Naming What Is Present

A practice of communal discernment for the Season of Noticing

Purpose of the Practice

Naming What Is Present helps a community tell the truth about its current reality without rushing to interpret, evaluate, or fix it. This practice trains a group to describe what it is experiencing—patterns, tensions, energy, absences, and surprises—before deciding what they mean or what should be done.

In a Season of Noticing, this practice builds shared awareness. It slows the community’s instinct to argue, persuade, or diagnose, and instead cultivates a common language for what is actually happening among them.

This is a repeatable anchor practice. Used over time, it helps communities become more honest, less reactive, and better prepared for later discernment.

How to Measure Success of This Practice

1. Quality of Speech

• Participants spoke descriptively rather than interpretively (naming what is observed, not what should be done).

• Language remained non-accusatory and non-diagnostic.

• Statements reflected careful attention rather than quick conclusions.

• Silence was honored without pressure to fill it.

Guiding Test: Did people speak with restraint and humility?

2. Breadth of Attention

• Participants named what they noticed in themselves, in others, and in the room.

• Observations included emotional tone, energy, posture, pace, and atmosphere, no just ideas.

• Multiple perspectives were voiced without being collapsed into a single narrative.

Guiding Test: Was attention distributed, not self-centered or issue-fixated?

3. Shared Ownership

• No single voice or role dominated the naming.

• Participants bult gently on one another’s oberservations without correcting or reframing them.

• The group resisted the urge to determine whose observation was “right.”

Guiding Test: Did the group hold what was named together rather than debate it?

4. Emotional and Relational Safety

• Participants appeared willing to speak tentatively (“I notice…,” “It seems…”).

• There was no visible escalation, defensiveness, or withdrawal.

• Participants demonstrated trust that what was named would not be used against them later.

Guiding Test: Did the activity increase, rather than decrease, trust in the room?

5. Depth of Noticing

• Observations moved beyond surface facts to patterns, tensions, and underlying dynamics—without analysis.

• The group was able to name ambivalence, uncertainty, or mixed signals.

• Participants were comfortable naming what was unclear or unresolved.

Guiding Test: Did the group notice more than it knew when it began?

6. Relationship to Silence

• Silence felt attentive rather than awkward.

• Participants did not rush to interpret or explain what had been named.

• The group allowed time for words to settle before moving on.

Guiding Test: Was silence treated as part of the work, not a failure of it?

7. Alignment with Purpose

• The group stayed within the stated aim: naming, not fixing.

• There was a shared understanding that no decisions were required.

• Participants could articulate the value of the exercise even without clear outcomes.

Guiding Test: Did the group remain faithful to the discipline of noticing?

8. After-Effect (Short-Term)

• Participants reported feeling more grounded, more aware, or more connected.

• The emotional temperature of the group felt more settled or clarified.

• Subsequent conversations showed greater patience and attentiveness.

Guiding Test: Did the activity change how the group was present with one another afterward?

What This Practice Is

• Descriptive, not interpretive

• Communal, not individual

• Observational, not evaluative

What This Practice Is Not

• A problem-solving session

• A critique of leadership or individuals

• A decision-making process

• An opportunity to assign cause or blame

Nothing is being fixed here. Nothing is being decided.

Preparation (Before the Gathering)

Clarify the Scope

Decide the focus of what “we” are noticing. Examples:

• The community of faith as a whole

• A leadership body

• A ministry, season, or transition

• The emotional or spiritual climate

Name this clearly so the practice stays focused.

Set Clear Boundaries

Prepare to hold the group firmly to description only. Leaders should expect to gently interrupt interpretation.

Choose a Visible Way to Capture Language

This may be a whiteboard, shared document, large paper, or spoken repetition. The goal is to help the group hear itself.

Guidance for Leaders

If someone begins interpreting or explaining, gently redirect by saying:

If the group drifts towards solutions, say:

If statements feel negative or tense:

If the room goes quiet:

Orienting the Group

Before beginning, the leader offers a brief orientation such as:

This framing should be calm, confident, and brief.

The Practice (20-30 minutes)

1. Opening Song (as prayer)

By Clara H. Scott (public domain)

2. Scripture and Silence (3-5 Minutes)

The leader may select one or more of the following passages as the community prepares for a time of silence.

You may want to print a selection of scriptures with no distractions on the page.***

Across Scripture, noticing is not passive. It is an active spiritual discipline: turning aside, keeping watch, listening deeply, and resisting the urge to rush to judgment or action. Biblically speaking, attention is often the threshold where God speaks.

3. Naming What is Present (Round One)

Participants are invited to offer short, descriptive statements, one at a time.

Sentence starters (use consistently):

Each contribution should be one sentence.

The leader may record or repeat what is said.

No responses. No discussion.

4. Holding the Language (Pause)

After several statements, pause in silence. The facilitator may say something like:

5. Naming What Is Present (Round Two)

The leader may invite a second round, allowing:

6. Closing the Practice

End by naming gratitude for honesty and restraint.

A simple closing might be:

Do not summarize or interpret what was said.

A Final Pastoral Word

Naming What Is Present requires courage and restraint. Communities often want to move quickly toward explanation or action, especially when discomfort is named. This practice teaches a different faithfulness: staying with reality long enough to see it clearly.

When practiced regularly, this discipline builds trust, deepens honesty, and prepares the ground for wiser discernment in the seasons that follow.

With this being said, leaders should be equipped to function on a “what is the next step” principle. Next steps could be as simple as planning the next activity within a season.

At an appropriate time, facilitators should regularly debrief with groups and individuals.

*** Copyright laws prohibit printing massive amounts of biblical passages on this website.