Awareness

Awareness

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCCR, Center for Clergy Renewal (CCR), Pastors' Stories, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her), Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications for the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery James Salimes was struggling with disillusionment when he heard about the Contemplative Renewal Immersions at Holy Wisdom Monastery. As part of his disillusionment, he left ministry as a non-denominational pastor and started serving as a chaplain. James entered the immersions hopeful the experience would help him “work through my disillusion, but with an open mind to see where it would lead me.” As a part of the fourth cohort of Contemplative Renewal Immersions, he found a community of pastors …

Stef Coleman - Grounded

Grounded

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCCR, Center for Clergy Renewal (CCR), Pastors' Stories, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her), Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications for the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Stef Coleman was six months into a new call in the city of Chicago when a colleague who had come to Holy Wisdom Monastery for a Deep Breath, suggested checking out what is available through the Center for Clergy Renewal. Stef remembers feeling like “I was always being poured out” when she found Contemplative Renewal Immersions on the website. The idea of being part of a cohort of pastors in similar life positions or ministry contexts was appealing. “I …

Unguarded

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Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her), Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications for the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Michael Anderson stumbled across the Center for Clergy Renewal (CCR) while on a personal retreat at Holy Wisdom Monastery. His interest in CCR led to joining the fourth cohort of Contemplative Renewal Immersions. In the Immersion he found “people who were speaking the same language.” Reflecting on his first immersion in the summer of 2023, Michael says, “What I experienced was no less than the presence of the risen Christ standing among us, breathing peace. It couldn’t be anything …

Presence

Holy Wisdom MonasteryPastors' Stories, Uncategorized 2 Comments

Ryan Wallace does not remember how he first heard about the Contemplative Renewal Immersions at Holy Wisdom Monastery in late 2019. He was already interested in contemplative practices and looking for a way to sustain his ministry. As he remembers, “I was in my early 30s and thinking this is what I plan to do forever. And I know that if I’m going to keep doing this, I’m going to need a way to approach ministry that will be sustainable through my entire career.” As part of the second cohort, Ryan was among those that had to navigate the pandemic …

Experience

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Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her),Manager of Clergy Programming and CommunicationsCenter for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Emily Tveite is a Lutheran campus pastor from the Madison area, who now works to support Lutheran campus ministries across the country. When applying for Contemplative Renewal Immersions, Emily was hoping to learn some skills for day-to-day life to help her “wake up spiritually.” Reflecting, she says, “I imagined that it was going to be really directive and skill based. And I was pleasantly surprised that it was something different.” In 2022, Emily joined the third cohort of Contemplative Renewal Immersions. At the time she …

Honoring who you are

Holy Wisdom MonasteryPastors' Stories 1 Comment

Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her),Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Jennifer Shimota’s hope for the Contemplative Renewal Immersion experience was that the scaffolding of the extended immersions would create space for her brain to be quiet. In her experience, “A brain with strong ADHD is always scurrying even if the body is still.” The Immersions met this need. The rhythm of the monastery gave her the scaffolding she sought to explore practices like Centering Prayer and silence that are very difficult for her. She was moved by practices such as statio. “To say we …

Pastor Profile: Interconnectedness

Holy Wisdom MonasteryPastors' Stories 1 Comment

Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her), Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Jennie Ott, a pastor at Lake Oswego United Church of Christ in Oregon, can still remember the moment in 2018 when she read the invitation to join a cohort of pastors for contemplative renewal at a Benedictine Monastery in Wisconsin. “So much of my life then, and frankly still now, is attending to other people’s needs and particularly, my children, my spouse and my congregation. And so, I think I was just hopeful. What could I do that would just be …

Center for Clergy Renewal staff transition

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Submitted by Nancy Enderle, director, Center for Clergy Renewal Dear Holy Wisdom community members, I am writing to let you know about changes in the leadership of the Center for Clergy Renewal (CCR). As we round the corner into our sixth year of helping pastors thrive in ministry, I feel called to set down the director responsibilities that accompany this growing and important work. Depending on the timeline after the search for the next director is complete, I may transition out of the director role sometime in the fall, then conduct the winter immersion for Cohort 5 in January of 2025 …

CCR Pastors Reflect on Spiritual Renewal

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Submitted from Nancy Enderle, director, Center for Clergy Renewal As part of their experience with the Center for Clergy Renewal (CCR), pastors submit written assessments about their spiritual renewal and how their time at Holy Wisdom helps them thrive in ministry. After their summer immersion, pastors reflect on the following questions: After their second immersion in the winter, pastors are invited to respond to the prompt: These assessments create opportunities for pastors to reflect deeply on their lives and share those thoughts with me (Nancy Enderle). I meet with each pastor individually to provide feedback and support as they think …

The Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Celebrates 5 Years!

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In 2018 a group of members from the communities of Holy Wisdom gathered to discern the opportunity to apply for a one-million-dollar grant from the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving In Ministry initiative. Now five years into this work, we celebrate the vision and commitment of the Benedictine Women of Madison and the volunteers who prayed, dreamed, wrote drafts, prayed some more, wrote some more and finally received news that they were awarded the full grant which enabled this new Center for Clergy Renewal to take root within the communities of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Some highlights from the first five years: Once …