OST with local Catholic Diocese (long)

[Lisa Heft]

Here's the story of Weekend #1 with the local Catholic Diocese (a region) and
their strategic planning process.

- - - - -
The Background
- - - - -

Let me give you the background.  The Bishop's Executive Committee, the Council
of Priests and the Bishop's Advisory Council were charged with selecting three
Critical Issues that *must* be addressed if the organization is to carry out
its work (in the Church context, a Critical Issue is one that must be addressed
if the Church is to be effective in its ongoing ministry).

Their recommendations were based on data gathered by the Diocesan Planning
Team, which in July 2000 began to gather information about the Catholic Church
in Santa Clara County and the context in which it carries out its ministry.
Research was conducted by a really great local consulting team on demographic
trends in the county, and over 800 people were consulted with during an
analysis of the Church's current strengths and weaknesses plus opportunities
and threats facing the Church.  Additional meetings were held with members of
the clergy, parish staff, chancery staff and leaders, the Bishop's Advisory
Council, and others.  Over 500 people attended those meetings, and over 400
issues were discussed and ranked.  Each parish was also invited to add their
input to the process, with materials available in Spanish and Vietnamese as
well as English.  Input was also gathered from Chancery and parish staff, youth
and young adults, and other diocesan groups, resulting in input from nearly
17,000 parishioners and others.

The three Critical Issues which were identified (and indeed these three kept
coming up in all the discussions and meetings:


- Involving youth and young adults in the life and leadership of the Church in
significant ways

- Recruiting, preparing and supporting lay leaders to meet the changing needs
of the Church

- Living out Catholic social teaching in such areas as the dignity of human
life, housing, immigration and labor.


(A fourth critical issue of enhancing organizational infrastructure was
identified as being crucial to the success of any action on the three others.)

Now it was time to identify strategies for achieving success in these three
areas.  As it was also noted that people kept compartmentalizing the three
areas and thinking too specifically regarding their own parishes, Open Space
Technology was chosen as the format for this working weekend leading up to
final recommendations.  More intuitive thought was now required, and input from
an incredibly diverse group (multiple languages, ages from 14 to 70-something)
with no small amount of conflict ('what? the Church is changing?') plus a
pressing need for innovative work and deeper communication on complex issues
made it the perfect candidate for OST.

Oh yes, and I must add that the sponsors were *very* into Open Space after
their consultants recommended it all everybody went to read Harrison's "Open
Space Technology: A User's Guide".

So we planned and we talked and we met and we designed and then we danced
together into Weekend #1.

- - - - -
The Open Space Event
- - - - -

We had 115 participants from about 20 parishes (little regions/subgroups within
the larger region/organization).  We held space on Thursday evening, all day
Friday, and until early afternoon on Saturday.

We had 6 meeting sessions of 1.5 hours each.  We opened with prayer, song, and
more prayer to see us on our way.  We prayed at various times within the
process -- each time we met with people to decide together how to design the
prayer and song time so as to enhance our direction and to not seem like
closure during an Open Space process.  Lots of creative ideas and a fair bit of
adjustment on the parts of people who are used to praying in a certain way.

I opened the marketplace on Thursday night and they created the agenda during
that one evening.  Then we prayed again and everyone went to bed to get plenty
of rest for the work ahead.  (First evening agenda setting was a great idea
from you, Brian, and you, Jeff -- it worked perfectly and everybody was ready
to jump in after a review of guidelines and principles Friday morning!).

These 115 people organized 85 sessions (!).

We had a bank of computers in our Newsroom, complete with sound effects of
typewriter tapping as if it was coming from the keyboards (!) and screensavers
with the principles and law on them.  We were able to get the book of
proceedings out two days after the event (this was our compromise as we did not
have the fuller 2.5 days together).

We tinkered with the process throughout -- something I've not done in OST much,
and I think we stretched it in all kids of ways.  One of the ways was the way
we handled the need for more, and more, and more prayer as requested throughout
the process (yes, Brian, you were right, and we thought we'd designed in enough
moments for prayer, but who knew they would want ever more, ever more?)  How to
design a coming together of energy when you want the energy to stay out-out-out
while the space is still open?  Many possibilities for design -- however design
that reflects the guidelines and law?  Do you treat it like a Space Invader
when someone stands up in the circle and says 'why don't we pray now'?  Can you
just say to an individual approaching you with that request, 'why don't you
just announce a session of prayer?' when the prayer they want is Mass, which
requires only certain people doing very specific things in very specific ways
with a couple of sacred items that have to be there?  What if those certain
people don't feel like doing Mass because they have another group to attend?
Do you just let it all go to seek its own level, even though your team's
collective instinct is that without Mass the majority of your participants will
feel angered because the assumption is that 'the organization is supposed to
provide this' as it always does and, in their expectation, always will?

By the way, by 'team' I mean we had a core group of me, two of those
consultants, and the top two sponsors who would just 'plop' down on the ground
in a circle in the main meeting room whenever something came up that needed
more than one feeble tired mind.  And whoever wanted to among the participants
would join us to share the concern and make recommendations for solutions
(including leave it alone / do nothing) and help us with the process.  It was
marvelous - truly a Dream Team.

