The Living Your Strengths Journey

The Living Your Strengths Journey At St. Peters Catholic Church

Facilitator Reference Guide

1 Table of Contents

Letter to Facilitator 3

Pre-work 4

Session 1 – Orientation 5

Session 2 – The First Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: The Power 9 of the Right Fit

Session 3 – The Second Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: The 13 World of Talent: Your “Best You” in 34 Themes

Session 4 – The Third Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: Using Your 18 Talents for Growth and Service

Session 5 – The Fourth Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: Finding 21 the Right Fit

Session 6 – The Fifth and Sixth Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: 24 Discovering a Calling

Additional Facilitator Tools and Handouts 28

2 Letter to Facilitator

Hello, Thank you for committing your time and talent for leading a small group session of the Living Your Strengths Journey at St. Peters. As you lead your small groups, we have created the following Facilitator Reference Guide to help customize Gallup’s Living Your Strengths Journey for St. Peter. In this guide you will find that we have made recommendations on allotted times for each activity to help keep your sessions to 90 minutes. This includes information on what must be completed and what can be skipped if you are running low on time. Each session includes Facilitator Notes and a Breakdown of the Module. The Facilitator Notes will give you reminders and hints on how to hold a successful session.

Here are a few tips to make each of your journey sessions successful:

 Read the Facilitator Reference Guide for the coming session.

 Review and update your Journal from your previous small group and answer any questions you did not answer during your small group.

 Start and end each session on time (if necessary ask for someone to be your time keeper to ensure your session holds to the 90 minute time frame).

 Send your participant information (name and strengths) to the church office for their printed name tags. (Suggestion: use the StrengthsFinderTM Chart at the back of the Facilitator Reference Guide). E-mail to Joan Guthrie:

 Provide the Prework Checklist handout to the participants during the first session and refer to this handout at each session to confirm what they need to complete as Reflection work.

o Encourage participants to complete the Prework on a daily basis.

o Send a weekly email to your group to remind them of the next steps, Prework assignments, and to pray for each other, etc.

 Use the StrengthsFinderTM Chart at the back of the Facilitator Reference Guide to capture your participant’s name, top five themes, and contact information. Make copies for each of the participants and hand out during your next journey session.

3 Pre-work

Facilitator Notes:  Due to shortening Gallup’s suggested 7 week program down to 6 weeks, your participants will have some pre-work to complete before attending their first session, The Orientation. Each participant will receive an email that outlines the prework and where to purchase their Living Your Strengths text book and Participant Guidebook along with instructions to begin reading the book and taking the Clifton StrengthsFinder™.

 IMPORTANT NOTE: The Suggested Opening Reflection pieces from Max Lucado’s book Grace for the Moment ® , Volume II. More Inspirational Thoughts for Each Day of the Year, 2006; should not be copied and handed out due to copyright restrictions.

 Refer to the Effective Small Group Management Guide in the Additional Facilitator Tools and Handouts section.

Two weeks prior to first session

 Send Welcome Email to participants. Customize the emailed version that you will receive from the parish office. Welcome Email contains: o The participation fee and when and where to pick up the Living Your Strengths book and Participant Guidebook.

o Instructions to complete the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ and send results to Joan Guthrie not less than one week prior to the first session. Joan will send you a spreadsheet with each person’s name, email address and 5 Significant Themes (Talents).

o Pre-Work Checklist (see Tools & Handouts section) with first session assignment to begin reading the book.

o Facilitators’ contact information, meeting location and time.

One week prior to first session

4  Send reminder email to participants regarding meeting location and time.

 Send any missing participant names and Significant Themes from your spreadsheet to [email protected]

 Prepare name tags from template provided by Joan.

5 Session 1 – Orientation Set-Up  Have copies of the following handouts: o Opening prayer (optional) o Pre-work Email (for those who did not bring theirs) that includes Living Your Strengths Purpose/ St. Peter’s Mission, Vision, & Guiding Parishioner Strengths, and the Prework Checklist. o Description of Talents o Bookmark Prayer o Group Talents spreadsheet that will be sent to facilitators prior to the first session.  Prepare table with candle, lighter and participant name tags.  Write Introduction questions on flipchart.  Prepare bowl with participant’s names on slips of paper.  Have Living Your Strengths book available for reference.

