Imagine St. Basil's... Report

          The recommendations in the report are the result of an Appreciative Inquiry conducted between November 3, 2015 and January 28, 2017. The purpose of this Inquiry was to “Chart a Path for St. Basil’s into the Future.” This report is submitted by the “Imagine St. Basil’s…” Design Team, a group of 15 parishioners who facilitated the Appreciative Inquiry process. Over 18 months an average of 75 parishioners engaged directly in 4 phases of an Appreciative Inquiry process. Parishioners experienced positive, personal, and profound dialogues with one another along the journey.

          In Phase I, we affirmed instances of “St. Basil’s at its Best” and generated the “Positive Core of St. Basil’s” statement. In Phase II, parishioners shared their dreams for St. Basil’s and exposed the positive underlying conditions required to turn dreams into reality. Articulated as a “Provocative Possibility” statement, these underlying conditions spoke to St. Basil’s approach to governance as the parish moves forward in this era of its nearly 60 year history. The combination the Positive Core and Provocative Possibility statements reflects the hearts and minds of parishioners at precisely the moment in the process when we began to shift our attention from “Imagine St. Basil’s…” to “St. Basil’s Imagined.”

          In Phase III, lay members of the parish examined dreams in themes and the underlying conditions through the lenses of intentional communication and collaboration among Ministries. They discerned what would be achievable, always in light of the Positive Core and Provocative Possibility statements.

          Finally, in Phase IV, parish ministry leaders and parishioners-at-large met in an all-day Summit and mapped new relationships among and across ministry groupings, with the Pastoral Council, Finance Council and the Pastor. This report serves as a record of the process leading to the final recommendations of the Design Team based on the conclusions of parishioners.

          The way forward calls on us to: communicate intentionally, collaborate widely, chart continuously, plan collegially, remain positive, and be true to the Positive Core of St. Basil’s. We set out to chart the path ahead. This document is that chart which lays out the underlying conditions necessary for St. Basil’s parish, its parishioners, and successive pastors to move forward together.

Margo Latimer  Maria Amadio  Marie Coombs  Susan Fekete
Ann-Christina Gamillscheg  Kathy Czerny  Elizabeth Elliot
John Jiang    Qing Yang      JP Lamberti    Gerard Lewis
    Andre St. Jacques   David Casey   Mary Whelan
Peter Newlands