This retreat combines the principles and practices of Circles of Trust and the power of music to help us understand and live into our lives. Developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, The Circle of Trust® approach is distinguished by principles and practices intended to create a process of shared exploration where people can find safe space to nurture personal and professional integrity and the courage to act on it. In the hands of knowledgeable and skilled facilitators, this approach has the power to transform individuals, families, workplaces and communities.

Renewal in the Midst of Muck and Mire: A Spring Retreat

Friday, April 26, 4-8pm

Saturday, April 27, 9am-5:30pm

Sunday, April 28, 9am-12pm

Parker Palmer writes, “before spring becomes beautiful, it is plug ugly, nothing but mud and muck. I have walked in the early spring through fields that will suck your boots off, a world so wet and woeful it makes you yearn for the return of ice. But in that muddy mess, the conditions for rebirth are being created.

Though spring begins slowly and tentatively, it grows with.. tenacity…The smallest and most tender shoots insist on having their way, coming up through ground that looked, only a few weeks earlier, as if it would never grow anything again. …Their mere appearance, however brief, is always a harbinger of hope, and from those small beginnings, hope grows at a geometric rate. The days get longer, the winds get warmer, and the world grows green again.

During this springtime seasonal retreat, join with others as we reflect on how this season of mud and muck offers the possibility of renewal, hope and goodness even amidst the challenges, suffering and sorrow around us all. Through music, poetry, color, alone time, outdoor time, and small group time, you will have a chance to locate and name where hope lives for you this year.

These retreats are reconnecting our inner and outer lives, and exploring the soul. For, when we catch sight of our soul, we can become healers in a wounded world, motivated to action from our hidden wholeness amidst the violence of the storm. The three facilitators bring their experience in several movements for change and justice, along with their facilitation skills and musical talent, to provide a rich mix of processes and activities for this exploration.