Time Activity Materials 1 min. Begin by welcoming participants and lighting a candle. Candle 2 min. Recite opening prayer: Handout: Prayer

You Have Called Me by Name Oh, Lord my God, You called me from the sleep of nothingness merely because in your tremendous love you want to make good and beautiful beings. You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb. You have given me breath and light and movement and walked with me every moment of my existence. I am amazed, Lord God of the universe, that you attend to me and, more, cherish me. Create in me the faithfulness that moves you, and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days. Amen.

-Joseph Tetlow SJ

2 min. Read opening reflection:

“‘He has filled them with skill.’ (Exodus 35:35, NKJV) You were born prepacked. God looked at your entire life, determined your assignment, and gave you the tools to

6 Time Activity Materials do the job. Before traveling, you do something similar. You consider the demands of the journey and pack accordingly. Cold weather? Bring a jacket. Business meeting? Carry the laptop. Time with grandchildren? Better take some sneakers and pain medication. God did the same with you. Joe will research animals…install curiosity. Megan will lead a private school…an extra dose of management. I need Eric to comfort the sick…include a healthy share of compassion. Denalyn will marry Max… install a double portion of patience. God packed you on purpose for a purpose. - Cure for the Common Life Max Lucado

10 min. INTRODUCTIONS Handout: Participant Distribute participant name tags if you have not done so name tags already. Flipchart: Introduce yourself and have each participant introduce Introduction themselves by answering these questions posted on a - Nickname or what board where everyone can see to remember when it is you would like to be their turn: called  Nickname or what you would like to be called - Where are you  Where are you from? from?  What did you want to be when you grew up? - What did you want  What do you hope to gain from this group? to be when you grew up? - What do you hope to gain from this group?

5 min. Review the purpose of the Living Your Strengths Journey Handout if needed: and St. Peter’s mission statement. (hand out copies as LYS Purpose/Mission needed) Statement

15 min. Ask group & discuss: What is a Calling? 25-30  Hand out Description of Talents. Handout: min.  Have participants turn to page 9 in the journal. Allow Description of 10-15 minutes for participants to read the 3 profiles Talents and note next to each one what they think each person’s talents are.  Then instruct participants to turn and talk with person next to them about the profiles discussing which talents they chose and why. Do they think they share any of the same talents? How do they 7 Time Activity Materials think these talents led to and equipped each person profiled for their particular Callings?

5 min. Provide a synopsis of the “As you look ahead” section (pages 11-13).  Highlight the key word for this milestone- VULNERABILITY.  Make the point that this group is confidential and a safe place for sharing.  Mention that we will not be watching the DVDs at each session.

5 min. Lead the group in making this week’s CROSSROADS COMMITMENT by reviewing page 15.  Preview the Calling question on page 26.  Remind participants of the Ignatian way of proceeding. Allow the spirit to take you where you feel guided. For example, if you feel like spending a couple days on one reflection page in the journal then do that. 2 min. Close: Handout if needed:  Refer to Prework Checklist and review next week’s Prework Checklist session.  Remind participants of the importance of journaling and completing any reading assigned for the next session. Encourage participants to complete the Prework on a daily basis.

5-10 Closing Prayer: - Bowl containing min.  Pass around a bowl containing folded slips of paper participants’ names with participant’s names. Ask each person to draw a on slips of paper. name. After all have selected a name indicate that Handout: Bookmark they are asked to pray for the person whose name prayer they drew throughout the journey.  Invite participants to share a personal petition they Handout: may have. Explain that this is a petition for them Prayer Bookmark specifically not someone that they know. (This helps prayer partners to know what to pray for during the week and keeps everyone focused on the personal journey of this group.)  Distribute the Bookmark prayer.  All repeat the prayer together.  Collect name tags.

8 Time Activity Materials

Total = 87 min.

Midweek

Send reminder email to the group halfway through the week. See the sample emails in the Tools & Handout section.

9 Session 2 – The First Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: The Power of the Right Fit Set-Up  Have copies of the following handouts: o Opening prayer (optional)  For your own reference also have the Prework Checklist & Bookmark Prayer.  Prepare table with candle, lighter and participant name tags.  Book: Living Your Strengths  Flipchart for questions on page 28 (optional)

Time Activity Materials 1 min. Begin by welcoming participants, introducing any new Candle participants and lighting a candle. 2 min. Read opening prayer: Handout: Prayer

What I Want and Desire

I ask the Father to give to me intimate knowledge of the many gifts I have received that filled with gratitude for all, I may in all things love and serve the Divine Majesty.

