Involving Congregations in Advocacy Now (ICAN) Introduction My Faith and Advocacy The How-tos of Advocacy How to bring advocacy to my congregation Resources Miscellaneous Activities and Handouts

Involving Congregations in Advocacy Now

• How to Start an Advocacy Ministry
• Advocacy Ministry in Your Congregation
• Advocacy Ideas that Work
• Lutheran Office of Public Policy: Action Center
• Building a Network in Your Congregation
• Creating A Network
• Network Tags
• How to Develop an Internet Action Alert
• Using the Public Policy Interest Survey
• Public Policy Interest Survey
• How to Choose Issues
• A Model of What to do if we do not Agree
• Changing the World through Advocacy
• The Open Space Process
• Problem Participants
• Answers to Address Problem Participants

The Open Space Process

Description:
Open Space is a group process that encourages individuals to invite others to engage in a group discussion. It works best when used in between formal meeting times of the group.

Purpose: To surface the issues effecting our work together that members feel passionate about. These issues may or may not be part of the current agenda.

Time: May be ongoing throughout a day with 10 minutes at end to sign up and organize meetings or take a half hour to process a day’s work.

Four Guiding Principles:

1. Whoever participates are the right people
2. Whatever happens is the only thing that could happen
3. Whenever it starts is the right time
4. When it is over it is over

Lay of Two Feet: If, during the course of the gathering, any person finds himself or herself in a situation where he or she is neither learning nor contributing, this individual may use any means of mobility and go to a more productive place.

Getting Started:

• Identify your issue(s)
• Know your passion(s)
• Give a short title to the topic you have a passion for
• Write your topic on a sheet of paper
• Post your issue paper on the wall for all to consider
• All participants are invited to state their issue(s)

All participants are invited to read all the issues and sign their names to the issue/papers where they also have a passion. Those issue/papers with no signatures drop out of the process. The signatures on the issue/paper take responsibility for time and place to meet before the next meeting. This may be in person, over the phone or via e-mail.

Some Observations of the Process:

• The process is self-managed by the group
• The process allows the unspeakable to be spoken
• The process is extremely powerful when no one person has the answer
• The process does not work when a leader/convener tries to control it
• The process is one that builds community
• The process is most effective in situations where a diverse group of people deal with complex and potentially conflicting material in innovative and productive ways
• The process is most effective where there is time at the next meeting to bring any results of the meeting back to the entire group.