Rediscovering Your Well of Spiritual Wisdom: A Retreat for Chaplains

This Cranaleith Communities of Practice program is for full-time chaplains in campus ministry, health care, elder care, prison care, senior living communities, industry chaplaincy or military chaplaincy.

I sometimes forget

that I was created for Joy.

My mind is too busy.

My Heart is too heavy

for me to remember

that I have been

called to dance

the Sacred dance of life.

Hafiz

Each day of ministry as a chaplain involves more to do than the time allotted.  The day is often  filled with a rapid fire of spiritual care encounters and meetings which require pivoting quickly from one complex situation to the next.  There is little opportunity to process what has just happened and recenter oneself.  What’s more, American culture’s shift to corporate values and fiscal demands makes the “chaplain” position increasingly tentative.  Experiences with care seekers combined with workplace struggles can be disorienting spiritually and theologically. 

Yet, there is a way back to the spiritual wisdom that filled your heart when you began your chaplaincy – and that remains with you today.  Jack and Bernadette will offer participants reflective time to rediscover core values and touchstones of inspiration.  You will also reflect on experiences that may have challenged your belief system and on complex situations that called for an evolution of your thinking.  The wisdom is in you already, in your peers and in your communities, whether secular or religious.  Enjoy a day of rediscovery.

Give yourself a day of rest and contemplative practice, a day in community with other chaplains who understand what you have experienced.  Tools we may use include conversation, quiet reflection, art, music, poetry and song.  Weather permitting, we will enjoy Cranaleith’s beautiful ten-acre property; if you wish to go outside, please dress for the weather.

This program has wisdom expressed in all spiritual traditions.  All are welcome!

CEUs: We have indexed this program offering to the following learning outcomes, which should not be construed as endorsement of these programs by either ACPE or BCCI:

• ACPE Category A= Spiritual Formation and Integration- Outcome 1: Narrative History, Outcome 3: Spiritual/Values-Based Orienting System
• ACPE Category B= Awareness of Self and Others-Outcome 1: Self Care
• BCCI Section III: Professional Identity and Conduct Competencies (PIC): PIC3–Attend to one’s own physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.