-St. Ignatius Loyola

2 min. Read Opening Reflection:

“‘He gave… to each according to his ability.’ (Matthew 25:15, NKJV) Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a- kind assignment. Mine like a gold digger the unique-to-you nuggets from your life…. When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment. Look at you. Your uncanny ease with numbers. Your quenchless curiosity about chemistry. Others stare at blueprints and yawn; you read them and drool. ‘I was made to do this,’ you say. Our Maker gives assignments to people, ‘to each according to each one’s unique ability.’ As he calls, he equips. Look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? (pause) What have you loved to do? (pause) Stand at the intersection of 10 Time Activity Materials your affections and success and find your uniqueness.

–Uniquely You from Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment ® Volume II, page 295.

1 min. Ensure that everyone has recorded their themes on the My Clifton Strengthsfinder™ Signature Themes page of the Participant Guidebook.

5-10  Ask group: What is a talent? What is a strength? Briefly min. discuss.

 Provide the fill-in the blank answers on page 29: o Talents are naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied, and they are the heart of strength.

o Strength is the ability to provide near- perfect performance in a specific activity. It is composed of talent, skills, and knowledge.

o A skill is the ability to perform the basic steps of an activity.

o Knowledge is what you know, and can be either factual or experiential.

5 min.  Present the Omaha, NE Reading Comprehension Flipchart Test/Bell Curve information below:

o Thirty years ago in Omaha NE, the Board of Education administered a reading comprehension test to their incoming freshmen. One group of freshmen showed that they read at a rate of 90 words per minute with good comprehension. o The other group showed that they had a reading comprehension rate of 350 words per minute. That is nearly 4 times better than the group who scored 90 words per minute. o The Board of Education did not know what to do

11 Time Activity Materials with the information, so they brought it to the University of Nebraska, which unleashed a firestorm of opinions. After much debate, they decided to put some of the students who scored the 90 with some of the students who scored the 350 and provided them with additional reading skills using the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading course. After 6 weeks, the students who scored 90 words per minute improved their score to 150 words per minute.

 Ask: What do you think happened to the students who scored 350? (Gather a couple of responses.) Answer: Those scoring 350 increased their score to 2900 words per minute. The only thing that slowed them down was turning the page. This shows us that those who scored 350 had a talent and with the additional knowledge and skills they were able to turn that talent into Strength!

 Draw the equation on the flip chart: Talent + Skill= Strength on the board. Note: another version of this formula is Talent x Investment (i.e., time spent practicing, developing your skills, building your knowledge base) = Strength.

10 min. Ask & discuss as a group: Which scriptures from the “Daily Reflection and Journaling” pages resonated with you most this week?

10-15  Ask participants to turn and talk to each other (optional) Flipchart min. about the questions on page 28 of the guidebook or -How does it feel post questions on the flipchart. to be able to  Ask group: How did you answer last week’s Calling “name” your question on page 29? talents?  Have participants turn to page 30 in their workbook - Would others be and present the next letter: A-Action. surprised at some of the themes in which you are especially talented? 12 Time Activity Materials 2 min. Next week’s assignment:  Review Prework Checklist.  Remind participants of the importance of journaling and completing any reading assigned for the next session. Encourage participants to complete the Prework on a daily basis.

5 min. Closing Prayer Handout:  Invite participants to share a personal petition they Prayer Bookmark may have. Note: Distributed  Read bookmark prayer aloud together. at Session 1, give  Collect name tags. to new participants

Total = 53 min.

Midweek

Send reminder email to the group halfway through the week. Include article: “Can a Strength Ever Been a Problem?” by Steven Shields. See the sample emails Tools & Handout section. You may want to mention that participants can go online to get an individualized print out “Strengths Insight and Action Planning Guide” from Gallup with their code.

13 Session 3 – The Second Leg of your Living Your Strengths Journey: The World of Talent: Your “Best You” in 34 Themes Set-Up  Have copies of the following handouts: o Opening Prayer (optional) o Article: Can A Strength Ever Be a Problem? by Steven Shields  For your own reference also have the Prework Checklist & Bookmark Prayer.  Balconies and Basements worksheet  Theme Descriptors and Barrier Labels  Prepare table with candle, lighter and participant name tags.  Flipchart with Buchner quote  Book: Living Your Strengths

Time Activity Materials 1 min. Begin by welcoming participants and lighting a candle. Candle 2 min. Read opening prayer: Handout: Prayer

Draw Me Into Your Friendship Lord Jesus, from the start you invite ordinary people to come to where you live. When they come, you welcome them and call them to labor and rejoice with you. You are the most beautiful among all people, and I hardly believe that you want me for your friend.

