Spiritual Formation for Congregations and Groups

 

Planning a retreat or spiritual formation experience in your congregation or ministry group?  

The Center for Ministry can assist you. 

Trained Spiritual Directors and others with group leadership gifts offer guidance in the following ways…  

  

 

Prayer Retreats

 
“Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee, O Lord.”  (Saint Augustine)
 
Going on retreat allows us to step aside from busy lives and hectic schedules.  We enter sacred space and can once again be present to God and find rest.  Some prayer retreats are guided, focuing on a theme from scripture or on classic prayer practices. Others are silent, inviting us to curb our restlessness and listen for God's voice in the stillness.
 
We offer a variety of retreat formats including one- and multiple-day experiences. We are available either to work with your leadership team to plan a reatreat or to direct one for you ourselves.
 

 
 

Altar Design

"Taste and see that the Lord is good."   (Psalm  34:8)
 
Scrpture is full of concrete images that help tell the story of God's presence and action in the world.  Trees, mountains, deserts.  Wind, water, fire.  Seeds, vineyards, birds of the air.  How can our worship spaces incorporate such visual cues?  How can we open our eyes as well as our ears to the good news the Bible delivers?
 
The Center for Ministry delights in sharing specific ways to bring worship to life visually.  Working with sacred images and symbols of the faith, you can add richness and variety to services, classes, retreats, and other occasions where God's people gather. 
 
We welcome your inquiries.
 
 
 

 

Discernment

                "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."

                                                                                           ~Robert Frost,  "The Road Less Taken"

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."    (Joshua 24:10-20)


How do we make faithful decisions about matters both big and small?  How do we recognize God's leading when we must choose between options?  The Christian practice of discernment, of prayerful listening and questioning with trusted spiritual companions, is a reliable pathway to wise  judgment.   Center for Ministry staff and others trained in the process of discernment work with individuals and groups seeking clarity.  Discernment work can be done in one-time gatherings or over time, in one-day or overnight retreat settings.   

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 To pursue any of the above options, contact

Jane Watts