Companion Ministers will be asked to read 100 pages in 3 books (provided at no cost) prior to the Residential Session. They will also be asked to create a “Covenant of Mutual Learning” with their congregation (usually through a staff-parish, personnel, or other committee or board) before beginning this two-year venture (see outline suggested below).
Companion Ministers gather in Nashville at the Scarritt-Bennett Center for five days of community interaction and learning.
Monday, Oct. 26: Arrival and Orientation
Theme: Celebrating God’s Presence in a World filled with Paradox
(Afternoon arrival)
Tuesday Oct. 27: Practicing the Presence
Morning Prayer, Daily Eucharist (Holy Communion) and Night Prayer [every day]
Morning session: Trevor Hudson – The Cycle of God’s Grace
Afternoon session: Marjorie Thompson – Circles of Trust
Evening: Peer groups [every day]
Wednesday, Oct. 28: Sharing Practices
Morning Session: Models of clergy support structures
Afternoon Session: Case studies in leadership
Trevor Hudson preaching: “Spiritual Friendship as Spiritual Practice”
Thursday, Oct. 29: Creating Pathways
Morning session: Trevor Hudson -- Creating Pathways for Transforming Discipleship
Afternoon Session: Community engagement and reflection
Evening: Dinner in small groups on the town
Friday, Oct. 30: Finding Power
Morning Session: Trevor Hudson “Discerning Call and Community”
Afternoon Session: Discerning Your Call and Community (individually and in small groups)
Evening Session: Creating a tentative plan or covenant for Phase Three
Saturday, Oct. 31: Celebrating Pilgrimage
Celebrating Covenants and Community
(Midday departure)
After the residential session, Companion Ministers share what they have learned in Phase Two with their congregations and begin working with a Companion Guide to form a clergy support group in their area.
Some refinement of the initial “Covenant of Mutual Learning” may be made as CM’s continue to look for occasions for teaching and dialogue in the local context. It’s hoped that pastor and congregation will find new ways of listening to one another and encouraging one another in the ministry they share.
Throughout Phase Three, a Companion Guide will make periodic calls to CM’s, individually or through conference calls. CM’s will have several options for drawing on the support of CG’s, including a one-time visit to help initiate a clergy group in a local area. Costs vary for this relationship (see “Financial Costs and Scholarship Information”).
CM’s will be expected to organize or join a clergy support group by the Spring of 2010. Different options may be considered; see the list below.
Throughout Phase III, we anticipate a growing body of knowledge to emerge about the various types of clergy support groups and their relationship to congregational transformation. CM’s will be asked periodically to reflect on these topics so that together we may create a body of knowledge useful for today’s church and ministry.
Examples of Clergy Groups: These will be introduced at the Residential Session; other examples may also be suggested for implementation during Phase Three:
*CiM 2 Pastors Writing Group: A special feature of this program involves the formation of a Writer’s Covenant Group. Working with an Editor from The Upper Room, pastors who find writing a good spiritual discipline will be invited to explore their call and ministry together. Three four-day retreat sessions are planned. Up to seven pastors may be included. Those interested will be asked to submit a sample of their writing. Additional costs are involved.
The concluding three-day conference for CiM 2 will be a way to bring together everyone involved directly or indirectly including peer group colleagues and lay leaders. The conference will be a time for mutual learning and discernment, for reflection about the context for ministry, and for support and affirmation. Marjorie Thompson will help us think theologically about what we’re learning.
(Sample wording only!)
Recognizing that God is doing a new thing in the formation of congregations and the work of ministry, we celebrate our mutual desire to enter into a covenant of learning during the next two years through the Upper Room’s Companions in Ministry Two (CiM 2) program, funded in part by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
As pastor, I covenant to participate in all phases of this program, read the materials as assigned and form or join a clergy support group as part of the expectation in Phase Three. I will pray for my congregation when I’m gone and share with them what I am learning as I return. I will be a good steward of the time and funds made available to me for this opportunity. (Signed_________________________________Date______________)
As leaders in the congregation, we covenant to support our pastor in CiM 2 as he / she enters this learning experience. We recognize that he / she will be gone during Phase Two, and that Phase Three means that he / she will spend time in peer learning through the clergy support group. We will pray for him / her especially in these days. We will support him / her with time for this experience, and with financial support we have negotiated. And perhaps most importantly, we will seek to learn as he / she is learning what it means to be the church today and what it means to be in ministry as the people of God.
(Signatures______________________________________________Date_________)