2011 Courage To Lead® Retreat Series

The soul is generous: it takes in the needs of the world.  The soul is wise: it suffers without shutting down.  The soul is hopeful: it engages the world in ways that keep opening our hearts.  The soul is creative: it finds its way between realities that might defeat us and fantasies that are mere escapes.  All we need to do is to bring down the wall that separates us from our souls and deprives the world of the soul’s regenerative powers.

 

—Parker J. Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life

 

Courage to Lead® (CTL) Retreat Series for Clergy & Congregational Leaders

 

Over the past decade under the guidance of Parker J. Palmer, highly skilled facilitators across the country have created a unique retreat-based approach to renewing personal identity, professional integrity and vocational vitality.  This approach is  being offered by Courage & Renewal - North Texas in partnership with the Center for Courage & Renewal to a growing number of interested clergy and congregational leaders through an initiative funded in part by the Lilly Endowment.

 

We invite you to participate in a series of five seasonal Courage to Lead® retreats at Still Water Lodge in Glen Rose, Texas.

 

Final: Harvesting Our Learning             January 9 -11, 2012           3 day/ 2 nights

 

This retreat series is intended to support clergy and congregational leaders in sustaining their own spiritual resources and to contribute to the vitality of congregational life.

Why a Courage to Lead® program for clergy and congregational leaders?

 

Courage to Lead® has been carefully designed to invite clergy and congregational leaders to move beyond the “what” and “how” questions of leadership to the “who” questions. It is rooted in the belief that effective service and leadership flow from the identity and integrity of the person, and focuses on how we listen to ourselves, and to each other, in communal spaces that invite the voice of the soul to hear.

 

Courage to Lead® work is framed by such questions as, “How can I maintain a strong connection between who I am and what I do?” “What practices will help me align my soul and my role?” “When pulled in so many directions that I feel dismembered, how can I re-member myself and stay connected to the heart of my vocation?”

 

Courage to Lead® seasonal retreat program

 

Each Courage to Lead® seasonal retreat program consists of a cohort of clergy and congregational leaders who gather for five quarterly retreats over a period of 16 months. In large-group, small-group and solitary settings, we will share our journeys via personal story-telling, poetry, art and teachings from various wisdom traditions.  Guided by skilled facilitators, participants will be invited to speak honestly about their lives and work and to listen and respond to each other—and to themselves—with encouragement and compassion.

 

Courage to Lead® retreats supports spiritual formation by providing opportunities for:

 

· renewing heart, mind, and spirit by exploring the inner landscape of the leader’s life;
· reconnecting personal identity and professional integrity, honoring gifts and acknowledging the power of
limits;
· creating a community of mutual respect and caring that welcomes the soul and honors diversity;
· participating in the Clearness Committee discernment process and deepening skills to ask open and
honest questions;
· developing trustworthy space for inner exploration within diverse religious communities; and
· exploring connections between the leader’s inner life and the renewal of congregational life.

 

Who participates in Courage to Lead® retreats?

 

Clergy and congregational leaders from the broad mainstream of American religious life are encouraged to participate in Courage to Lead® retreats. Leaders serving diverse faith communities will be given priority in the selection process.

 

The Courage to Lead® program grows from personal and professional renewal work within and across the fields of education, philanthropy, law, health, nonprofit and civic endeavors.  Participation will not only energize and inform leadership in congregations; it will help to rekindle and sustain authentic work and service in the world.

 

Because the program involves a substantial investment of time, money, and energy, we look for people who are ready and willing to participate in all five seasonal retreats.

 

Watch as Judy Stempel, Ordained Minister, Disciples of Christ, shares about her experiences with the Clergy Renewal Retreat Series and how several years later it still impacts her life.

 

 

Facilitators

Cynthia T. Johnson, L.M.S.W.-A.P., CFRE, is the founder of and nationally trained Lead Facilitator for Courage & Renewal – North Texas, and leads Circles of Trust® programs in diverse community and professional settings around the country. Ordained as a deacon in the Baptist tradition, she has also spent the last 30 years engaged as an active congregational leader in the congregational, denominational, ecumenical and interfaith arenas of religious life. Cynthia earned a B.A. in sociology and social work from Baylor University, a Master’s of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington and has participated in post-graduate studies at Brite Divinity School.

Estrus Tucker is an independent consultant and keynote speaker specializing in small and large group facilitation, designing and leading conversations and retreats across the country in support of personal, professional and community renewal, transformation, healing and reconciliation. He is President of Liberation Community, Inc., a social justice network, chairs the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission & is Past President/Moderator of the Minority Leaders & Citizens Council.  Estrus has been nationally trained by the Center for Courage & Renewal.

Retreat Details

Location: Still Water Lodge at Glen Lake is a retreat center, in Glen Rose, Texas, located approximately an 1½ hours south of the Dallas- Fort Worth Metroplex.

Still Water Lodge is nestled on seven acres of beautifully landscaped property on the Paluxy River, Still Water Lodge provides the perfect retreat setting.  This 35,000 sq ft addition to the Glen Lake Camp and Retreat Center is conveniently located near the town square in Glen Rose, Texas, where our guests can enjoy an experience geared toward renewal and relaxation.

 

Cost: $1,300.  The fee includes the retreat program, accommodations and meals. Participants will be housed in double occupancy rooms. Single rooms are available upon request at an additional cost of $100.

· A payment plan is available to help alleviate upfront costs.  For more information regarding payment options, please contact Kathy Livingston at 817.882.8222 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

· A generous grant from the Lilly Endowment covers a majority of the full cost of this series of five retreats.

Registration Details

Register online or call 817.882.8222. Full payment of $1,300 or a deposit of $275 is due with registration. Registration Deadline: January 3, 2011. Registration for this retreat is on a first come first serve basis.
Forms of Payment: Check or Credit Card (MC or Visa). 

*Please Note: This program requires a commitment to attend all five retreats.

Refund and Cancellation Policy

Would you like additional information? Yes, I would.

Learn More

Read:  A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life by Parker Palmer