Building Blocks for Spiritually Grounded Organizational Life

 

Fetzer’s sacred-centered community is made possible by intentional design for individual, small group, and full community engagement; dedicated stewards and resources; and supportive organizational conditions. We outline each of these elements and their underlying ‘building blocks’ below. Much of this content can be found sprinkled throughout the core design principles and templates. Our intent is to provide, in one place, a comprehensive list of the many enablers for Fetzer’s community.

 

 

Organizational Conditions: Supportive Leadership, Culture, Structures, Practices and Benefits

Leadership and Culture:

• Aligned and shared guiding purpose and mission that includes dedication to embodying the change they seek.
• Commitment to being a deliberately developmental organization and community.
• Long-term, consistent allegiance to cultivating sacred-centered community. Willingness to stay with it, confront and hold persistent challenges, experiment and iterate. 
• Leadership modeling their own spiritual engagement.
• Cultural permission for staff to prioritize and dedicate time to spiritual growth, without negatively impacting their workload.

Organizational Structures and Practices:

• Organizational culture department that weaves together efforts across various functional areas, including Human Resources and Bridging & Belonging, to do the work internally that Fetzer seeks to catalyze in the world.
• Intentional hiring processes support prospective employees to understand Fetzer’s guiding purpose, mission, organizational culture and expectations for engagement in spiritual development at individual and communal levels.
• Shared meals. Daily offering of lunch and the opportunity to gather with colleagues and guests in the dining room. 
• 2 p.m. quiet time. An invitation to take 20 minutes each day for stillness, renewal and care of Spirit.
• Sacred Practice Room. A quiet room in Fetzer’s main building where staff can meditate, pray, rest, and engage in movement practices.
• The ritual of starting meetings and convenings with a grounding, reflective practice.

Staff Benefits:

• Time and financial support for individual spiritual development (e.g. participation in retreats, courses, spiritual direction).
• Free opportunity for personal and family retreat at GilChrist, a Fetzer operated retreat center.
• Well-being benefits, such as access to a subsidized healthy lunch at the office, wellness consultations, fitness center, fitness classes, monthly massage/bodywork.
• Access to mental health and trauma resources.
• Flexible time off.
• Paid volunteer time and 2:1 donation matching.

 

Stewardship and Time for Communal and Individual Spiritual Growth

Dedicated COFG Stewardship:

• Staff who are wholly dedicated to community members’ spiritual care and growth, which involves:
  • Ongoing spiritual care for the community. 
  • Designing and holding the COFG with community member input and creation.
  • Coordination of holistic spiritual development program.
• Monthly meetings to guide the development of the COFG with Institute leaders who are experts in adult learning and development, as well as spiritual development and formation. 
• An advisory group of key stakeholders and leaders at Fetzer who meet twice a year to offer feedback, insight, and connections with developments in the field of spirituality.

Dedicated COFG Time:

• Every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon for full community or individual/small group time.
• An “After-party” following the Tuesday morning session, which functions as an optional extension over lunch for community members to continue the dialogue, connect with session facilitators, and transition to the rest of their workday.

Full Community: Full Community Sessions Every Other Week that are Invitational, Inclusive, Co-created, Consistent, Developmental and Adaptive

Invitational

• While holding Tuesday mornings for spiritual exploration is required, staff have the freedom to choose how to engage. They can always opt out if the practice or nature of engagement does not feel right for them. 

Inclusive

• Full community sessions are designed with an expansive understanding of spirituality and related journeys. Participants are invited to explore faith and spirituality in the everyday through practices that incorporate art, music, nature, and play. They are also exposed to a wide range of faith traditions, including those not commonly practiced by staff.
  • Participants are invited to use the spiritual, religious, or moral language most authentic to them and to speak from lived experience rather than abstraction or debate.
  • Session facilitators use expansive and inclusive language and practices in order to provide a wide range of entry points for inviting in Fetzer’s diverse community members. 
• Session facilitators and speakers come from a wide range of spiritual traditions, cultures, identities, disciplines, ages, and teaching styles. Diversity of perspective deepens the community’s capacity for belonging and spiritual imagination.

Co-Created

• Gatherings are guided and designed collaboratively, using advisory bodies, session-specific planning communities, and ad hoc engagement.
• Community members are regularly invited to share their experiences and practices. 

Consistent, Values-Aligned Container

• Grounding in Fetzer’s core values: love, trust, authenticity and belonging.
• Consistent design of full community time (opening practice, sharing/presentation/experience, connection and discussion in small groups, closing practice) .

Developmental

• Ongoing attention to the overarching learning potential, with sessions that build on each other and weave in priority topics.
• Intentional capacity-building related to organizational mission and values, such as cultivating authentic relationship with the Sacred and engaging in contemplative practices.
• Attention to scaffolding for productive communal dialogue, including fostering capabilities like the growing comfort with “both/and” realities and the ability to engage across differences.
• Offering a range of ways to interact with presented material, emphasizing experiential learning.

Reflective and Adaptive

• Formal and informal practices for seeking and incorporating feedback, including surveys after full community sessions and ad hoc check-ins with community members throughout the week.
• Annual review process that informs priorities and planning for the coming year.

 

Small Groups: Self-organized and Resourced Small Groups During Individual/Small Group Exploration that Make Space for Deep Connection and Mutual Support

Self-Organized

• Community members are free to identify areas of shared interest for spiritual deepening. Past examples include liturgical dance, prayer, spiritual parenting, and connecting to pursue other shared interests. Members of these small groups determine the structure and duration of their gatherings.

Resourced:

• Financial resources are available for session facilitators and to support small group spiritual explorations.

Deep Connection and Mutual Support

• Small groups typically open up possibilities for members to connect deeply and support one another in their respective social, emotional, and spiritual development.

 

Individual: Space and Resources to Explore One’s Own Spiritual Path in the Way that Best Meets Individual Needs During Individual/Small Group Time

Self-Directed

• Staff have the freedom (as well as access to guidance) to shape how they want to explore their faith and spirituality and pursue related activities at their own discretion during self-directed COFG time. 

Resourced

• In addition to the above-mentioned individual spiritual development benefits, staff are invited to request resources or materials such as books, art supplies, altar items, contemplative tools, or virtual spiritual direction for use during COFG time. These resources are intended to honor the many ways individuals engage in spiritual and faith development across diverse traditions, expressions, and stages of life.
• Ability to commit time to individual spiritual exploration