Don’t you want to come to the Talking Circles and play with this fun toy?!
On January 25, from noon to 4 PM, All Saints will be holding an all-parish Talking Circles event, led by Canon Neil Mancor. What does this mean, and why should you devote a wintry Saturday afternoon to it?
The Talking Circle approach is one that’s often used in important conversations, whether or not a significant element of conflict/reconciliation is part of the situation. It draws on Native traditions, including the use of an object (“talking stick” or similar) to indicate the person who has the floor at any given time. (Neil’s object is pictured above, and is great fun to play with while assembling your thoughts.)
In All Saints’ case, we are not addressing any particular conflict – thanks be to God! – but rather using this method to generate as many ideas as possible, with feedback in real time, as we look to create a concrete Action Plan. The Action Plan is, in turn, based on the Strategic Plan that was discussed at the October and November Parish Meetings. It’s a lot of Plans, to be sure, but we’re doing an excellent job of moving this planning process along so that after they’re endorsed at the Annual Vestry, we can actually start DOING! And having gone through the Talking Circles, we’ll be confident that these plans are well thought through and have broad-based buy-in.
Incidentally, this meeting also replaces the Parish Meeting that would otherwise normally have fallen on January 26, especially since the Vestry follows only two weeks later.
On the 25th, we will begin with a brown bag lunch and then Canon Neil will lead us through several rounds of the structured Talking Circle process. In each round, we will divide into small groups where a series of questions will be asked and each person will have the chance to be heard with undivided attention. We will then reconvene into a large group to collect ideas and responses. And by the end of the day, we’ll have what we need to create a plan we can act on – and we’ll all be excited about all the great things that are happening and will be happening soon!
YOUR VOICE is important to these conversations! As always, questions are welcome. Please sign up so we know you’re coming!
I have already signed up as a group leader and look forward to see how the process works and the results produced.