You've been warned.
So, today for the first time ever I rocked facilitating an Open Space Technology gathering. Why, thank you.
I will admit. I was pretty much cold sweating a bit there over if I would be tarred and feathered for not having an agenda. I stared at the invitation for a community conversation email going out to like 150 or so people for a few minutes. I actually had to look away as I pushed send. What, you are a dorky community organizer like me and want to see the invitation?
Dear Community Members,
The _____________ would like to open our monthly July 7th meeting time and space to invite you all to join us in a community conversation around moving forward in caring for our community’s children and families. We all are aware these times have been stressful on us all and on community families and many of us are unsure what the months ahead hold. However, we believe that as a community what we can do is come together to have a space to acknowledge the barriers we have and name the elephants in our rooms, but also to recognize and celebrate the assets and resources that remain in our community and come together to sustain a strong community united in supporting children and families. We may not know all the answers, but we feel the best place to start is with the conversation.
This invitation is open to anyone in the community who would like to join in this conversation around sustaining a strong community united in supporting children and families. Please feel welcome to pass this invitation on to others in our community. We will be meeting from 8:30-10:30am on Wednesday, July 7th. We will also open the space for a conversation from 5:30-7:30pm on this same day. We will be serving a light meal at these conversations, so we do ask that you RSVP if you are able to join us so we can plan accordingly. We will be meeting at _____________. The direction of this conversation will be led by you community members who choose to participate and based on the topics the group chooses to have conversations around. Please feel welcome to bring any topics pertaining to sustaining a strong community united in supporting children and families you wish to discuss.
We hope to see you on the 7th! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need additional information.
But guess what happened. People replied. Some thanked us for going out on a limb and offering the space for people to be real. Then I had a whole 'nother round of panic as I realized that this was really going to happen and I was going to have to facilitate a room full of scared people who were probably going to be upset and what if I couldn't answer their questions or no one wanted to talk about anything? And then I breathed. And then I pulled this book off the shelf and brushed up on my open space technology facilitation know-how. Then I hauled tables all around a room and set up the space just so. And then this morning came and people were here.
Then there was an internal panic attack that people wouldn't want to stay or complain about what they were doing. But they didn't They had topics they wanted to discuss and suddenly I was making my rounds from group to group that were having real conversations about how we sustain a community united in supporting children and families. Conversation was buzzing everywhere. People were sharing with each other and learning from each other. It was a euphoric moment for a community organizer. And we did it.
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