Programs for Clergy and People of Faith

Do you wish you had more time to pause, reflect, and reconnect with your calling?

Do you feel isolated and long for a community where you can candidly share your successes and failures without being judged?

Do you want space to explore spiritual practices
that can strengthen your faith and ministry?

If so, you've come to the right place. Our programs will sharpen your discernment, revitalize your vocation, and sustain your service in the world.

Serving those who serve communities of faith

In today's landscape, clergy, congregational leaders, and people of faith are juggling an exhausting number of roles, while trying to build authentic and trustworthy relationships. Learning to hold these tensions in a healthy way is essential to sustaining a ministry.

In our retreat-based programs, using the Circle of Trust® approach, leaders can discover new ways to embrace multiple roles, reclaim balance between their personal and professional lives, and lead from a place of wholeness. With the help of skilled Courage & Renewal® facilitators, and guided by unique principles and practices, participants create a community of mutual respect and engage in prayerful listening to one another and God's inner guidance. This model of spiritual formation is described in depth in Parker J. Palmer's book A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life.

Courage & Renewal® programs for clergy and people of faith are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. 

Discover a program just for you...

• Courage & Renewal Retreats for Everyone - a profound experience of the Circle of Trust approach in a one-day or three-day retreat format.

• Sustaining the Courage to Serve: A Courage & Renewal Seasonal Retreat Series for Clergy and People of Faith - four retreats over the course of a year with the same trustworthy circle of 16-30 peers for continuity of deep discussion, discernment, and transformation.

• Geography of Grace: A Courage & Renewal Alumni Institute - a four-day training on the principles and practices of the Circle of Trust approach with a curriculum you can take back into your congregations and communities of faith. Our next institute will take place February 3rd - 6th, 2014 outside of Tampa Bay, FL. 

• Habits of the Heart: The Courage to Practice a Faith Worthy of the Human Spirit - a four-day retreat and learning conference with Parker J. Palmer happening August 12th - 15th, 2013 in Williams Bay, WI. Parker will introduce the "habits of the heart" as described in his recent book Healing the Heart of Democracy, and help us explore their relevance to the health of congregations.

• Courage & Renewal Programs Just for You - skilled facilitators bring the Circle of Trust approach to your ministry setting through a variety of themes and formats, tailored to fit the needs of your group.

• Search our Calendar to see a list of all the Center's upcoming programs sorted by region and date.

Learn more about the Circle of Trust® approach from Parker Palmer