You are powerful, Lord. Draw me more and more into your friendship and lead me along the way you took with friends. Amen. -Joseph Tetlow, S.J.

“‘God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.’ (Philippians 4:9) The Unseen Conductor prompts this orchestra we call living. When gifted teachers aid struggling students and skilled managers disentangle bureaucratic knots, when dog lovers love dogs and number crunchers balance the account, when you and I do what we do best for the glory 14 Time Activity Materials of God, we are “marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body (Rom. 12:5 MSG). You play no small part, because there is no small part to be played. “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27 NLT). “Separate” and “necessary.” Unique and essential. No one else has been given your lines…. The Author of the human drama entrusted your part to you alone. Live your life, or it won’t be lived. We need you to be you. You need you to be you. –Live Your Life from Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment ® Volume II, page 152.

5-10  Ask group: What do you think it means to be well- min. rounded? (brief discussion)  Provide answers to fill-in the blank on page 45 of the participant workbook: o God didn’t make you well-rounded. o Your most natural responses – your greatest talents – are the key to excellence in performing any task. o Your talents affect the ways in which you relate to others. o Most importantly, your greatest talents are clues to your Calling and tools to use in fulfilling God’s purpose for your life.

5 min. Present the following:  In this segment we heard about being well rounded. Does being well rounded have us trying to fix our weaknesses rather than developing our strengths? God is well rounded. We do not need to be. Let me share some facts about how unique God truly made each of us.

 Research has shown that there is only a 1 in 270,000 chances that someone has the same top 5 as you. There is a 1 in 33 million chance that someone would have your top 5 in the same order. If we were to look at your top 10 in order, it would rise to 1 in 447 trillion.

 Just to put these statistics in perspective, the current population of the world is estimated at 6.6 billion and

15 Time Activity Materials counting (as of May 12, 2008). The number of people that ever lived is estimated between 45 billion and 125 billion. One estimate of how many people have ever been born is 106 billion. This is still a far cry from 447 trillion. Can you imagine if we were to look at all 34 of your themes in order? If you haven’t figured it out yet, you are one of a kind on purpose, for a purpose.

10 min. Have participants turn and talk to a neighbor about the following:  Which scriptures from the Daily Reflection and Journaling pages resonated with you most this week?  How did you see your talents in action (p.34-35)?

15-20 Basements and Balconies Handouts: min. Balconies &  Introduce Basements and Balconies by making the Basement following points: worksheet, Theme Descriptors and o Every talent has a balcony and a basement. Barrier Labels o Talents are simply dominant characteristics. Therefore you can either use them effectively (Balcony) so they become your competitive advantage – or you can mismanage them so they become disadvantages (Basement).

o Often, the balcony of your talent sounds like a compliment, the basement however more like a weakness.

 Illustrate by using one of your own talents. For example: for a talent of Communication:

o Balcony – Talent used effectively: storyteller, easy to talk to, entertaining, charismatic

o Basement – Talent mismanaged: blabbermouth, poor listener, self-absorbed, show-off, always needs attention

16 Time Activity Materials  Distribute Balconies & Basements worksheet.

 Assign participants to work together in pairs preferably with someone with whom they have at least one common strength.

 Turn and talk to a neighbor for 5-10 minutes about how this plays out with their talents. Discuss current mode of operation. Which mode are you operating in for each of your talents?

 Distribute Theme Descriptors and Barrier Labels handout and explain that this provides more insight into how a talent can be a barrier.

 Ask group what insights they come to during their one- on-one discussion time.

 Other questions to discuss:

o How can you develop the raw talent into a strength?

o Can you think of a time where you have experienced it as a strength?

o If yes, how did you build it up?

o If you haven’t experienced it as a strength, what skills or knowledge do you think you need to build it up?

15-20  Discuss questions on page 44 as a group: Handout: as min. o Of the five insights noted after the description of needed your Signature Themes in Living Your Strengths, Can a Strength which describes you best? Ever Be a o How are your talents revealed in the ways in which Problem? by 17 Time Activity Materials you relate to others? Steven Shields. o Are you beginning to see how your greatest talents can help you discover and fulfill your Calling? What have you learned? Handout  Ask: How have your talents been a paradox or a puzzle?  Discuss article: “Can a Strength Ever Be a Problem?” by Steven Shields.

