open space

[Lisa]

Hello, Andrea -

I have used Open Space for, for example, strategic planning for a
Catholic diocese - everyone from the top clergy to participants in the
youth program were invited.  I have also done the same for an Episcopal
church, and so on.

Your questions are great.  I'll try to answer some here - if you / your
client needs to I can share with you the emails of some of my church
clients so they can talk together directly about power dynamics and so
on.  The answers are the same for the faith community as for any
community I have worked in with Open Space:

1. If the participants do not know much about O.S. in advance, they can
bring up a topic, but can they take responsibility for their topic if
they did not have the chance to prepare for that topic?

Anyone can take responsibility for inviting / beginning a conversation.
Their job is not to control or to provide all the answers on that topic
- sometimes it is just a question that they bring to begin the
discussion.  Their responsibility is not to know and prepare, but - if
they feel called to do so - to invite others to share their own wisdom
and experience.  A prepared presentation would be just that - a
presentation, which is not what this is about.  It is about a coming
together for new thinking and trusting that the right people are also
drawn to this topic.  Emerging thought is very nutritious for Open
Space; prepared thinking can often begin things in the way we have
always thought about them (hence, the same results we always get).

2. The Law of Two Feet can give you the chance to "step out" of those
situations, which seem to be awkward and problematic but if you are
brave enough and stay there, maybe you can solve your problems. Isn't it
dangerous to step out of each situation which we find at first sight
uncomfortable or boring. Maybe it is just the temptation to escape and
avoid something.

It is never dangerous to take good care of yourself.  The Law of Two
Feet says if you are neither learning nor contributing, move to where
you are most needed or best served.  There are a lot of nutritious
things going on in the room and your best work is needed.  Or it is time
to refresh yourself so you can be more focused in the next conversation.
This is all serving the greater good of the group.  Delightfully, people
stay in a group and break through to understanding.or they leave to
continue being productive.  Both are incredibly helpful to the process
and to the work of the group.

3. Have you ever participated in an O.S. in religious context? What was
your experience?

I have used OS in strategic planning, including when there has been
great diversity and great conflict about the direction of the church,
conflict about interpretations of what the church should do, how ritual
and prayer should be and so on, to re-engage the church members in the
work of the church rather than have them wait for some high-up decision
maker or special word to arrive to get things done; to have full
participation from the constituency no matter what the ages, languages,
or cultural experiences or positions on how the faith should be
practiced within the church.

4. Many religious people expect guidance from the church. But in an O.S.
everybody can bring up topics and there is no guidance. IN a religious
context people need spiritual guidance, they want to be filled with
words and want to be supported. How can O.S. work for these type of
people?

Many of the people I have worked with in faith communities have an
understanding of a greater being, a greater wisdom.  Breath and prayer
or meditation are some ways of breathing in this greater wisdom.  In OS
participants receive guidance from - well, however they understand it -
deep within themselves or from the whole - both often are also
interpretations of the Spirit or the god they believe in.  As people of
faith, they usually understand that they are doing God's work.  Indeed,
there is great guidance and support - from that Spirit, if they so
believe.

When working with a faith community we often start the Open Space with a
prayer for the work we are about to do and also often a song in that
same theme - my clients have on occasion written special prayers for the
planning (or whatever they are there to do) process.  In some situations
for example at night the youth groups stay in the Open Space room to
play music from their church for anyone to join.  The work and culture
of the church infuses the Open Space - they are not separate.

Hope that helps, let me know if you need to play more thoughts back and
forth,

Cheers from my Berkeley garden to you in Budapest,

Lisa

________________________________

L i s a   H e f t
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
O p e n i n g  S p a c e
2325 Oregon
Berkeley, California
94705-1106   USA
+01 510 548-8449
 <mailto:lisaheft at pacbell.net> lisaheft at pacbell.net
www.openingspace.net


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