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The Grace of Leadership Retreats
Clergy, like all professionals, benefit from the collective wisdom of gathering and giving space to shared challenges and graces. This year, the SWT synod funded a grant to allow clergy this source of resilience and growth through the Retreat for Rostered Ministers, February 11-13.
The retreat brought pastors and deacons together for relaxation, collegial connection, and spiritual growth. The continuing education piece was led by The Rev. Mary Lessmann, who shared her unique perspective on the Enneagram and the ways our personalities impact how we love God and love our neighbor.
Pastor Megan Elliott of Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church in Seguin served on the leadership team for the retreat and reflected on the experience below:
What was your vision for the retreat?
It was really that we would have time away to learn and grow, but also to build relationships with our colleagues, forge new ones and strengthen old ones and really have a chance to get to know each other outside of meetings, assemblies, and the day-to-day work of ministry. We definitely wanted a component that would help us to learn and grow like a continuing education component but wanted to make sure we gave people times of rest and renewal and relationship building.
How did you find that vision played out?
In our own reflections on the event and the feedback we received, I think people really appreciated the chances to get to know one another, to build our collegiality, and to learn more about ourselves and our leadership styles through the lens of the Enneagram.
What became of value to integrate into your life and leadership?
Especially with the Enneagram, the more self-knowledge you have and the more you can learn how other people operate in the world, the better equipped you are to lead and to serve. What surprised me was that when we planned the program as an intro to the Enneagram, I had a little bit of hubris on whether or not I would learn anything new, but I definitely feel I had a lot to learn and reflect on while I was there.
How did you make space for God to breathe new life into that time?
We had some really nice worship times together. We did a Taizé style worship the second night, and the last morning we had our presenter, an Episcopal priest, lead worship and preach. As preachers, we don't often hear other preaching, especially in solo positions. So having the Word given to us, felt like a really holy moment.
Did you see others or yourself finding and/or becoming spiritual mentors?
There was a nice mix at this retreat of people who were new to pastoring and people who have been pastoring for a long time. When I was first pastoring, I always appreciated the insights of those who had been doing it for a while. And I hope that those of us there who have more experience were able to provide some of that for those who are just coming up. Especially when you are newly a pastor, you put a lot of pressure on yourself. I hope those of us who had been around longer were able to provide some grace for letting go of some of that pressure.
Members of the 2025 Leadership Team were: Pastors Tim Bauerkemper, Lauren Dow Wegner, Megan Elliott, Heather Hansen, Aaron Richter, and Bethany Hull Somers.
Future issues of this e-newsletter will curate stories about churches' effective efforts to study and address neighborhood needs through "holy curiosity." Send your ideas to info@swtsynod.org.
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