5-10  Discuss Calling Question (p. 42) as a group. (optional) Flipchart min.  Present the idea that in Ignatian Spirituality, your “The place God deepest desire is where God is Calling you to. calls you to is the  Share the quote: “The place God calls you to is the place where your place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep deep gladness and hunger meet.” –Frederick Buechner the world’s deep hunger meet.” –Frederick Buechner

2 min.  Have participants turn to page 46 in their workbook and present the next letter: L-Learning.  Suggest looking for a time in the bible when Jesus (or another character) demonstrated one or more of your talents. What was the situation? How did he use it? (They can refer to the verses listed after each strength in the book.)

2 min.  Review Holding up the Mirror activity on page 50 for next week’s lesson and make sure everyone understands the assignment.  Remind participants of the importance of journaling and completing any reading assigned for the next session. Encourage participants to complete the Prework on a daily basis.

2 min. Closing Prayer  Invite participants to share a personal petition they may have. Read the bookmark prayer aloud together.  Collect name tags. Total = 86 min.

Immediately following Session

18 (Optional) Send reminder email to members which includes personalized signature theme descriptions that can be shared with Mirror Exercise partners.

If not sending the personalized descriptions, send reminder mid-week.

19 Session 4 – The Third Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: Using Your Talents for Growth and Service Set-Up  Have copies of the following handouts: o Opening Prayer (optional) o Personal Faith Awareness Examen  For your own reference also have the Prework Checklist & Bookmark Prayer.  Prepare table with candle, lighter and participant name tags.  Book: Living Your Strengths  You may want to mention that participants can go online to get an individualized print out “Strengths Insight and Action Planning Guide”

Teach Me to Listen

Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers. Help me to be aware that no matter what words I hear, the message is, “Accept the person I am. Listen to me.” Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those far from me– the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished. Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside — in the deepest part of me. Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice — in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence. Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen.

by John Veltri, S.J

2 min. Read opening reflection: “‘Work as if you were serving the Lord, not as if you were 20 Time Activity Materials serving only men and women.’ (Ephesians 6:7) What if everyone worked with God in mind? Suppose no one worked to satisfy self or please the bottom line but everyone worked to please God. Many occupations would instantly cease: drug trafficking, thievery, prostitution, nightclub and casino management. Certain careers, by their nature, cannot please God. These would cease. Certain behaviors would cease as well. If I’m repairing a car for God, I’m not going to overcharge his children. If I’m painting a wall for God, you think I’m going to use paint thinner? Imagine if everyone worked for the audience of One. Every nurse- thoughtful. Every officer-careful. Every professor- insightful. Every salesperson- delightful. Every teacher- hopeful. Every Lawyer- skillful. Impossible? Not entirely. All we need is someone to start a worldwide revolution. Might as well be us. – Cure for the Common life” -Working to Please God from Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment ® Volume II, page 261

1 min. Have participants turn to page 63 and provide the fill-in the blank answers:  When you combine the talents of a group, the result is greater than the sum of its parts.  Discuss the groups’ answers.  You will lead with your greatest talents. “Leading” means that those talents will be the first talents you use in approaching any situation.

15-25  Have participants turn and talk to a neighbor. Discuss min. insights gained from Holding Up The Mirror activity by reviewing Daily Reflection and Journaling questions on p. 62.  Reconvene group and ask what insights they would like to share with the whole group.

15 min. Ask group: Which scriptures from the Daily Reflection and Journaling pages (p. 54-59) resonated with you most this week?

10 min. Have participants turn and talk to a neighbor about the CALLING question on p. 60.

2 min. Have participants turn to page 64 in their workbook and 21 Time Activity Materials present the next letter: U- Unity.

5 min. Hand out the Personal Faith Awareness Examen. If you Handout: have time, give 5 minutes to complete. Otherwise, Personal Faith indicate that this is to be completed for homework. . Awareness Examen

2 min. Review next week’s assignment:  Review Prework Checklist.  Remind participants of the importance of journaling and completing any reading assigned for the next session. Encourage participants to complete the Prework on a daily basis.  Complete the Personal Faith Awareness Examen 2 min. Closing Prayer Handout:  Invite participants to share a personal petition or one Prayer Bookmark related to Calling. Note: Distributed  Read the bookmark prayer aloud together. at Session 1  Collect name tags. Total = 67

Midweek

Send reminder email to the group halfway through the week. Remind them to bring their Living Your Strengths Book. See the sample emails Tools & Handouts section.

