Catholic Church Organizational Summit

Capitola Parish Conducts Appreciative Inquiry Seminar

Mar 12, 2009

The Catholic community of St. Joseph's Church, Capitola is the first parish in the Monterey, CA Diocese to hold an Appreciative Inquiry Organizational Summit.

To prepare for the innovative program known as the Appreciative Inquiry Organizational Summit, Pastor Matt Pennington stated in the parish bulletin: “The needs of a community change as time progresses and the only way we can determine how best to plan for the future is to take its pulse. Using a series of focused questions, our team members will conduct one-on-one interviews to discover the strengths and gifts of our community.”

Appreciative Inquiry Interview Process

A group of 25 parishioners conducted interviews with 200 of their fellow church members to inquire about positive experiences as well as their hopes for the future.

Using the elements of Appreciative Inquiry, a problem is something to be embraced rather than solved. The interview questions dealt with church practices that were functioning at their best.

Comments from these interviews were addressed at the January, 2009 weekend summit.

The theme chosen by the parish Summit Design Committee, “Forging our Dynamic Life and Future in Community and Wonder,” expressed these purposes and goals:

Pastor Matt Pennington opened the Friday evening session with a prayer service; thanking the group of over 140 parishioners who attended. He shared his story about being ordained, then dreaming of having a parish by the sea.

Now the dream had come true. He said that by gathering to tell their stories, hopes and dreams, the attendees could begin to shape the future of St. Joseph’s.

Group Sessions

The remainder of the evening and the next day was spent in small, self-managed group discussions utilizing the appreciative inquiry 4-D cycle process of:

At the conclusion of this process, parish goals for the next five to seven years were identified.

Actions steps were shaped in the following areas and teams were formed to develop plans for the realization of these goals:

As the discussions took place, graphic recorder and artist Diana Arsenian documented each step of the process with words and drawings on large boards.

At the close of the day, planning chair Linda Beaston said, "It is obvious the Holy Spirit is alive in our community!"

Sessions were facilitated by parishioner and A-I expert Dr. Frank Barrett and fellow parishioner Dr. Bob Montgomery.