Church Development Institute         Seattle, WA

General Information on Seattle CDI

To: Participants in the Church Development Institute

You may begin CDI with any summer.

Schedule

On the first day (Monday) at 9:00 a.m. bring your own coffee if you want it. The M Street Market at 8th & Madison has a coffee shop.

On the Friday at the program's conclusion please schedule your flight for after 1:00 p.m. or plan to leave on Saturday.

In 2009, 11, 13 --  the Sunday morning in-between weeks is part of the program. We visit Episcopal parishes in the region as part of our learning process on organizational culture. Please keep your Sunday schedule free for this activity.

Schedule for 2008, 10, 12

Schedule for 2009, 11, 13

There may be some changes. Please note that we start at 9:00 a.m. most days. Sometimes changes are made to the schedule. Keep your schedule flexible.

Location of Seattle CDI -- Trinity Church, Seattle 

Housing

Participants make their own arrangements for housing.

Meals

Participants eat all meals in area restaurants, at their own expense. Or cook in their apartments.

There will be social gatherings on Tuesday evenings during the program. All participants are expected to participate - it is part of building a learning community. See the schedule.  Spouses, partners, and children are welcome. We usually go to an area restaurant. Participants cover their own costs.

Advance Work

All Participants - Complete all readings e-mailed as attachments prior to the summer session.

The items not in the participant manual that you may want to bring with you are the interviews, Fill All Things (i.e., Renewal-Apostolate Cycle, Benedictine Promise, Shape of the Parish, Christian Life Model), and other items specifically identified.

Just about everything else is in the manual. It is sent by e-mail attachment to allow you to save it on your computer. Many participants like having it in that form so they can make copies for use in the parish.

A brief test on content is administered early in the first week. The test is sent after you register. It is fairly basic and is entirely based on material you have received by e-mail or that can be found in other required readings. You must pass the test to continue in the program. If needed you are given several tries in the first few days. This allows all the participants to know that others are coming with some basic conceptual understanding. It also frees us to spend little time on basic theory presentations and allows us to focus on the application of theory, the dynamics involved in making interventions, and developing a deeper understanding of the theory.

For Track 1 participants (new participants)

Complete the "Three Interview Process." 

For Track 2 participants (those returning)

You must have completed, and sent in, your Congregational Development Project Report by April 20

You must have completed all required readings (or be close)

You must have actively participated in your Learning-Application Team

This work is essential for your participation in the program. If you will not be able to fully complete the work you should drop out of the program and consider returning another year.

If you are unclear about what is meant by congregational development or organization development or you are unfamiliar with the history of congregational development in the Episcopal Church.

 

Some Guidelines

• Participants must be present for all sessions; no late arrivals or early departures. The group may be asked to begin early on the last day to help people deal with air travel. Please allow yourself adequate travel time at both ends of the program. All the more reason to consider seeing this as a full two weeks – take some time off before and after CDI.
• The program is not intended for leaders in congregations experiencing significant conflict. The staff is willing to suggest resources that may be useful in such situations
• The program is very demanding. Participants who are having a difficult time coping with stress or are experiencing significant emotional difficulties should postpone attending the program.
• You are asked to accept responsibility for your own learning process. One aspect of that is for you to make sure that CDI fits your needs. On occasion we have a participant seeking a lot of lecturing, or on the other hand a participant seeking a lot of time on "group processing". CDI includes both and more. But the overall process is a variety that participants have found useful over the years. Please do not register if you are not sure that CDI's approach is what you want. 
• Participation in CDI does require a certain amount of personal flexibility and a willingness to work with the learning process as it is.  If you begin to participate in CDI and find that the approach is wrong for you -- you may leave the program and we will explore a partial refund. If the training staff decides that your difficulty with the learning process is distracting others from learning what is offered in CDI -- you will be asked to leave the program and a partial refund may be offered.

Reading List

The reading list

Read -- In 2008 (Cycle One) -- 

1. In The Hope of Glory: Congregational Options -- specifically  Elements of a Diocesan Parish Development System, Parish Size: Categories, Dynamics and Issues.

2. Survey Feedback  (sent by e-mail),

3. Exam related` material (sent by e-mail)

4. Fill All Things (that may depend on how well you read it).

5. f you get the chance read -- The Character of Organizations, William Bridges, CPP, 1992. (Focus on pp. 1-31 and 69 –107; Use the Index pp. 129 – 138 and the descriptions pp.33-67 to identify your congregation's type. )

Bring With You

1. All participants -- you will receive a new manual this year (for future years --Track Two participants – bring your manual; Track One (new)– you will be given a manual)
2. Any materials noted on the required reading list as needed for this summer. In 2008 (Cycle One) -- 1) Type booklets, "Introduction to Type in Organizations", S. Krebs Hirsh & J. Kummerow, Consulting Psychologist Press (CPP). -"In the Grip: Understanding Type, Stress and the Inferior Function" Naomi L. Quenk, CPP.2)  In The Hope of Glory: Congregational Options -- specifically  Elements of a Diocesan Parish Development System, Parish Size: Categories, Dynamics and Issues. 3) Survey Feedback  (sent by e-mail), 4)  Fill All Things. Bring to sessions on Wed through Friday of first week.

Worship

Daily worship is a part of the Institute and is open to spouses and partners. We will ask you to assist with the officiating, readings, intercessions, etc.  We use BCP Rite 2 (modified) and supplemental liturgical materials for Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and the Eucharist. The style is participatory and somewhat contemplative.

Certificates

There are three certificate programs related to CDI.

The Institute Certificate -- It is assumed that all Institute participants are in this program. No special registration is required. The program expects full participation in the four weeks, readings, in the back home Learning-Application Teams, and development project reports on work back home. For more information on the make-up process

Certificate in Congregational Development Consulting --This requires completion of the Institute, other workshops, readings, working with a mentor and receiving feedback in your functioning as a consultant.

Certificate in Congregational Development Leadership -The same overall requirements as above except the work focuses on the leadership role.

Costs to Keep in Mind

Required readings cost about $400.00 depending on your ability to use the web to get used copies of some titles; meal costs range from low to somewhat expensive.

Other Things to Do

1. Join and participate in the Congregational Development E-List.  -- sign up as instructed by the Yahoo program. You can arrange your membership to receive one daily e-mail with all postings for the past 24 hours. You are expected to be part of the e-list throughout your participation in CDI. It is also a way to stay in touch with the field and with training opportunities after you have completed CDI
2. Order your books in advance and begin reading
3. Take time to look over the CDI Trainers web site

Be Sure This is For You

We give considerable attention to providing information that allows potential participants to assess whether the program will serve their learning needs. Please carefully consider:

1. The general description of CDI's approach, content, etc.

2. Information on the learning approach 

3. We are in an urban setting with restaurants, coffee shops, lots of traffic and people.

Communications

Most hotels in the area have internet access options. There are several coffee shops with wireless internet access (one is free, other charge a fee). The parish doesn't have a wireless system. You will not be able to use the parish computers or phones. Cell phone serve is generally very good.

Where we meet

We are using Trinity Church meeting rooms and worship space. It is fairly typical of what many parish's have available.

What to Bring

The workshop is informal, so bring casual, comfortable clothes.

The city is more informal than many cities. Average temperature in June is 53 - 69. There is an average of nine rain days in June. If you enjoy going to fine restaurants and the theater you may want to bring something a bit dresser (but maybe not).

Cars

There's no need for you to rent a car for the Seattle CDI. Book into a hotel in walking distance. Public transportation is very good. There is only paid parking near Trinity Church.