22 Session 5 – The Fourth Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: Finding the Right Fit Set-Up  Have copies of the following handouts: o Opening Prayer (optional) o StrengthClusters Powerpoint o Using Your Talents in a St. Peter’s Ministry  For your own reference also have the Prework Checklist & Bookmark Prayer.  Prepare table with candle, lighter and participant name tags.  Book: Living Your Strengths

Prayer for Choosing a State of Life From all eternity, O Lord, you planned my very existence and my destiny. You wrapped me in your love in baptism and gave me the faith to lead me to an eternal life of happiness with you. You have showered me with your graces and you have been always ready with your mercy and forgiveness when I have fallen. Now I beg you for the light I so earnestly need that I may find the way of life in which lies the best fulfillment of your will. Whatever state this may be, give me the grace necessary to embrace it with love of your holy will, as devotedly as your Mother did your will. I offer myself to you now, trusting in your wisdom and love to direct me in working out my salvation and in helping others to know and come close to you, so that I may find my reward in union with you for ever and ever. Amen.

In the second letter to Timothy, Paul says: (2 Timothy 1:6-8) “For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord.” And then again in Peter: ’You 23 Time Activity Materials were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God.’ (1 Peter 2:9 God’s Word). Let’s spend a lifetime making our heavenly Father proud. Use your uniqueness to do so. You exited the womb called. Don’t see yourself as a product of your parents’ DNA, but rather as a brand-new idea from heaven. Make a big deal out of God. Become who you are for him! Has he not transferred you from a dull, death-destined life to a rich, heaven-bound adventure? Remember, “You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God.” And do so every day of your life. With God, every day matters, every person counts. And that includes you. – Each Day Matters from Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment ® Volume II, page 167.

2 min. Provide the fill-in the blank answers p. 81:  Manage lesser talents – don’t try to fix them.  Rely on your greatest talents to overcome vulnerabilities.  When possible, use partnerships with others instead of relying on lesser talents.  Talents and Spiritual Gifts are a powerful combination.

10–15 Have refer to their “Living Your Strengths” book and ask: Book: min.  What is meant by Spiritual Gifts? ( p. 29-32) “Living Your  What spiritual gifts do you think you have? What Strengths” are the 4 ways that we can manage our lesser talents? (p. 25-28)  Do you have experience with any of those? Can you think of supports that you could use?

10 min. Have participants turn and talk to a neighbor and discuss the following: Which scriptures from the Daily Reflection and Journaling pages resonated with you most this week?

10 min.  Distribute Complementary Partnerships handout. Handout  Review explanation on slide 1. StrengthClusters  Ask participants to mark their top 5 talents on PowerPoint each page.  Ask “Are noticing any patterns? Do your talents fall in certain clusters?”  Ask them to raise their hands when you say 24 Time Activity Materials “Executers? Strategic thinkers? Relationship builders? Influencers?”  Ask “If we are a team trying to accomplish something, who would you need or want to partner with to accomplish your goals?”

5-10 min. Ask group the questions on p. 80

5-10 min. Have participants turn and talk to a neighbor about their response to last week’s Calling Question (p.78).

2 min. Have participants turn to page 82 in their Participant Guide and present the next letter: E-Empowerment p. 82 1 min. Discuss assignment for next week: Handout:  Distribute Handout: Using Your Talents in a St. Using Your Talents Peter’s Ministry. And encourage participants to in a St. Peter’s review as part of preparation for next week. Ministry  We will be covering two sections in the Participant workbook next week - the 5th and 6th leg. The most important part of their Prework this week is to complete pages 112 – 115 in their Participant Guide and the Calling question on p. 96.  Discuss any plans you may have to celebrate the last session together next week. This may include having dinner together beforehand or staying afterwards to share drinks/desserts and socialize.

2 min. Closing Prayer Handout:  Invite participants to share a personal petition or one Prayer Bookmark related to Calling. Note: Distributed  Read the bookmark prayer aloud together. at Session 1  Collect name tags. Total = 67 min.

Midweek Send reminder email to the group halfway through the week. Remind them about any special plans to celebrate the last session together.

25 Session 6 – The Sixth Leg of the Living Your Strengths Journey: Discovering a Calling Set-Up  Celebration materials, if planned.  Make one copy of “Genius and Beauty of Strengths”. Select one representative blessing of strength description for each participant. Cut out the description and write the participant’s name on the slip. This will be used during the closing prayer. Do not repeat strengths and where possible select a strength that is not shared by others in the group.

