Leadership Formation in and as Retreat

“Retreat centers invite and welcome clergy, church workers, and other professionals into geographies of grace where they can cultivate the mindfulness and resilience needed to thrive as leaders of hope and change. ”

Team Members/Contributors

Theresa Latini Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center Contact Me

About this pastoral study project

Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center (MOCRC) was founded in 1976 as an outreach ministry of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, MN) to nurture the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional growth of all people. It is situated on 150 acres of woods and rolling prairies in southeastern Minnesota and welcomes over 7500 people and 150 groups each year. In the upcoming years, MOCRC will seek to become a center for leadership training and continuing education for clergy, church workers, and professionals in mission-driven organizations. More than merely a provider of hospitality, welcome, and excellent programming, however, Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center seeks to embody--in congruence with the beauty of its walking trails and marshes, chapel and prayer spaces--a life-giving and life-sustaining vision of leadership formation in and as retreat.

This project will explore how MOCRC and other retreat centers, on account of their distinct geographies of grace, can cultivate resilience and mindfulness in clergy, church workers, and other leaders. It will undertake new qualitative research by investigating the best practices of three conference and retreat centers known for robust continuing education in distinct and diverse locales. It will integrate this new research with interdisciplinary studies in mindfulness, wellbeing, and the spirituality of place. This lay the groundwork for developing a new, three-year program for Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center aimed at leadership education and formation.

Overall, this project hopes to contribute to the well-being and thriving of leaders by welcoming them into the experience of retreat.