national stewardship conference july 2013 hope amidst uncertainty listening to your community
TRANSCRIPT
National Stewardship Conference July 2013Hope Amidst Uncertainty
Listening to your Community
“I had to learn how to hear all over again – to discriminate what was important
from interference, to distinguish
signal from noise”David Runcorn,
author and trainer
Listening is:“… a conscious willed action requiring alertness and vigilance, by which our whole attention is focussed and controlled.”Mother Mary Clare, spiritual guide
Listening is:“… above all else the capacity to be faithfully present to another person.”
David Runcorn, author and trainer
Listening is…“a wholly lived, embodied process
which requires the opening of the self
and a relinquishing of control…it is a tentative process,
involving vulnerability on both sides…”
David Runcorn, author and trainer
“…there is no such thing as casual
listening: all real listening is
deliberate, intentional” David Runcorn, author and trainer
“Listening requires a face to see,
lips to read and a hospitable environment.
It calls for a turning towards the
other” David Runcorn,
author and trainer
Information Triangle
Creative Ideas to find out more about your community
See Handouts
Restore COMMUNITY
One community consultation, 5 Activities
1. Buckets – to vote for different activities they
would like to see happening in the centre
2. Balloons – to celebrate what’s good about the area
3. A map on the wall – for people to write on problems or concerns about the local area
4. Problems in pictures - for people to vote with a sticker which they thought were the area’s biggest problems
5. Computers - one to fill in an online survey and one to make prayer requests
In the middle of the room there were chairs where people could sit and enjoy tasty and free refreshments
Aim: to use all the information they gathered to shape the services they provide in the community centre and to apply for funding
Hearing the Hidden Voices…
…of celebration Listen for the
positives: for the hopes,
dreams and aspirations
Then find ways to celebrate together!
Hearing the Hidden Voices…
…of sufferingSpeak up for those who
cannot speak for themselves:
ensure justice for those who are being crushed
Proverbs 31: 8
• People with disabilities• People with learning difficulties• The homeless – not just rough sleepers…• The mentally ill• Young people – what about those who don’t hang
around on the streets or go to youth clubs?• Parents – how many are at the end of their tether?• The housebound and those in residential homes• Those with dementia • Hidden (family) carers• The bereaved
Listening to your Community
“The difficulties are obvious… But is there is something truly sacramental about those moments when what is being offered is truly heard and received”
David Runcorn, author and trainer