One of the ways that we adjusted things that I'm sure some of you have tried is
to make a space for action items (sometimes you choose action items, sometimes
next steps, eh?)  on the notes-taking templates for each small group (rather
than to leave action items for after you've done a convergence).

As you may expect, this has the potential to explode actions / steps /
recommendations into the high numbers.  Ours were called 'strategies for
action' (as this body was recommending steps towards the goals for them and
others to realize).  And you guessed it.  Our groups came up with almost 500
recommended strategies.  (!!!) Now please imagine floor to ceiling strategies
covering a very large wall.  We must say a prayer for the lives of those trees.

So we invited folks to walk up to the wall throughout the rest of our time
together to group and regroup, note duplicates and merge them, look for
patterns and make them.  And gradually the wall came more together, as
strategies were grouped under our three Critical Issues and subheadings were
developed by someone for recognizing similar groupings of thought.  Eventually
the wall looked like chains of genetic information encoding the mission and the
future of the organization.

We agreed as a group to *not* vote on anything, but to let the wall keep moving
for awhile, and to meet again for Weekend #2 in November.  In a sense, to not
close the space but to keep the system open into that next meeting time.

As we gathered for the closing circle there emerged what had been always
present -- what is the pitfall of having an Open Space of advisors when so many
of the implementers were absent -- fear and concern that nobody would get those
things done, that someone on the outside would mess with the process and
decisions of the first weekend, would stamp a heavy outsider's footprint on all
those good ideas.  As I hadn't set up a talking stick closure yet I found
myself in the center (literally) of a circle of fear and conflict.  But as in
any facilitation, I honored the conflict and let the group share their thoughts
and concerns.  The sponsor blended in beautifully to explain and acknowledge
and to talk frankly but not to over-reassure, just to listen well and witness
their concerns... until after a while I felt that all of these concerns were in
the air and shared and people were becoming limp with hunger for lunch and
exhaustion at encountering frank and fearful words rarely uttered.  All good
things, of course, but time now to find our way out to the other side and be
able to trust and breathe.  So finally I asked them if they were people of
faith, and wasn't faith a letting go and an embracing the unknown, and an
assumption that whatever happened, the greater good and the greater wisdom
would come through?  And if that was so, were they willing to walk together in
faith into the unknown and know that whatever happens is the only thing that
could have...and that when it's over it's over...and that it ain't over yet?
And yes I reminded them to breathe, and you should have heard the air being let
out and in and smiles even touching corners of faces.

So we walked on together hand in hand and continued the closing circle.
Breathing merged into a closing activity with prayer, then silent reflection
and then writing one word on a shape of colored paper defining their experience
together, and as they felt it, standing and saying the word and placing their
colors on the wall to create a collage, a mosaic (or a stained glass window?)
of their collective vision, strength and faith.  As you may imagine, the wall
was covered with many colors and many languages, with images of light and life
and truth and spirit and community.  We ended with a call-and-response song in
many, many languages.

- - - - -
The In-Between Time
- - - - -

So now it is the in-between time.  Everyone has received hard copy of what that
wall looked like when we closed Weekend #1.  Everyone received a full book of
proceedings to date and a contacts list for everyone involved.  All 115 people
agreed to return for the next weekend and to read and discuss things
in-between.  A web site was set up for reading and reviewing the wall, the
proceedings, the mission, the theme.  A Yahoo group was set up with everyone as
a member, for anyone who wanted to continue the conversation to interact and
discuss the issues, the wall, the process.  Links on the site also help people
learn more about the Open Space Technology process, as there was a great sense
of amazement about how this meeting enabled everyone, with participants in over
4 languages aged 14 to over 70, to share, speak and really listen.

So here we are in the middle.  With 500 recommended strategies, and a meeting
this Wednesday to design Weekend #2.

Here's where I smile and raise an eyebrow at you, my dear colleagues, with a
twinkle in my eye.

Any ideas for convergence?  For design of our next time together?

We initially were thinking we'd have people vote with 5 stickydots for those
things under Critical Issue 1, then 5 for Issue #2, and then the same for Issue
#3.  To do this at the beginning of the weekend and to use the rest for...   To
pick out the hot items for the Bishop to point out to the leaders of each
parish for action during 2002.  But who knows?  After analyzing and intuiting
we could come up with something completely different, and that would be okay
too.  And as part of good Open Space work is discussing what happens
post-event, we are talking about the possibilities of  convening quarterly (?)
Open Space meetings of the 115 to reportback on items accomplished and vote on
more hotspots or whatever is needed.  And we also talk about the possibility of
(I love this part) training all 115 participants and potentially
representatives from all 52 parishes as Open Space facilitators as a way to
keep transformation well-fed with spirit-nutrition.

Open Space facilitators all throughout the Catholic Diocese of San Jose.  Chaos
and transformation, eh?  Hold onto your hymnals.

I welcome your thoughts, friends.

Lisa


- - -

L i s a    H e f t
Consultant, facilitator, educator
Experiential learning and Open Space Technology

2325 Oregon
Berkeley, California
94705-1106 USA
(+01) 510 548-8449
www.openspaceworld.com

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