For clergy of all denominations, congregational expectations can often be overwhelming. Balance is hard to find, burnout is all too common, and clergy can feel especially isolated and torn in many different directions. With too much to do and the desire to do everything perfectly, a life that should be centered in God and committed to spiritual practice is all too quickly overtaken by stress and time management issues.

Shalem’s 18-month clergy program was created to address these spiritual challenges and is an opportunity for clergy of all denominations to go deeper within themselves, to let go into their spiritual heart and to open into what is being invited, for themselves and their congregations. Beneath the pressures of ministry, clergy find encouragement to unhook from stress, to be present, to rest in God’s presence, and to receive and recover the prayerful ground of their spiritual center.

The program’s structure of peer and lay listening groups creates a way to journey together and discern next steps that is very different from task force and committee work. The two eight-day residencies offer a space for refreshment and renewal, with plenty of time for prayer, contemplative practice, sharing joys and challenges, and worship together.

When clergy find nourishment for their own spiritual needs, they discover this makes a difference in their leadership and in the life of their congregations. The more clergy learn to live out of their spiritual center, the more they are able to be present and responsive, open to what is invited. Through attentive listening to and awareness of the Spirit’s movement, they learn to live and lead in a different way.

Living open to the Spirit in personal and congregational life can provide the foundation needed for authentic vision and action. Both the structure and content of Going Deeper: Clergy Spiritual Life and Leadership offer a contemplative orientation that encourages an immediate openness to God’s grace and freedom to embrace a new way of being, both personally and collectively.

Might God be calling you to do something new right now? Find the support you need to explore where God is leading you.