Michael,
Thanks for the insight! This does sound like a great opportunity for the city of Elk River and research wise.
In my city (San Antonio, TX), there are efforts to increase spirituality too but I am not sure if these efforts are embraced by the city leadership. It would be nice to work with others to see how efforts such as these can impact the city itself as an entity.
Toward a similar endeavor of introducing or increasing acceptance of spirituality to corporate America, I founded a non-profit last year that is aimed at reducing stress in not only the family unit but ultimately the community-at-large. The name of our organization is Sanctuary of Safety (SOS).
We help reduce stress and use spirituality to this end by offering a fee-based stress management program (Real-life Benefits (RLB)) to companies for thier employees. As Christians and as a faith-based non-profit we do NOT proselytize, we simply provide employee engagment when and where it is needed -- in the workplace. We are available 24/7 and serve the families of those in need as well.
We believe that current stress management programs used by organizations are too passive (i.e. EAPs) and that active engagement is the key to reducing stress. Even though we do NOT proselytize, we can engage the workers spiritually in the manner that suites thier faith (much like a chaplain would). We provide those in stress the outlet by which to vent and heal spiritually. However, if the individual does not desire any spiritual discussion, it is not broached. Anyhow, we also provide a practical direction to address thier current dilemma by providing those in stress with information that will help them immediately in whatever crisis they are having whether it is financially, medically, spiritually, or emotionally related. Our byline is: Real-life solutions to real-life problems in real-time. This is because we provide active (not passive) assistance when it is needed and hopefully before a situations become (seemingly) unmanagable.
The ultimate impact is less stress in the workplace from an employers perspective; less stress at home from a community perspective; the opportunity to be reengaged with spiritual faith, and sometimes introduced to spirituality from an individual perspective. Sometimes introduction to spirituallity occurs because we direct people in need to NOT ONLY traditional non-profits and government agencies to get the help they (i.e. utility bill assistance, wheel chair providers, 12 step programs, prof counseling, free medical clinics, etc...) need but we also MAKE THEM AWARE of church programs that fullfil these same needs. These church programs are often attractive because they are free and/or conveniently located.
Aside from the employees, we also provide engagement to the organization-at-large as they face crises and/or if they desire spiritual guidance in making daily or critical decisions. We also provide this service as a free ministry throughout the community.
Anyhow, I can see how the paths between what Elk River is doing and our newly founded non-profit interesect. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for this insight and ask if you could keep me abreast of others (if any) that take you up on this opportunity. I hope others come forward with an interest in this endeavor as it would make for worthy research.
Sincerely,
Aaron Cuevas
Web:
www.sanctuaryofsafety.org aaron@sanctuaryofsafety.org P.S. SOS is in the process of getting our site up and in developing sales and marketing materials but feel free to peruse our site. The site is sparse but it provides an idea as to our future direction.
Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 21:09:19 -0500
From:
michael@CLARITYFACILITATION.COMSubject: Possible research project: the spiritual transformation of a city
To:
MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU Hi MSR folks,
I know of a possible research project about spirituality in the marketplace that I'd like to interest some of you in.
I met recently with the mayor of a city in Minnesota, Elk River. For about 10 years, the city has had a broad coalition of business, government, and church leaders who are focused on the transformation of the city through "prayer and discipleship." The main coordinating group is called Love Elk River (
http://loveelkriver.org/). The primary indicator they are looking for is "the elimination of systemic poverty." It is a Christian (mostly Evangelical) movement. They point to dramatic changes in the city's suicide rate, economic successes, and many other factors that they think are the result of this movement. I don't agree with all of their philosophy, but I also know that I have a lot to learn from them. There was a small book written about their story:
When I was talking with the mayor, she talked about their desire to track indicators in the city (foreclosure rate, suicide, crime, graduation, etc.) and learn from that where to focus the efforts of their prayer and other actions. I talked with her about how I thought it would be very valuable, for them and others, to also have external researchers track indicators and help learn about the influence their prayer network and actions were having. The mayor was enthusiastic about this idea. Of course, there are oodles of variables that contribute to the changes in those indicators--but I still think there would be rich quantitative/qualitative research possibilities here. I think the Love Elk River leadership, including the mayor, would be very willing to help shape and support the research.
I feel drawn to see if there are connections I can help make to get some research happening about Elk River. Might you be interested in a research project like this? And/or, do you have any suggestions of researchers who might be interested in this type of project?
The primary focus of my own work is not research, but OD consulting with a focus on spirituality and management. I'd like to help other researchers make connections with what is happening in Elk River, and also help locate some funding possibilities.
Thanks for any tips and leads!
Michael Bischoff
--
Michael Bischoff
Consulting:
http://www.clarityfacilitation.comBlog:
http://spiritofinstitutions.blogspot.com612-234-1122
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