Three principles
- Announce Soulspace in a way that seeks permission of the group.
- Consult some of the individuals in the community before you launch it.
- Emphasize that Soulspace is an optional extra.
An example:
Leaders of an evening community meal want to introduce Soulspace before the meal. They sound out some guests over the next three sessions.
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- They explain what Soulspace involves, show them the handout of the outline for Connecting, and stress that it would be entirely optional.
- They ask:
- Do you think people would be interested in this?
- Would you want to come?
- Are there others you know who might be interested?
- Would anyone be offended if we did this on an optional basis?
- When and where would work best?
- Does Soulspace need adapting?
- Any other suggestions?
The response is encouraging, so in the next three sessions they give out a notice to the whole group. They give everyone the handout and explain what Soulspace involves – saying something like this:
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- We are thinking of trying Soulspace in three weeks’ time. We’ve asked a few of you whether this might appeal. They seemed to think it might, so we’re going to try it out.
- We’ll be doing it before the meal at 5.15 in the space at the centre of the church.
- Soulspace is entirely optional and there is absolutely no obligation for you to join in. But everyone is welcome, whatever their beliefs. You can have any faith or no faith. We’d love to see you.
- We want [our cafe/gathering/whatever] to be a welcoming place for you, so if you feel at all uncomfortable about what we are suggesting please let us know.
In other words, the leaders ACED it! They
- announced Soulspace, not as a fait accompli, but in a way that sought permission of the group (‘Let us know if you feel uncomfortable’)
- consulted some of the guests before the announcement, and
- emphasized at every stage that Soulspace was entirely optional
Flyers and handouts on the downloads page may a help when you describe Soulspace.