Clergy & Congregational Leaders

Courage to Lead for Clergy and Congregational Leaders is a multi-year, national initiative of the Center to help clergy and lay leaders sustain and renew their passion, enthusiasm, and commitment to faithful leadership in the congregations and communities they serve. The initiative is funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Serving those who serve communities of faith

In the best of times, clergy and congregational leaders are called to navigate multiple, sometimes conflicting roles: Spiritual guide, scholar, counselor, administrator, confidant, teacher, friend, and for many, partner, spouse and parent. These role are sometimes idealized or carry conflicting expectations that create many of the tensions common in ministry.

To hold these tensions in ways that allow their hearts to stay open, we believe it is essential for clergy and congregational leaders to engage in spiritual and personal disciplines necessary to provide leadership from a place of wholeness. We also believe that effective service and leadership flow from an individual's clear sense of identity and deep integrity. Those leading from such a place of wholeness and authenticity are best equipped to carry out their ministries.

Using a retreat-based, small group model of formation, we are committed to created open-disciplined spaces--circles of trust--where participants can discover again the deep connection between role and soul. Through a variety of experiences, participants are invited to listen for their own inner wisdom, to create a community of mutual respect and to reconnect professional identity and personal integrity.

Our retreats

There are many types of retreats. Courage to Lead for Clergy and Congregational Leaders retreats have been designed to:

• Focus on deep listening: within ourselves, to each other, to the call that invites us to speak from the soul.
• Provide a place for discernment about questions of meaning, purpose, calling, service, and ministry.
• Explore practices that help sustain spirit and vocational vitality.
• Provide a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of soul and role.
• Create a safe and trustworthy community that supports us in our inner journey and strengthens us for our work in the world.
• Provide needed time for silence and solitude.

What participants say

"This experience has added richness and vitality to who and how I am in the world."

"Courage to Lead is spiritual formation at a very deep level for clergy."

"The retreat series has given me tools, examples, experiences to make a place for people's souls to emerge in my congregation."

Retreat Opportunities

Through seventeen local partnerships around the U.S. and Canada, Courage & Renewal facilitators have created a variety of retreat opportunities to experience circles of trust. If you would like to receive more information about the program, please write to Program Director John Fenner (or call 828.877.2966).