Covenant Colleagues
A Continuing Education Program for Clergywomen
Overview
Covenant Colleagues is a program of continuing theological education and spiritual formation for clergywomen in their first ten years of ministry. The two-year program focuses on active learning, theological reflection, relational issues, spiritual formation, and peer group learning and support. Women from all backgrounds and ministry settings are encouraged to enroll. Participants may join at any time during their first ten years of service in the church. The colleagues meet twice a year in October and April. For more information and enrollment form contact the Office of Church Ministries Education at 404.727.4587.
History
In October, 1997, The Board of Higher Education and Ministry, through the Anna Howard Shaw Center of Boston University School of Theology, released the results of its United Methodist Clergywomen Retention Study. The study revealed that women are leaving parish ministry in greater numbers than their male counterparts and that the retention of clergywomen in parish ministry has become a crucial issue for the United Methodist Church as well as other denominations. The study reports that lack of support—which comes in a variety of forms—in their first two appointments is a primary reason that women are giving for the exits from the parish.
Covenant Colleagues seeks to:
- deepen the spiritual lives of clergywomen, which will ground and center them for life and sustained ministry
- assist women in finding a balance in their lives to enable effective parish leadership—balancing work and play, action and reflection, giving and self-care, and church family and personal family
- facilitate and encourage lifelong learning throughout the professional and personal lives of clergywomen
- assist women in forming a network of ongoing support
- encourage cooperation and collaboration among women in ministry
View future dates and a typical schedule »
Audience
This program will be offered to clergywomen of any denomination or nondenominational churches in their first ten years of ministry.
DesignThe focus of the time spent together will emphasize relational issues and spiritual formation.
Colleagues will be grouped into "Circles of Trust" of four to six persons. These Circles are for the purpose of complementing the work done by the whole community by providing a more intense and personal encounter. Circles of Trust will provide a context of mutual care, support, accountability and encouragement. Participants will be encouraged to make use of Internet access to communicate with their Circle of Trust and other colleagues between gatherings.
Circles of Trust is a term used by Dr. Parker J. Palmer in his work, Courage to Serve, and described in his most recent book, A Hidden Wholeness (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2004), as:
The kind of carefully created space that invites the soul to make itself known. The kind of space where we can practice the paradox of "being alone together," a space that welcomes our inwardness even as it connects us to the gifts and challenges of community, and to the larger world. At its core, spiritual formation is the process of creating a trustworthy space between us where the soul will feel welcome, a space where the inner teacher, or "that of God in every person," can show up and make its claim on our lives. Formation involves an inner journey, to be sure. But that inner journey is not a do-it-yourself project. It is a journey that can only be taken in the context of community, for at least two reasons. We need community to help us sort and sift what we are learning from within. And we need community to encourage and empower us in the steps we feel called to take as the soul calls us back to our birthright integrity.
Whenever people come together, in numbers large or small, we create different kinds of spaces to support different purposes:
- we know how to create spaces that invite the intellect to show up, analyzing reality, parsing logic and arguing its case: such spaces can be found, for example, in universities
- we know how to create spaces that invite the emotions into play, reacting to injury, expressing anger and celebrating joy: they can be found in therapy groups
- we know how to create spaces that invite the will to emerge, consolidating energy and effort on behalf of a common task: they can be found in task forces and committees
- we certainly know how to create spaces that invite the ego to put in an appearance, polishing it image, protecting its turf and demanding its rights: they can be found wherever we go
- but we know very little about creating spaces that invite the soul to make itself known. Apart from the natural world, such places are hard to find—and we seem to place little value on preserving, the soul-spaces nature provides
(Parker Palmer is) not suggesting that the intellect, emotions, will, and ego are useless or unnecessary on the inner journey. When these faculties operate independently, they will not take us where the soul wants to go. But they are all vital parts of being human and, with guidance from the soul, they can all become vital allies on the journey toward an undivided life.
When the soul speaks through the intellect, we learn to think "with the mind descended into the heart." When it speaks through the emotions, our feelings are more likely to create community. When it speaks through the will, our will-power can be harnessed for the common good. When it speaks through the ego, we gain a sense of self that gives us courage to speak truth to power. Every human faculty, as it becomes more soulful, can help us negotiate the tricky terrain of life. . .
Leadership
A Leadership Team oversees the details and guides the program for each group gathering. Leadership Team members are in attendance and participate fully as a colleague in ministry. Currently the following women serve on the Leadership Team for Covenant Colleagues:
The Rev. E. Elizabeth Luton, the director of the Office of Church Ministries Education for Candler School of Theology and program developer and director of Covenant Colleagues. Her passion for continuing theological education and reflection, spiritual formation and desire to see women fully supported and recognized as pastors in the church gave the incentive to create this program. Beth is an elder in the United Methodist Church.
Dr. Roberta C. Bondi, recently retired professor of church history and the first female faculty to achieve tenure at Candler School of Theology, has blazed a trail for other women to follow, both in the academy and in the church itself. Roberta has found several new ministries since leaving Candler, one of which includes raising funds to purchase sheep for the women in Morocco for their weaving. Roberta and her husband, Richard, reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Rev. Lynnsay Buehler, priest associate and director of the Julian of Norwich Center at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. Lynnsay is a graduate of Candler School of Theology and serves as a spiritual director, with a wealth of experience in spirituality, prayer, and the enneagram.
The Rev. Janice Johnson Hume, director of chaplains for Campbell-Stone Christian Center and as an adjunct faculty member in pastoral care and contextual education at Candler School of Theology. Janice is ordained in the Disciples of Christ Church.
The Rev. Susan Lupo spiritual concierge for the colleagues, is available to answer logistical challenges, and attends to details and cares for the little things that make the atmosphere warm and hospitable.
Location
Covenant Colleagues meets at Timber Ridge Conference and Retreat Center, which is located west of Atlanta, and minutes from downtown and the Atlanta Airport. Participants are housed in single rooms with bath. Breakfast is continental and lunch and dinner are served in the beautiful dining room.
For more information, please call 404.727.4587 or send an email to michelle.levan@emory.edu