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As we begin the New Year of 2003, many of us make personal resolutions for positive changes in our lives. Parish councils, committees and commissions might also hope for changes in the parish. Do you wonder at times how we can change the tide of negativism in the parish and help parishioners see the positive? How we can encourage people to see a bigger picture and offer thanks for all we are as Church?
Some parish councils and pastors involved in long-range planning have found success using a process called “Appreciative Inquiry” (AI). Instead of focusing on what’s not going well in the parish, they put their focus on what’s positive about their experience of parish life. How does AI work?
The “Appreciative Inquiry” entails four stages:
- Discovery. Finding out about moments of excellence, core values, and best practices. (See questions below.)
- Dreaming: Envisioning possibilities to strengthen the best we have and are. “What if we…?”
- Designing. Creating the structure, processes and relationships that will support the dream.
- Delivery. Developing a plan to make the best grow!
What if each parish committee, organization or those who meet for coffee and doughnuts after Mass discussed the questions below? What if they acted on them? How would the discussions in your parish change?
Appreciative Inquiry Questions
- What attracted you to our parish? What were your initial impressions of the parish? What excited you about the parish?
- What was your most life-giving experience with our parish? Recall a time when you felt most alive, fulfilled or enthused about being a parishioner. What made it a peak experience for you?
- What do you value most about our parish? What is the single most important thing the parish has contributed to your life in the past year?
- What represents the essence of this parish? What is its most life-giving force, without which it would cease to exist?
- If you could enhance or transform this parish in any way you wished, what three things would you do to heighten its vitality and over-all health?
For more information on Appreciative Inquiry, contact Dr. Robert M. Melcher, Associate Director – Office for Parish Councils and Planning, 414-769-3381 or melcherr@archmil.org
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