This faith community self-assessment tool is designed to help you select an appropriate pace to set your Welcoming Journey, from the cautious to the adventuresome. In conjunction with the Building an Inclusive Church (BIC) Toolkit, these may serve as helpful guides to both the pace a Welcoming Journey should take and your faith community's overall temperament when considering disputed subjects.
Scoring is from 1 to a possible 5 points and is question-specific; for questions that do not seem applicable or may be unknown, score those with a "3." Each person participating in the assessment process should take the assessment individually, as one person may experience their community differently based on roles and circumstances. Each person should total the score on the Worksheet. See further scoring instructions at the end of this Worksheet.
There is no perfect template for how to do this Welcoming Journey “correctly” in a faith community. Each core team is encouraged to adapt or develop its own curriculum and plan moving forward. Building the most suitable journey for your situation takes careful attention. Remember, as always, the building of solid relationships across ideological and affinity group lines, along with real engagement in the journey by a significant percentage of active community members are the best predictors of probable success.
Be critical and honest when you complete this Faith Community Assessment tool. It will not help you or your faith community to characterize the community differently than it really is. The best use of this Assessment is as a springboard for discussion and development of your own insights.
Note: Your results are private and will not be shared. As you engage with this tool, there may be terms unfamiliar and need ongoing learning around. ReconcilingWorks offers a variety of resources on our website which can begin that individual learning and deepen awareness. Check out the ReconcilingWorks resource page at https://www.reconcilingworks.org/resources/.
