Berkeley Divinity School at Yale invites church leaders from all denominations to a pilgrimage for transforming ministry by re-imagining how ministry can meet the needs of our time.
Leader’s Way Fellows are an extraordinary group of innovators and visionaries who seek to transform the world with the power of the Gospel. Fellows spend one week at Yale together in June and one year in community through online programming. Fellows learn from Yale faculty and visiting luminaries. In online cohorts, they develop Innovative Ministry Projects over the course of the year to better serve their communities. At the end of the program, leaders are awarded a Yale certificate.
The Leader’s Way begins with a five-day residential program in the heart of Yale that integrates practical skill building, spiritual formation, and theological reflection. Yale’s renowned campus and rich resources will spark participants’ imagination. The multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary learning will include:
- Inspiring Case Studies. We’ll study innovative examples where Episcopal faith communities have been formed and transformed as we contemplate what makes for durable change and imagine what innovations the Spirit might be inspiring in participants’ own communities.
- Theological Reflection. Drawing on Yale’s distinguished faculty, we will explore fresh insights from recent scholarship that speak directly to the reality of parish life today.
- Personal faith pilgrimage. This learning pilgrimage is also an intentional retreat for the heart and mind as we create the needed space for contemplative practice, silence, reflection, and communal prayer.
Online Sessions
July 2025-February 2026: Online monthly large group sessions follow for six months, with particular focus on advanced management skills that will propel effective change in communities. Sessions will be held via Zoom from Noon-2:00 pm EST on July 22, 2025, September 9, 2025, October 7, 2025, November 11, 2025, December 9, 2025, January 6, 2026, February 10 2026, from Noon-2 pm EST. Sessions are synchronous but will be recorded for those with conflicts.
Mentoring and Cohorts
Mentoring and small group meetings provide support around the innovative project that Fellows have developed to meet an adaptive leadership challenge from their current ministry.