Preparing for a Listening Session with a Staff Parish Relations Committee or Pastor Parish Relations Committee

As you prepare to meet with a Staff Parish or Pastor Parish Relations Committee:

1. Communicate with both the pastor and the S/PPRC chair so that they will know what to expect in the meeting.  Send the Conversational Covenant to the pastor and the S/PPRC chair.   Ask the S/PPRC chair to distribute electronically the Conversational Covenant to the committee and to have hard copies available at the time of the committee meeting.

2. Clarify with the S/PPRC chair who will do the opening devotion or prayer.  Regardless of who offers a devotion or prayer, the S/PPRC chair should introduce the Conflict Transformation Ministers to the group.

3. Decide with your CT Minister partner who will bring what supplies to the meeting.  Possible supplies could be

1. Candle and lighter
2. Hoberman sphere or other talking object
3. Singing bowl or chime
4. Other items for altar

4. Decide how you want to divide the facilitating tasks with your partner.  Possible division of labor:

1. Explanation of the “altar" items, lighting the candle, ringing the bell, and sharing a devotion (if needed or requested).
2. Review of the covenant.
3. Participant self-introductions.  I often ask people to share some of their roles at the church.
4. Focusing questions according to your discernment.  Possible questions:

1. Where do you meet God in your congregation? 
2. What challenges are you facing as a congregation?

5. Utilize the talking object for participants to share responses to the focusing questions.  Typically, one CT Minister facilitates the circle and one CT Minister takes notes.  You can always switch roles in the circle process whether you have agreed upon it in advance or you switch on the fly.  Sometimes a teammate needs a quick back-up!

6. After you have heard from each participant who wishes to speak, you might want to take a 5-minute recess so that you can make sure that the both of you are in agreement on how you will move forward during the remainder of the meeting.  There is no firm rule here, however.  The Spirit will guide you as to whether you want to take a brief break or continue with the session.

7. Close the meeting with prayer and commit to sending a draft summary report with recommendations to the pastor and S/PPRC for their review.  If the S/PPRC chair wishes to send the draft summary report with recommendations to the S/PPRC committee members for their review, that is fine.  The goal is to have the summary report with recommendations be as accurate as possible.  After the pastor, the S/PPRC chair, and—possibly—S/PPRC members have reviewed the draft report and any recommendations for accuracy, you can finalize the document and send it to the pastor and the S/PPRC chair.  The final summary report can also be shared with members of the S/PPRC.