 Have copies of the following handouts: o Opening Prayer (optional) o St. Peter’s Mission, Vision, & Guiding Parishioner Strengths (handout from Session 1) o Evaluations o Parish Ministry Booklet o Using Your Talents in a St. Peter’s Ministry (handout from last week) o Evaluation  For your own reference also have the Bookmark Prayer.  Prepare table with candle, lighter and participant name tags.  Book: Living Your Strengths

Time Activity Materials 1 min. Begin by welcoming participants and lighting a candle. Candle 2 min. Read opening prayer: Handout:

A Prayer of Oscar Romero It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,

it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction

of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete,

which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

26 Time Activity Materials No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted,

knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything,

and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something,

and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,

an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,

but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders;

ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future that is not our own.

27 Time Activity Materials

“’Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.’ (Galatians 6:4 MSG). God never prefabs or mass- produces people. No slapdash shaping. “I make all things new,” he declares (Rev. 21:5 NKJV). He didn’t hand you your granddad’s bag or your aunt’s life; he personally and deliberately packed you.... You can do something no one else can do in a fashion no one else can do it. Exploring and extracting your uniqueness excites you, honors God, and expands his kingdom. So “make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.” Discover and deploy your knacks....When you do the most what you do the best, you put a smile on God’s face. What could be better than that? –Know Your Knack from Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment ® Volume II, page 26.

10-15  Provide answers to the fill-in the blank items on p. min. 116: o When you discover your greatest talents – the ways in which you most naturally think, feel, and behave – you begin to discover your Calling.  Discuss: o Are Callings taught or caught? o Can Callings change over time?

10-15  Turn and talk to a neighbor about responses to min. question 3 of the Calling Worksheet on page 114: o Their Signature Themes o The needs in which they are led by their talents o How they are called to meet this need at this time o How their greatest talents can help meet this need o How their Calling connects with the Calling of their congregation o The steps they will take to begin to fulfill their Calling  Reconvene as a group and ask for participants to share any insights from the exercise.

28 Time Activity Materials 10 min.  Provide answers to the fill-in the blank items on p. 99: Handout: o The early church emphasized the values of the St. Peter’s Mission, individual in the eyes of God. Vision, & Guiding o Maximization of talents can be a unifying Parishioner principle in any congregation. Strengths o This principle can speak to all ministries and (handout from callings of the church. Session 1)  Review St. Peter’s Mission, Vision, & Guiding Parishioner Strengths (handout from Session 1) Parish Ministries  Hand out the Parish Ministries Booklet and Using Booklet Your Talents in a St. Peter’s Ministry (handout from last week). Using Your Talents  Ask: How can your greatest talents contribute to the in a St. Peter’s fulfillment of your congregation’s Calling? Ministry

15 min.  Turn and talk to a neighbor about the Calling question p. 96. What are your next steps?  Reconvene as a group and ask for participants to share any insights from the exercise.

5 min. Discuss other possible next steps such as:  Continue the journey with a personal coach from St. Gabriel Catholic Church. Note that you will send them the link to the website in a follow up e-mail.  Have quarterly meetings with LYS members.  Continuing small groups.  Leading a group yourself.

5 min. Distribute session evaluations and give time to complete Handout: in the session. Note that is a way that we get ideas Evaluation regarding how to improve the experience. Do not add your name.

5 min. Closing Prayer: Handout:  Hand out one of the “Genius and Beauty of Strengths” Prepared “Genius Blessings to a neighbor seated next to the person and Beauty of whose name is written on the strip of paper. One Strengths” strips. participant at a time reads the strip to person named.  End by reading the bookmark prayer aloud together.

Total = 75 min.

Within 1-2 Days after Last Session 29 Send thank you and any follow-up information that you may have promised such as the link to St. Gabriel personal coach information.

30 Additional Facilitator Tools and Handouts

Table of Contents Pages

Prework Checklist 29

Living Your Strengths Purpose/ St. Peter’s Mission, Vision, & Guiding 30 Parishioner Strengths

Opening Prayers 31

Bookmark Prayer: Living Your Strengths Prayer 34

Description of Talents 35

Balconies and Basements worksheets 37

Barrier Labels

Can A Strength Ever Be a Problem?

