Gather the Wisdom, Weave a Dream

Gather the Wisdom, Weave a Dream is a resource for leaders and planners who wish to guide their faith communities through the turbulent waters of deep change and transformation. It is for communities at a crossroads who can no longer go on as they have in the past, yet do not wish to simply care for their remaining members, settle their affairs, and come to "completion." It is for those who wish to discern a deeper invitation at these Graced Crossroads and create a vision for the future that is truly transformative, one that promises to bring forth new meaning and purpose to the lives of their members. While faith communities resonate with the idea of transformation and possibilities for new life, little is written on how to go about it. Although I have long cautioned communities that there are no formulaic solutions for such transformative endeavors, neither are we completely at a loss with what to do. There are universal principles and processes known to be involved in both personal and communal transformation. And there is an array of possible approaches that has proven to be successful, as well as a host of pitfalls that ought to be avoided. It is the application of these principles and processes that has yet to be sufficiently spelled out and this book aims to address this gap. I will put forth ideas, guidelines, and concrete examples as departure points to help leaders and planners create their own approach. Each community will need to creatively draw upon and tailor these ideas to fit their unique circumstances. The material provided will give leaders and planners the working knowledge they will need to maximize the possibility of personal, communal, and systemic transformation.

Gather the Wisdom, Weave a Dream is a resource for leaders and planners who wish to guide their faith communities through the turbulent waters of deep change and transformation. It is for communities at a crossroads who can no longer go on as they have in the past, yet do not wish to simply care for their remaining members, settle their affairs, and come to "completion." It is for those who wish to discern a deeper invitation at these Graced Crossroads and create a vision for the future that is truly transformative, one that promises to bring forth new meaning and purpose to the lives of their members. This book offers an approach to visioning that is novel, one that includes and yet transcends conventional planning methods. It is an approach integrally connected to the soulwork I believe is too often neglected but nonetheless essential for the successful transformation of persons and communities. This work is an effort to directly connect the outer work of change with the inner work of transformation. While faith communities resonate with the idea of transformation and possibilities for new life, little is written on how to go about it. Although I have long cautioned communities that there are no formulaic solutions for such transformative endeavors, neither are we completely at a loss with what to do. There are universal principles and processes known to be involved in both personal and communal transformation. And there is an array of possible approaches that has proven to be successful, as well as a host of pitfalls that ought to be avoided. It is the application of these principles and processes that has yet to be sufficiently spelled out and this book aims to address this gap. I will put forth ideas, guidelines, and concrete examples as departure points to help leaders and planners create their own approach. Each community will need to creatively draw upon and tailor these ideas to fit their unique circumstances. The material provided will give leaders and planners the working knowledge they will need to maximize the possibility of personal, communal, and systemic transformation. This book is meant to be a resource, not some kind of blueprint for transformation. There is no such thing. I do not presume to think that what I am offering is the only way to approach visioning or communal transformation. However, this is one way I have used and evolved over the years that I have found to be highly effective. The communities who I have accompanied, and who have engaged in this work, have found it to be integral to their larger efforts to transform their lives and birth a new way of being.

Dr. Ted Dunn is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Comprehensive Consulting Services, Trinity, FL. He has experience as a consultant, facilitator, professor, psychotherapist, and supervisor to professionals in the field of mental health. He obtained his undergraduate training at Ohio State University, and his Master's and Doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from St. Louis University. He completed his graduate training in 1985 following his internship at Rutgers Medical School in New Jersey where he concentrated on psychodynamic psychotherapy and systems interventions. He has advanced training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute as well as family therapy and systems applications from masters in the field (e.g., Jay Haley, Salvador Minuchin, Virginia Satir and Monica McGoldrick). He has extensive experience with psychological assessment methods and has consulted, taught, published, developed labs for hospitals, and served as an expert witness in these fields. As an outgrowth of his clinical experience, Dr. Dunn's practice has evolved and today focuses upon consultation, training and facilitation services provided to Catholic religious communities and other faith-based organizations throughout the United States and internationally. He has been working with religious men and women since the 1980's and sees his training and experience as particularly suited for this population. He has written extensively about Religious Life and regularly facilitates and presents at Chapters and conferences across the globe. He consults with leadership teams and assists communities in planning, visioning, and communal discernment. His current focus is on guiding communities who are discerning God's call to new life through processes of deep change and transformation. His recent books – Graced Crossroads and The Inner Work of Transformation – demonstrate his capacity to integrate spirituality, psychology and systems theory. The integration of spirituality, psychology and value-based skills are key to his efforts. Though the approaches and populations he has served have varied over the years, his compassionate approach to healing, belief in the natural resiliency of the human spirit, and personal commitment to life-long learning remain the foundation to all his professional endeavors. These are the bedrock to his current call to minister to faith-based organizations, empowering them to live well and mutually partner in creating a future.