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Victoria Atkinson White: Organizations can benefit from a new start in the new year
Resolutions aren’t just for individuals. How might your community grow if it learns from what used to be and leans into what might be?
Institutional innovation
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Bishop James Hazelwood created an interactive card game as a companion to his book, "Everyday Spirituality." These cards are designed to begin conversations about spirituality. Image courtesy of James Hazelwood
James Hazelwood: Find spirituality in the everyday
The ELCA bishop encourages readers to search for God and spirituality in their lived experiences.
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Aaron Kuecker: A small college, a large entrepreneurial incubator and a transformative network
The provost of Trinity Christian College says the partnership with 1871 has helped the school answer two significant institutional leadership questions: In what ways has God given us all that we need for life and faithfulness in this present moment? And what does it mean to be here and not somewhere else?
The Walking Woman is a symbol of "emboldened women striding into the future with faith, courage and conviction," according to the college's website. Photo courtesy of College of St. Mary
Maryanne Stevens: Focus on what's core to your mission
College of St. Mary, a once-struggling Catholic women’s college, has found new life by refocusing on its mission, translating it to today and finding new niches of women to serve -- single moms, immigrants and others -- says the school president.
Robert Grove-Markwood: The legacy of the past allows us to have a future
When board members of Bangor Theological Seminary realized they could no longer sustain a traditional theological school, they decided to use the remaining endowment to create something new: The BTS Center.
Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta calls itself a "maker community." Students from preschool to high school learn by solving problems and building prototypes. Photos courtesy of Mount Vernon Presbyterian School
Christian school embraces design thinking to help form creative, empathetic citizens
Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta wasn't satisfied with only changing its physical space and teaching methods. School leaders also created a nonprofit institute to encourage other educators to adopt the model.
Photo courtesy of Texas Annual Conference
Janice Riggle Huie: The right people, the right place and an opportunity to make all things new
An innovative ministry at Houston’s Westbury UMC is like a fragile plant that needs time to grow, says the bishop of the UMC Texas Annual Conference.
Lean Lab events focus on asking questions and coming up with solutions from people at the bottom of the flowchart, an approach that has helped open up a large institution to new ideas.
Photos courtesy of The Lean Lab
Innovation incubator empowers teachers and others to create change in Kansas City schools
By encouraging innovation, The Lean Lab shows that change is possible even in large institutions. The nonprofit is creating an interdisciplinary community among people who often feel isolated and expected to do the impossible.
Paul S. Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation, visits with students in a school supported by the foundation, which works with community members, state and local governments, and other institutions to improve health and vitality of greater Boston.
Images courtesy of the Boston Foundation
Paul S. Grogan: How a community foundation becomes a civic leader
The Boston Foundation envisions its role as more than just a philanthropy; it also serves as a civic leader, says the foundation president in this Q&A.
Disruptive innovation or just disruptive?
In a time when congregations and related institutions need to experiment to make the work more sustainable, we need to discern which innovations to nurture. The discernment process starts with a simple question: Why?