Personal Faith Awareness Examen

SrengthClusters PowerPoint

Using Your Talents in a St. Peter’s Ministry

Parish Ministries Booklet

Evaluation

“Genius and Beauty of Strengths”

31 Prework Checklist

32 Living Your Strengths Purpose/St. Peter’s Mission, Vision & Guiding Parishioner Strengths Sessions

33 Opening Prayers - Options for each week Week 1: You Have Called Me by Name Oh, Lord my God, You called me from the sleep of nothingness merely because in your tremendous love you want to make good and beautiful beings. You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb. You have given me breath and light and movement and walked with me every moment of my existence. I am amazed, Lord God of the universe, that you attend to me and, more, cherish me. Create in me the faithfulness that moves you, and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days. Amen. ‐Joseph Tetlow SJ

Week 2: What I Want and Desire I ask the Father to give to me intimate knowledge of the many gifts I have received that filled with gratitude for all, I may in all things love and serve the Divine Majesty. Amen ‐St. Ignatius Loyola

Week 3: Draw Me Into Your Friendship Lord Jesus, from the start you invite ordinary people to come to where you live. When they come, you welcome them and call them to labor and rejoice with you. You are the most beautiful among all people, and I hardly believe that you want me for your friend. You are powerful, Lord. Draw me more and more into your friendship and lead me along the way you took with friends. Amen. ‐Joseph Tetlow, S.J. Or O Spirit of God, we ask you to help orient all our actions by your inspirations, carry them on by your gracious assistance, that every prayer and work of ours may always begin from you and through you be happily ended. Amen. Week 4:

34 Teach Me to Listen Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers. Help me to be aware that no matter what words I hear, the message is, “Accept the person I am. Listen to me.” Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those far from me– the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished. Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside — in the deepest part of me. Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice — in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence. Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen. - John Veltri, S.J Or Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes, to discern and test the spirits that help me read the signs of the times, To relish the things that are yours, and to communicate them to others. Give me the clarity of understanding that you gave Ignatius. Amen. – Pedro Arrupe, SJ

Week 5: Prayer for Choosing a State of Life From all eternity, O Lord, you planned my very existence and my destiny. You wrapped me in your love in baptism and gave me the faith to lead me to an eternal life of happiness with you. You have showered me with your graces and you have been always ready with your mercy and forgiveness when I have fallen. Now I beg you for the light I so earnestly need that I may find the way of life in which lies the best fulfillment of your will. Whatever state this may be, give me the grace necessary to embrace it with love of your holy will, as devotedly as your Mother did your will. I offer myself to you now, trusting in your wisdom and love to direct me in working out my salvation and in helping others to know and come close to you, so that I may find my reward in union with you for ever and ever. Amen.

Week 6 A Prayer of Oscar Romero 35 It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future that is not our own. Amen. Or More than ever I find myself in the hands of God. This is what I have wanted all my life from my youth. But now there is a difference; the initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself so totally in God’s hands. – Pedro Arrupe, SJ

36 Description of Talents

People strong in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work Achiever hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive. People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning Activator thoughts into action. They are often impatient. 37 People strong in the Adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." They tend Adaptability to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time. People strong in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have Analytical the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation. People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a Arranger flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity. People strong in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Belief Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life. People strong in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a Command situation and make decisions. People strong in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their Communication thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters. People strong in the Competition theme measure their progress against the Competition performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests. People strong in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all Connectedness things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason. People strong in the Fairness theme are keenly aware of the need to treat Consistency people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world fairly by setting up clear rules and adhering to them. People strong in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They Context understand the present by researching its history. People strong in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care Deliberative they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles. People strong in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in Developer others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements. People strong in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their world is Discipline best described by the order they create. People strong in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by Empathy imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations. People strong in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and Focus make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act. People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could Futuristic be. They inspire others with their visions of the future. People strong in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don't enjoy Harmony conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement. People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to Ideation find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena. People strong in the Inclusiveness theme are accepting of others. They show Includer awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them. People strong in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique Individualization qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively. People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like Input to collect and archive all kinds of information. 38 People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual Intellection activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions. People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to Learner continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate Maximizer personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb. People strong in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. Positivity They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do. People who are strong in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with Relator others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal. People strong in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what Responsibility they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty. People strong in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. Restorative They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it. People strong in the Self-assurance theme feel confident in their ability to Self-Assurance manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right. People strong in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes Significance of others. They are independent and want to be recognized. People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced Strategic with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues. People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and Woo winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.