Topics – A Fateful Choice
• based on responses to initial five AI questions
• affirmatively stated - value what is
• compelling
• invite stories
• sometimes ambiguous – room to ‘swim around’
• evoke essential values, aspirations, inspirations
• deepen hope and capacity for creating
a desired future
Application
Basic Process Steps
1. Preparation - Planning to Plan
• Preliminary discussion with leaders
• Form an AI planning team
• Finalize steps and schedule (Summit option).
2. Discovery and Initial Dream Phase
• Conduct Phase 1 interviews at meeting of leaders /
representatives using the 5 basic AI questions
• Develop Appreciative Topics and Phase 2 Interviews
• Train interviewers
• Identify potential interviewees (random, sub-groups,
friends, interviewees become interviewers...)
• Conduct interviews
• Interpret and share meanings (themes/quotes) from
interviews
Application
Basic Process Steps
3. Dream Phase
We build the future by carrying forward and building upon the best
of our past and the inspiring discoveries from our interviews. We
create shared images of what our parish would look life if our
exceptional moments and life-giving properties became the norm.
Dream reflection and small group sharing:
Imagine 10 years into the future - it is the year 2021. Visualize our
community… as you really want it to be – living the fullness of life to
which God calls us, and doing remarkable things…
What do you experience, see, hear….?
How is the world different?
What images stand out to you?
Sharing with the assembly in creative ways.
Application
Basic Process Steps
4. Design / Destiny Phase
Creative Initiatives for Action
a guiding vision and set of practical actions – little things, big
things, a pilot project, a prototype, an experiment, bold steps, a
generative conversation, something to try – that have the
potential to move people toward realizing the vision and hope
expressed for a given area of life
These statements bridge “the best of what gives life” with a collective
aspiration of “the best of what might be.” They are grounded in the
common themes generated from our best experiences and dreams.
Application
Basic Process Steps
5. Further Dream & Design outcomes
 Mission Statement, Core Values
 Statements of “what most gives life” &
“ways to enhance life”
 Creative Initiatives for Action
– Strategy / Action commitments
• Engage as many people as possible in these events
6. Proclamation - Publish and Celebrate the Results
7. Destiny Phase
• Sustaining, Empowering, Learning, Improvising, Innovating
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
Appreciative Topics
1. “A Community of Many Different People:
God invites all people here, that we may be one”
2. “A Beacon of Service and Hope”
3. “Liturgy and Prayer for All People”
4. “Call to Involvement”
5. “Nurturing Our Young People”
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
Appreciative Topic,
Paragraph & Questions
A Community of Many Different People:
God invites all people here, that we may be one
We are blessed as a community of different people with unique gifts to
share. New people are always welcome here and continue to bring new life
to our parish. As a community of wounded healers, we accept the
challenge to be there for all people, and strive to offer openness and
acceptance to them.
a) Recall a time at St. Bernard Parish where you experienced an inspiring
moment of welcoming or being welcomed. What did people say or do that
created this moment?
b) Imagine St. Bernard Parish in 5 years. What do you see happening that
best expresses unity and cooperation amidst our diversity?
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
Appreciative Topics
1. “A Community of Many Different People:
God invites all people here, that we may be one”
2. “A Beacon of Service and Hope”
3. “Liturgy and Prayer for All People”
4. “Call to Involvement”
5. “Nurturing Our Young People”
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
Appreciative Topic,
Paragraph & Questions
“A Beacon of Service and Hope”
We are a community that is there for people when they need us. We treat
people with great care and dignity in each of our ministries. We reach out in
response to real human needs by helping people to serve and help one
another, and to use their gifts in ways that go far beyond what could be
seen or imagined.
a) Recall 1 or 2 of the best experiences of seeing St. Bernard Parish as a
beacon? What do people do that most expresses this kind of service
and outreach?
b) What is one thing that St. Bernard might do to better listen to and serve
the needs of people in our community? How might we become more
aware of and in touch with voices not readily heard, including the elderly
and homebound ?
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
“Design Phase” Product
St. Bernard Parish Mission Statement
Established in 1861, we are a people of diverse cultures and backgrounds
who choose to come together as a spiritual family to give glory to God by:
• celebrating the Eucharist,
• learning and living our Catholic faith,
• serving the spiritual and human needs of the surrounding
community.
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
“Design Phase” Product
St. Bernard Parish Core Values
We are committed to live by these values to fulfill our mission
ACCEPTANCE We welcome and accept all people, greeting them and
inviting them to participate within our community.
A BEACON OF SERVICE & HOPE We are committed to work for justice and
serve the spiritual and human needs of all people throughout the world,
including the poor, homeless, homebound and each other - treating each
person with dignity and giving them support and encouragement.
EMPOWERMENT We call upon every member of our parish to be involved in
our prayer, worship, service and community life.
FLEXIBILITY We grow and change to meet a variety of needs in our worship,
service and activities.
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
“Design Phase” Product
St. Bernard Parish Directional Statement – Part 1
“A Community of Many Different People:
God invites all people here, that we may be one”
In listening to our people we discovered these further reflections on the life of St. Bernard in their words:
- For people from both near and far away, St. Bernard’s is a beautiful
place that is like a home away from home.
- We are a parish with no barriers, open to all. Our people love worshiping
with people from different backgrounds - racial, economic, nationality.
- We admit and celebrate our cultural differences. All cultures can
express themselves here in different ways.
- Members of our Spanish community have indicated that the Spanish
Mass ‘makes me feel like I am in my country with my people.’ I feel deep inside
my heart a great excitement.
- The Mass here is full of life, love and unity.
CASE STUDY
St. Bernard
Akron, Ohio
Application
“Design Phase” Product
St. Bernard Parish Directional Statement – Part 2
“A Community of Many Different People:
God invites all people here, that we may be one”
We are committed to sustain and build upon these gifts and experiences in the future. We also will:
1) Sustain a vibrant Hispanic worshiping community that evokes ‘my country,
my people’ while working to integrate people and activities as fully as
possible into the overall life of the parish.
• Discern a Spanish speaking deacon.
• Enhance the education in our faith for Hispanic people.
• Continue to invite and reach out to Hispanic people who do not come to church.
2) Reach out to people of other cultures to assist them in forming cohesive
faith communities.
3) Provide more opportunities to mix cultures in parish activities.
Living Appreciatively
• Ask: What is the AI question in this moment?
• Sustain life, inquiry and innovation!
• Live on the Appreciative Edge:
Whatever has happened or is happening, every
act or utterance, has affirmative potential. Attend
closely!
All is gift,all is blessing.
• Say “yes” to the mess!
• Embrace errors as a source of
learning and discovery!
Living Appreciatively
Pope John XXIII:
Consult not your fears, but your hopes and your
dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but
about your unfulfilled potential.
Concern yourself not with what you tried and
failed in, but with what it is still possible
for you to do.
Thank you! - Further Questions
Rick Krivanka
rkrivanka@gmail.com
216-536-4991