KO Clergy Retreat 2021
The Committee on Ministry, with the generous support of the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, invites Authorized Ministers to attend a retreat August 29-30 in Wichita, Kansas. The cost of the retreat is $100 per person and includes a one-night hotel stay, 3 meals, and facilitated programming.
The focus of this retreat is to provide time to gather after more than a year apart; and to share and reflect on our experience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We will have opportunities for group and individual spiritual direction, supported by Renee Bhatia of Souljourners, and a workshop on Marking Life Passages led by Glenda Stansbury, a funeral celebrant from Oklahoma City. Retired pastors are warmly welcome, and we hope to include some opportunities for conversations specific to ministry in (and transition into) retirement.
All activities will be optional, and time for solitude and unprogrammed socializing are built in. The schedule is designed to begin with dinner on Sunday, August 29th, and conclude by 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Dinner on Sunday as well as breakfast and lunch on Monday are included. However, if you would prefer to drive in early on Monday and stay Monday night instead, the registration fee includes one night of your choosing at the hotel (you'll indicate Sunday or Monday on the registration). For those wishing to stay both nights, we will arrange the Sunday night stay, and Monday night is up to you.
An additional working session will be held on Tuesday morning, August 31st. For anyone who would like to stay a bit longer, we'll find a place to sit down and do some strategic worship planning together. We'll finish by lunch time, and either hit the road or grab a bite to eat together -- your choice.
Our location will be the Hilton Garden Inn (2041 N Bradley Fair Pkwy, Wichita, KS 67206; NOT the “Downtown Hilton Garden Inn”). This location includes a comfortable outdoor seating area and easy access to restaurants with outdoor seating. We will also be able to order our meals in because the hotel’s catering is offline, which allows us to eat outside if we like (and weather-permitting).
Important information about COVID and our location: we are asking all who register to confidentially share their vaccination status, so that we can make informed decisions about meeting spaces. This information will only be visible to Rev. Rachael Pryor. Along with our co-organizers, Rev. Michael Vollbrecht and Rev. Lori Walke, anonymized information will be discussed as we discern policies about mask-wearing and social distancing. We will inform all participants whether we are in a mixed group of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Tentative Event Schedule
Sunday August 29
6:00 p.m. Dinner
Monday August 30
9:00 a.m. Centering prayer
9:30 a.m. Session One - Sharing what we have learned in a year of COVID
Retired Clergy: what does it look like to “stay connected” when you’re no longer serving a church?
11:00 a.m. Break Mid-day, restorative yoga
11:45 p.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m. Group Spiritual Direction
2:00 p.m. Session Two - Marking Life Passages with Glenda Stansbury
Retired Clergy: optional second session, topic TBA
3:30 p.m. Closing prayer + conversation
4:30 p.m. Activity options: guided meditation time, group walk/hike (perhaps at Botanica Gardens), swimming, Nap time
6:00 p.m. Dinner (optional) at hotel, or local restaurant
Guided sharing of retreat experience + takeaways
8:00 p.m. Event (optional) concert/music venue or similar activity for overnight guests
Optional Working Session Addition
Dinner and Activities on our own Monday night; Breakfast on our own Tuesday morning
Tuesday 9:00 a.m. Group sermon series planning
11:30 a.m. Break; head home (optional: lunch together)
About the Presenters
Glenda Stansbury (MA, CFSP, LFD) has been Dean of the In-Sight Institute since 1999, co-training over 4500 Funeral Celebrants across North America with Doug Manning. She is a full-time instructor in the mortuary program at University of Central Oklahoma, part time instructor at Worsham Mortuary College, Chicago, a licensed funeral director/embalmer, and practicing Funeral Celebrant. As a former Baptist preacher’s kid, she has been active in church work for a variety of congregations as a pianist, director of homeless outreach, interpreter for the deaf and Care Team member. She brings a unique perspective to conversations with her wide variety of experiences and expertise discussing dealing with grieving families at the point of contact, planning a meaningful funeral service, and how to navigate those challenging services. Before joining In-Sight Books, Glenda worked for 12 years for the Oklahoma Education Association as a trainer/facilitator. She was responsible for developing and delivering teacher training all over the state of Oklahoma and was cited by the National Education Association as one of the top trainers in her field.
Workshop: "It’s All About the Stories"
Today’s families are seeking more from a funeral or memorial service. They want to honor their loved one and often feel that they don’t have a choice or a voice when choosing to use a clergy or church. They see it as an either/or situation—either they have a traditional service, or they choose do nothing or cremate the body and have a gathering on their own. The research is clear that the fastest growing population is that of the “nones”, the unchurched, the used-to-be churched. After a lifetime of working in churches and 20 years as a funeral professional, the message is very clear—a large majority of the people who leave the church, do so after a death. Either the church was unresponsive to their needs and their grief journey, or the funeral service was impersonal or cookie-cutter or even harmful. This presentation focuses on the need to provide a unique, personalized, and individualized experience for each family. It focuses on how to actively provide ceremonies and service that offers help and healing.
We will discuss:
1. The No-Service Families—The Walking Wounded
2. Family Meeting—Listen, Listen and Listen some more
3. Dealing with those challenging services
4. When words fail, ceremony speaks
5. Collaborating with others in the death care community
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Renee Bhatia is a spiritual director living in Overland Park, KS. She is on staff at the Souljourners Ecumenical Formation Program for Spiritual Directors. She received a Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and is a student of the expressive arts and its relationship to spirituality and spiritual direction.
Group Spiritual Direction
Renee will lead us in an opportunity to experience an introductory spiritual direction model, in a group setting but with an individual focus. She will lead us through a series of exercises before coming back to debrief the experience together in the full group. Renee’s offerings help spiritual seekers to listen and discern the work of the divine spirit in their life experiences, and to align their lives to their deepest values. The expressive arts help facilitate that listening and allow us to express with our whole being our truth at any given moment.
Individual Sessions
In addition, you will have the opportunity to register for a one-on-one spiritual direction session. These hour-long, individual sessions are an opportunity to experience the art of spiritual companionship for yourself within a retreat environment. The cost of these individual sessions is at your expense but on a sliding scale, with cost being no barrier to participation. If you select that you are interested in this individual time with Renee during registration, we will be in contact with you about setting up your session.
We hope that you will be nourished by this time together with your KO Clergy colleagues. We look forward to seeing you!
In order to complete your registration, you must also go to kocucc.org and click "Donate" to make a one-time donation for your registration fee of $100.00. You will be redirected to the KO giving website, and the campaign should be "Friends of the Conference (General Funding)." After you enter $100 and click "Give Now," please type "2021 Clergy Retreat" in the box for "This gift is in HONOR of."
Your registration is not complete until payment is submitted. The deadline to register and complete your payment is 12:00 noon on Monday, July 19, 2021.
If you have further questions, please contact Rev. Rachael Pryor or Rev. Michael Vollbrecht. Rev. Lori Walke, the third member of our intrepid retreat planning team, is currently on sabbatical. Thank you!