Connection, Community, Collaboration

Connection, Community, Collaboration

 

Today was definitely a day of connection and community. We came together for our town hall 'Community Conversation' to discuss the values survey that was done over the summer. There were about 50 of us who gathered at the peace centre.

The first thing that stood out for me was how many people care deeply about the Centre for Spiritual Living Kelowna. I was delighted with the turnout and the level of engagement in the room. The discussion was lively and it was apparent that people are committed to this community.

Derek presented an overview of the survey results. You can see the presentation here. It might be a little confusing without his explanation but basically the survey tells us that as a community we value accountability, love, compassion, and education. We want to see our community develop by fostering continuous improvement, further accountability, open communication, and community collaboration.

We discussed as a large group what this means to us. There were some great ideas shared. One was that people want our community to be a safe place where they feel comfortable to be vulnerable as they grow spiritually. There was also discussion that we need our values to be apparent in our community, not just in what we say, but also in who we are and how we connect with each other. Someone suggested that not only does the community have a responsibility and commitment to its membership but also each member has a commitment to the community. It became clear that some of our newer members are not familiar with our Organizational Design Model and our principles. This is an area of opportunity for our future town hall meetings.

We broke into small groups to delve deeper into a discussion about what accountability means as one of our most important values. We had some juicy discussion in my small group. We talked about the fact that as we are all quite independent thinkers our accountability stems from a commitment to our own spiritual growth rather than from a place of guilt or sense of duty. I shared that sometimes I get so wrapped up in continuous improvement that sometimes I can lose sight of being present and connecting with the other members in community on a Sunday morning.

Each small group submitted some notes from their discussions. The board will bring forward this feedback as an important part of the strategic plan.

If you were not able to be there, please share your thoughts and ideas with the community. What does accountability mean to you? How can the Centre for Spiritual Living Kelowna be more accountable to the principles we espouse? How can you be more accountable to your own spiritual growth and to the community as a whole? Please share your ideas. You can comment on this link on facebook, send a comment through the website, or email Dr. Deborah at revgord @ shaw.ca.