Are We There Yet? How Long Does Change Take?  What does change mean for you? Is it something you embrace, or even run toward? Or do you live by “Why change what’s working?,” considering doing something new only when your current situation has become unworkable, and that plodding along in it is no longer an option.
But we live in a world of constant change, each of us – in the wider world; in our communities; and in work, family, and personal life. Change in and of itself is not directional. We like to think that change always sweeps us in a positive and progressive direction, but sometimes it doesn’t. That ambiguity about change makes it difficult to deal with, sometimes creating a temptation to decide to just keep things “the way they are.”
However, the last two years have forced communities of faith to directly confront changes that were perhaps brewing for a while, but just not needing urgent attention until the pandemic hit. Now that changed communities of faith have reopened, how do they stay open to change and energetic knowing that we’re now in a “new normal” and can’t go back to the way things were?
Change is “feeling work,” which can make it both exhilarating and exhausting. On top of the pandemic, we’re living in a complex cultural moment in which marginalized groups are trying to make progress on multiple fronts. As we struggle with issues of diversity and inclusion, listening and learning, reconciliation and relationship, change isn’t always easy or comfortable. Often there’s grief involved, and perhaps as a society we need to put more thought into the value of letting people “feel their feelings” as part of the process of dealing constructively with change.
Part of that may be realizing as well that change does not have be grand and sweeping for everyone. Incremental change can make a significant difference over an extended period, and what might seem like small and unimportant change on which to focus for one person may be life-changing for another person.
What if the most important question about change is: “What’s the best way adapt and respond to change?” Because if change is indeed constant, we will never “get there” – but if we can figure out how to work with it, we can use change as a tool to make things great things happen… together!
Listen to the EDGE staff discuss change in their latest EDGEy Conversation.
[Image credit: Gary Bendig on Unsplash.com] |
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A Theory of Change Creates Results! Learn More This Summer  A “train-the-trainer” version of the Theory of Change workshop is running this summer! This session is geared towards participants who want guidance leading their stakeholders through the Theory of Change process, but individuals who want to develop a Theory of Change on their own are invited to participate as well.
Is the Theory of Change workshop for you? Do you need to: - Determine your mission and learn how to fulfill on it?
- Conduct strategic planning with your board?
- Write more compelling grants?
- Excite and align board, staff, and volunteers?
- Improve your efficiency?
- Evaluate your effectiveness?
A Theory of Change is an organization’s story of how it believes change will unfold. Working on a Theory of Change aids creative thinking, strengthens effectiveness, provides a solid framework for evaluation, and helps demonstrate the impact that an organization envisions. A Theory of Change can align stakeholders and community to a faith community’s larger mission and help them understand their role in achieving it.
The Theory of Change workshop runs for eight weeks starting June 13, with Zoom sessions once a week and work to complete between session. By the end of the workshop, you will know how to determine the precise link between a program’s activities and outcomes for the purpose of planning, participation, and evaluation. Your work with facilitator Chris Rotolo and the other course participants will help you see how you can break your organization’s work down into its component parts, differentiating between things like “what you do” and “what you achieve.” The resulting product will guide and focus your work, helping you increase intentionality and purpose. This collaborative process will help you significantly improve your spiritual, social, ecological, and financial impact and more effectively create the change your organization desires.
All communities of faith are welcome to take the Theory of Change workshop!
Please register here.
If you have any questions, please email the facilitator at chrisrotolo@gmail.com.[Image credit: Geralt on Pixabay.com] |
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Other Learning Opportunities  Mark your calendars for these opportunities to connect with others and learn new skills!- Leading Adaptively: Starting May 26 This three session Zoom course helps you discover new ways to lead adaptively with skills you already have. You will encounter the core theory of adaptive leadership in a vibrant new way and come away with useable practices to reinvigorate your day-to-day leadership journey. The course covers the six core competencies of leadership (competencies you already have!); how to understand and change the culture of your congregation; and how conflict is a leadership resource you can steward wisely. Instructor Clara King has spent 15 years studying adaptive leadership, and nine years as a Priest leading adaptive change in the Anglican Diocese of Calgary and beyond. Register, and find out more.
- Idea Day: June 6, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. An opportunity to hear about innovative ideas from others and to present your idea and get feedback on it. Register, and find out more.
Email edge@united-church.ca with any questions.[Image credit: Nick Morrison on Unsplash.com] |
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Embracing the Spirit is a learning network and innovation fund. It offers funding and support for innovation ideas hatched out of faith communities and communities in ministry. Some of the stories and best practices that are happening throughout The United Church of Canada are shared in this newsletter. If you have an idea that you want to launch, reach out and tell us about it! Proposal deadlines are quarterly, and due on the 15th of the month: January, April, July and October. Find out more. |
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