An Appreciation of the OS Community

[Robert Sullens]

Greetings,

Yesterday I facilitated my first open space for a church of which I am a
member.  It was as expected an amazing experience.

I have to admit to having some trouble with the "Whoever comes is the right
people" principle.  I had difficulty scheduling the event. I had to cut it
down from 1 1/2 days  to one day and postpone it  twice because of
scheduling conflicts.  Registration was slow.  I had visions of an empty
room. I ended up with 18 participants which is about 1/2 what I expected
and 1/3 of what I had hoped for. But the people who came were the right
people.. The group generated numerous ideas for future actions and
organized a committee to plan an all church retreat for later this
summer.  OS does always work.

My purpose in the e-mail is not to brag but to thank all those on this list
who contributed to the success of this event.  I have been lurking here for
almost a year and have appreciated and learned from many of you.  Thank you
for your willingness to share ideas and techniques and for the way in which
this community models openness.  Even when issues arouse strong feelings,
the members of this community show a respect for each other that impressed
me as a quiet observer.

I also want to publicly thank Lisa Heft for the excellent training she
provided and the on-going encouragement and support she provided me as I
planned this first event.

I hope to find additional opportunities to apply Open Space concepts in my
work and my life.

Thank you all,

Bob Sullens

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