The Catholic Community of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

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About Us Appreciative Inquiry

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To better help you understand what Appreciative Inquiry is all about, you might find it helpful to look at the following documents. The first is the PowerPoint presentation from the October 20, 2007 Summit. You can view the presenter's notes by hovering over the conversation bubble icon in the upper left corner of the slides. The second two are the forms used during the interview and to summarize what was discussed.

 

Appreciative Inquiry: Building Community by Sharing Stories & Discovering  Dreams

Imagine a world where the focus is on what is good and what is life-giving and on doing more of it!  This is the world of Appreciative Inquiry.

The community of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is extremely generous.  In the spirit of building greater community we have kicked off a parish wide Appreciative Inquiry for the purpose of sharing our stories of stewardship and drawing more and more parishioners into this life of service to generously share time, talent, and treasure.

What is appreciative inquiry?  It is a process that invites parishioners to inquire about what most “gives life” to the community of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Through Appreciative Inquiry we search for the best experiences & discover “what is already working” in the parish rather than “what needs to be fixed.”  The focus of an Appreciative Inquiry is on life-giving forces instead of  problems. 

 Appreciative Inquiry has four phases:                        

      • Discover – Appreciate what is   
      • Dream – Imagine what might be
      • Design – Determine what should  
      • Destiny – Sustaining/on-going learning

Quotes that have come from recent interviews:

  • “I get more out of <serving in> the ministries than the people we help.”
  • “There are a ton of good people willing to do good things for others with no strings attached.”
  • “St. Elizabeth’s is home.”

Appreciative Inquiry Circles

Every parishioner is invited to participate over the next year.  Appreciative Inquiry Circles are already underway.  An Appreciative Inquiry Circle is where a group of parishioners get together, pair up and interview each other.  This has taken place with small communities within our community, such as bible studies and Renew groups.

Our parish goal is to have at least 1500 parishioners participate.   The path to get there is through cascading activity.  For example, you are interviewed, then you interview some friends, and so on.  Or you hold an AI circle and participants go out from there and in turn interview others.  

While we will also be holding some larger scale events where interviews will take place, we need continuous movement with “grassroots” activity.  Please consider how you might help us keep momentum going.

If you are interested in holding an Appreciative Inquiry circle or an individual interview, please contact Brenda Bonin at b.bonin@verizon.net or Judy Huettner in the parish office at 972-596-5505. 

 

 Call for Involvement

 

 

"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."
Mother Teresa

 

"From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
Ephesians 4:16

 

 
  

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