I Brought My Soul To Work

by Jay E. Valusek with reflections by Circle of Trust® Facilitator
 Paul Michalec

Paul As a Circle of Trust Facilitator, the observations of the poet Marge Piercy have a certain resonance: ”Connections are made slowly, sometimes they grow underground. You cannot tell always by looking what is happening.” I sit in a circle, inviting participants to encounter a deeper sense of self, not really knowing what might be growing inside the soul. Shortly after a recent retreat, a participant (Jay Valusek) sent the circle the following email. Now I know a little of “what was happening” and nurtured into life through the mysteries of a Circle of Trust.

Jay I’d like to share a story with all of you about what happened immediately after our Circle of Trust retreat last week. I decided to bring my soul to work.

Finding Our Way Together: An Interview With Dr. Janice Jackson

by Lisa Sankowski, Circle of Trust Facilitator



The pace has been different for Janice Jackson this fall.  Taking a break from teaching during the first semester, she’s had time to dedicate to her research. “I’m focusing on helping school districts develop an effective approach to teaching, because pretty much, either every school does what it wants, and every classroom does what it wants, or people come down very hard and say, ‘Everybody’s going to do exactly this.’  There’s got to be some middle ground. It’s my life’s work to develop leaders who look for the third way.” 

Janice is well positioned to undertake this work.  Her career spans the educational system in the U.S. at every level.  Currently a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Janice began her career as a middle school teacher in a Catholic school in Milwaukee. 

Reflections on Bainbridge Island and Parker Palmer

by Rev. Anne Sutherland Howard

As I was preparing to go off to Bainbridge Island, Washington in May for the "Politics of the Brokenhearted: Habits of the Heart and the Future of Democracy" retreat with Parker Palmer, a friend who's participated in some Courage work said to me, "It will change your life." She was right.


Courage Work Provides Hope for The Church

by Circle of Trust Facilitator Winton Boyd

It isn’t always easy being a pastor in today’s religious climate.  While interest in spirituality remains high, churches face all kinds of internal and external pressures.  Pastors and other congregational leaders are among the most depressed and discouraged of all professionals.

Teaching from the Inside Out

From an interview with first-grade teacher Maura McNiff

by Lisa Sankowski

It’s a Monday morning in Maura McNiff’s first-grade classroom. As her students come in and take off their coats and boots, they greet each other and quickly find a place in the circle on the rug. Maura welcomes everyone back, and they go around and share something from the weekend or something they are looking forward to. Then it’s time for Quiet Circle.