COURAGE TO LEAD:
Retreat Series for Clergy & Congregational Leaders
“going into the center to go out into the world”
A program of the Center for Courage and Renewal in partnership with the Center for Spiritual Development of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland, Oregon
Serving Those Who Serve
Leaders of religious communities are called upon to negotiate multiple roles. These roles are sometimes idealized or carry conflicting expectations that create many of the tensions common to spiritual leadership and ministry. If religious leaders are to hold these tensions in ways that open rather than break their hearts, they need spiritual practices that keep them grounded in a place of personal wholeness.
Since 1997, the Center for Courage & Renewal, through its national network of nearly two hundred facilitators, has created a unique retreat-based approach to renewing personal identity, professional integrity, and vocational vitality for people in the helping professions. These retreats - rooted in the work of Parker J. Palmer, the Center’s founder and senior partner - are now being offered to clergy and congregational leaders through a partnership with the Center for Spiritual Development funded in part by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
For detailed information about the principles and practices used in this work see Parker J. Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004).
“There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force that changes our lives from within. And yet the same instinct tells us that this change is a recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in ourselves.” - Thomas Merton
Retreat Series Description
The Courage to Lead program goes well beyond a one time, “mountain top” experience. In this experiential and formational program, a cohort of some twenty participants journey through five retreats across a span of eighteen months. In large group, small groups, and solitary settings, participants use personal stories, reflections on professional practice, time in nature, and insights from poets, storytellers, and various wisdom traditions to explore the relationship between the inner life of mind and spirit and the outer life of work and service in the world.
During that time we:
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Offer leaders a meaningful break from the demands of daily life, an opportunity to slow down and take a journey of regeneration
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Focus on deep listening in community, to ourselves, to each other and to that of God in every person.
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Create a soul-safe space for personal and communal discernment about questions of meaning and purpose, calling and ministry, a space that supports both solitude and community.
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Explore principles and practices that help sustain spiritual and vocational vitality in individuals and congregations.
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Model a trustworthy form of “life together” that supports the inner journey, strengthens us for work in the world, and can be taken home to help renew family, workplace, and community life.
Watch a Video on this Work
Retreat Series Schedule
The program comprises a series of four residential Courage to Lead retreats over the course of a year with a final day of reflection in the following year. This retreat series is intended to be both formational and experiential. Registrants are committing to a full retreat series that includes four, three-day residential retreats and one full day retreat. As part of this commitment each registrant will be asked to sign a letter of commitment to the program.
Four, Three-Day Residential Retreats
Monday 4:00pm through Wednesday 1:00pm
Menucha Retreat and Conference Center, Columbia River Gorge, Corbett, Oregon
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February 8-10, 2010
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May 3-5, 2010
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August 2-4, 2010
- November 15-17, 2010
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 147 NW 19th Avenue, Portland, Oregon
- Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 8:30am - 4:00pm
Registration
This retreat series is intended to be both formational and experiential. Registrants are committing to a full retreat series that includes four, three day residential retreats and one full day retreat.
Refunds are not available, exceptions will be decided on an individual basis in the case of dire circumstances.
Costs of the Retreat Series
$1500 for clergy, includes deposit (This reduced price is offered through a generous donation from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.)
$1700 for congregational leaders and leaders within spiritual communities, includes deposit.
Registration
Register for the retreat series today by mailing the registration form, letter of commitment and personal statement, all found in the retreat series registration packet, with your $100 non-refundable deposit to:
Courage to Lead
c/o PMB #246
333 S. State Street
Lake Oswego, OR 97034
Deadline for registration is January 8, 2009. Contact Shelly Othus with registration questions.
Payment Options
Once registered, two payments options are available.
Option 1
Pay in full and receive a $100 discount: $1,400 for clergy, $1,600 for congregational leaders and leaders within spiritual community.
Pay for the retreat series online. Deadline for payment is Friday, January 8, 2010.
Option 2
Pay in four installments*:
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First Installment - Due Friday, January 8, 2010
$350 clergy, $400 congregational leaders and leaders within spiritual communities
Pay the first installment online. -
Second Installment - Due Friday, April 2, 2010
$350 clergy, $400 congregational leaders and leaders within spiritual communities
Pay the second installment online. -
Third Installment - Due Friday, July 2, 2010
$350 clergy, $400 congregational leaders and leaders within spiritual communities
Pay the third installment online. - Final Installment - Due Friday, October 15, 2010
$350 clergy, $400 congregational leaders and leaders within spiritual communities
Pay the final installment online.
Payment by Check
Payments can also be made by mailing your check to:
Courage to Lead
c/o PMB #246
333 S. State Street
Lake Oswego, OR 97034
* There will be a $75 fee charged for each late payment. Exceptions will be decided on an individual basis in the case of dire circumstances.
About the Facilitators
Both Jeff Creswell and Karen Noordhoff each bring over ten years of experience as facilitators of Courage and Renewal events at the local and national level. They were prepared by the Center for Courage and Renewal under the guidance of Parker J. Palmer.
Jeff and Karen are available to speak to small groups about this work. Please contact either Jeff Creswell or Karen Noordhoff.
Location
This retreat series will be held in Creevy Complex at Menucha, a sacred sanctuary located high up on a cliff in the Columbia Gorge and held in stewardship as an ecumenical, community-based mission of First Presbyterian Church of Portland, Oregon . Its beautiful surroundings make it an ideal retreat facility for reflection, spiritual discovery, renewal, education and enrichment for individuals, families and communities. For more information and accommodations, visit their website.