Programs

Since 1997, the Center has helped foster personal and professional renewal through retreats that offer the time and space to slow down and reflect on life and work.  These retreats, called Courage to Teach®, Courage to Lead®, or Circles of Trust®, are led by skilled facilitators and make use of poetry and stories, solitude, reflection, and deep listening. Developed with Parker J. Palmer and the Fetzer Institute, they were initially created to renew, sustain, and inspire public school teachers.  While educators remain at the heart of our mission, we also work with people in other serving professions such as healthcare, ministry, and nonprofit leadership.

Our programs renew heart, mind, and spirit.  Participants report a deepened sense of purpose and meaning, expanded capacity to listen and be present, an improved ability to build trustworthy relationships, more courage to live authentically, renewed passion for work and a deeper commitment to serving others.

Center for Courage & Renewal Programs

Courage & Renewal work is a shared enterprise of the Center, affiliate organizations, and local facilitators.  A decade of partnership has demonstrated a fruitful synergy between the Center's capacity to prepare and nurture facilitators and their capacity to implement this work in a wide range of settings. 

Skilled retreat facilitators are at the heart of creating a safe and trustworthy space for participants in Courage & Renewal retreats.  Well-qualified retreat facilitators are the key to quality control, and facilitator preparation is one of the Center's most important functions.  

Local Courage & Renewal Programs

The 160 Courage & Renewal Facilitators, now in 29 states, Canada, and Australia, have led hundreds of retreats and short-term events for K-12 public school educators, healthcare practitioners, persons in the legal profession, clergy and congregational leaders and other community leaders. Please visit the Retreat Calendar to learn about local retreat opportunities.