When I was at the International Catholic Stewardship Council’s annual meeting in Dallas last month, I made note of some emerging trends in the work of Stewardship across the country.

I presented a workshop on “From Maintenance to Mission: Developing a Parish Strategic Plan” in a new track ICSC created for parish administrators and business managers. I was told to expect about 100 people—and 150 showed up! There were a number of comments along the lines of “It’s about time ICSC recognized our importance,” but the participants also expressed appreciation for ICSC’s efforts to bridge the gap between Stewardship and the business side of parish life.

Another emerging trend in the field of Stewardship is the growing emphasis on balancing Stewardship of Treasure with Stewardship of Time and Talent. The Gallup organization, which has a division focused on faith-based organizations, has adapted its StrengthsFinder assessment tool in an exciting development that is taking off in parishes across the country. StrengthsFinder helps parishes assess the level of engagement of their parishioners in the life of the parish. With this assessment, parishes can create strategies for increasing parishioners’ commitment of time and talent.

Have you noticed other new ideas and trends in Stewardship in your parish or diocese? Add to the dialogue by leaving a comment on this article.

Some Best Practices for Stewardship

A best practice for Stewardship Commissions is to do personal follow-ups with any parishioner who does not submit a stewardship renewal form during the normal fall renewal process. By following up in person, it lets the parishioner know:

• We noticed you did not participate and you have in years past.
• We are calling to make sure all is well with your household…Is there anything the parish can do if there has been a change in their financial status.
• We want to thank them for their support in the past.

Especially in this economy, a parish should never accept no response as acceptable.

What are some of the Best Practices used in your parish or diocese? Share them with all our readers–make a comment on this post.

Carol Guenther, Consultant, Mediator
The Reid Group

As the leaves change and the winds of November grow chillier, we are reminded that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  It is a good thing to take time to give thanks for the leaders, people, events and good graces in our lives.

Leaders and organizations would do well to keep this in mind when beginning a planning process or dealing with change and transition.  It’s important for leaders to express thanks for the good people and experiences alive in the organizations they care about.  One specific way to do this is through an approach called Appreciative Inquiry.

This approach was pioneered by David Cooperrider and his colleagues at Case Western Reserve University in the early 1980s.  It invites leaders as well as planning consultants to appreciate what is working well, what is already bringing life to an organization.  It contrasts with more traditional approaches to planning processes that usually begin with a focus on the problems or struggles within an organization.

Appreciative Inquiry involves four steps of group reflection:

Discover – appreciate what is

Dream – imagine what might be

Design – determine what should be

Deliver – create what will be

In her book, Appreciative Inquiry in the Catholic Church, Susan Star Paddock illustrates the differences between traditional approaches to planning and change processes and Appreciative Inquiry:

Through using Appreciative Inquiry, leaders help to generate new energy, enthusiasm and passion.  They build on what’s working while exploring ways of creating new possibilities that have the capacity to bring more new life to organizations and the people who work in them.

In this season of Thanksgiving, we are grateful to all of our clients and e-letter readers for bringing new life to those of us who call The Reid Group home.

John Reid
The Reid Group