Connect + Collaborate
Our Community Call on July 27, 2021, opened with Jean Richardson of Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center reading the Li-Young Lee poem, From Blossoms.
Ben Scott-Brandt, RCC’s program manager, offered an overview of the RCC’s 3-year history, and then invited introductory questions, commentary, and stories from participants around the country.
We slowly uncovered a shared sense of grief and loss, punctuated by stories of hope and resilience. Here are some of the questions, insights, and challenges that retreat center leaders are holding now.
What is the difference between a collaboration and a network?
Many of us are working with a skeleton staff - what creative models might allow us to provide staffing support for each other?
Leadership in our community of sisters has decided to close and demolish the building our retreat center is housed in, built in 1874
We have 50 rooms here. All the hosted groups have had to be canceled, and we’re grieving the loss of the ministries
Sisters will be visioning how to move forward
Don’t let go of hope
We haven’t had a physical space, we’ve gone totally virtual
Challenging with minimal staff
When we talk about collaboration - we’ve been able to have a different outreach throughout the COVID pandemic
It’s been rough, not a walk in the park
Dilemma of making the decision of what fruit to prune and what to leave on the tree
Reminds me of my process at the retreat center where I’m director
After closing campus, I found it painful, grief
RCC has been a blessing, to share this process with others
I appreciate the expansion and connection to each other beyond the bi-weekly meetings
Hold this in my heart for the future of RCC
We’ve had to close twice, but we’re blessed
Having lots of successful retreats now (24-36 individuals onsite)
With all the on-campus connections and activities, we’re adding staff to manage I.T.
How do we get beyond our 38 acres, and give this gift of spirituality in a just way, centering justice?
We aren’t the center of the universe -- how do we move our community toward what is at the center?
Collaboration looks different now that we aren’t confined to a physical space
We have so many opportunities to work together
It’s one thing to have a center, it’s another thing to be a center
How am I a retreat center? In the way I interact, at home, and at work?
Beyond form, concepts, and constructs, being a retreat center is a different kind of work, a different paradigm
Our former director guided us toward ‘rooted and relevant’ programming
How can retreat centers be the most relevant and responsive in our own communities?
We know our own communities the best
“What sits with you will sit with others” is a good guide
Difference between maintaining the institution and maintaining the mission
Hosted groups have dominated the schedule. This brings revenue, but does this dilute our mission?
40 years ago, we were a monastery, and our center has a religious legacy
10 years ago, we shifted to an interspiritual model
Now, we notice that this transition didn’t fully happen, there’s been some miscommunication
How do we manage that?
Kirkridge has been around since 1942
Made a hard switch from Christian to multifaith, lost board members and donors
We’re never on solid ground here, it takes a long time
Who can trust your message of welcome? Who will walk alongside you?
Could RCC host a support/grief group on a long term basis for retreat center leaders?
Dominican Center at Marywood specializes in training spiritual directors.
How might we share our gifts with the broader RCC community of centers?
A holistic view of the retreat landscape is so helpful as we discern visionary leadership for the future, and navigate tax laws, etc.