Alice Mann
Senior Consultant, Author, Seminar Leader
Click here to view a movie clip of Alice Mann talking about her work as an Alban consultant. (Runtime: 04:39)
Background
Before joining the staff of the Alban Institute, Alice Mann served for two decades in the dual roles of local pastor and nationally recognized consultant-trainer in the field of congregational development, with emphasis on incorporating new members, redeveloping struggling congregations, defining judicatory roles in growth and revitalization, breaking through size plateaus, and deepening parish spirituality. She engages large and small groups in practical learning and candid conversation about the choices church leaders face today.
Consultant’s Philosophy of Practice
My work revolves around helping congregational leaders discover or clarify their deeper sense of call, one the congregation has shaped over time and will carry into the future.
Faithful
I believe the spirit of God is at work to bring all of creation into the heart of God. When we can participate intentionally in this process, describing it with our own vocabulary, miraculous things can happen.
Holistic
I’m passionate about the relationship between congregations and their contexts. Congregations do not exist in isolation. They are joined to communities and civic environments. When a congregation tells its story in its context, it can find the courage to make decisions and act according to its values and deepest sense of vocation.
Customized
Every congregation is different, and each is in a different place. Adaptation is key. At Alban, we won’t offer you a standard package of consulting services or make recommendations before we have worked with you. Because there are so many ways of working with the issues you may face, my tool kit contains a range of options. We’ll discover together what is appropriate and what you are willing and able to do.
Learning
Alban consultants form a community of practice that values shared knowledge and new learning. I am increasingly interested in how congregations relate to the broader social and civic landscape of which they are a part.
Areas of Focus
Congregational Development
When congregations recognize that what they have been doing may no longer work, it can be liberating. Letting go of anxiety about survival enables a congregation to take risks and be creative. Change can be fruitful and satisfying. I frequently work with congregations by first providing them with a specific resource for self-study, such as Can Our Church Live, Holy Conversations, or Raising the Roof. We talk about what from the resource would be most useful for their situation. Then, having then worked through some structured processes from that resource, they are more knowledgeable and prepared to engage with a consultant. I offer some cost-effective and flexible ways of working with key leaders, such as phone coaching and live Web meetings.
Planning and Visioning
Printed vision and mission statements often fail to capture a congregation’s present reality or distinctiveness. I help congregations examine honestly and appreciatively who they are, what gifts they have, what God is calling them to be or do. For example, smaller congregations—so numerous on the American landscape—may need to clarify the one excellent mission they are called to live out and consider a range of institutional options for making that mission sustainable.
Size Transitions
Many congregations are responding to internal or external pressures to grow numerically, without having an inner sense of call to reach more or different people. A healthy response is to embrace your congregation’s authentic identity and lived vocation within your current community context. Through learning, shared discernment, and careful planning, a congregation will be best equipped to navigate a size transition as a transformational experience.
Education
- B.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- M.Div., Philadelphia Divinity School, Pennsylvania
- M.A., English/Creative Writing, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Publications
- Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations, 2003, Alban Institute
- Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition, 2001, Alban Institute
- What Size Should We Be? Visioning the In-Between Church, 2000, DVD, Alban Institute
- Can Our Church Live? Redeveloping Congregations in Decline, 1999, Alban Institute
- The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations, 1999, Alban Institute
- Incorporation of New Members in the Episcopal Church: A Manual for Clergy and Lay Leaders, 1983, Ascension Press Clergy Leadership in Small Communities: Issues and Options, 1985, Ascension Press/Episcopal Commission on the Church in Small Communities
Testimonials
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