Below is information on past leadership retreats EcoFaith Recovery has led:
Sharing Stories & Song – June 16, 2016
EcoFaith Institute Kickoff | Blessing our Interns for the Journey | BBQ & Singing
The event was held on:Thursday, June 16th, 2016
6pm – 9pm
Where: Intern Coordinator Dave Pritchett’s house
6926 N Concord, Portland, OR 97005
Costs: We will provide the burgers & veggie burgers. Please bring a side dish to share.
RSVP by: Friday, June 10th Register here
Volunteers needed to help with prepping the grill and grilling! Email dave@ecofaithrecovery.org if you want to help.
Join us for the kickoff of the EcoFaith Institute/Intern cohort weekend with a BBQ at our Intern Coordinator Dave Pritchett’s house in north Portland! Arrive anytime after 6pm. Bring a side to share. We will provide burgers and veggie burgers.
This gathering will include opportunities to join together in the songs of EcoFaith, and updates on the EcoFaith Initiatives, with special focus on the Institute.
If you don’t know much about the Internship Program EcoFaith Recovery offers this is a great night to come out! Five new interns will be starting their projects by participating in the Weekend Institute (June 17-19). This Institute will immerse participants (including both interns and open to non-intern participants) into the culture, practices, and mission of EcoFaith Recovery.
Returning to the Rhythms: Our Stories, Our Song
The event was held on:
Wednesday January 27th, 2016
5:40pm – 8:30pm
Where: St. Andrew Lutheran Church
12405 SW Butner Rd, Beaverton, OR 97005
Our kick off event to our 2016 Theme: Returning to the Rhythms of God will launch EcoFaith Recovery’s Spring renewal focus, share exciting and updates and invitations from a few different EcoFaith initiatives, and try out a pilot rehearsal of the EcoFaith choir for the sake of fun and experimentation! The kick off will take place on Wednesday, January 27 from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. in the St. Andrew Lutheran, Beaverton fellowship hall and chapel with the subtitle of, “Our Stories, Our Song.”
The Wednesday, January 27th “Returning to the Rhythms of God: Our Stories, Our Song,” schedule:
- 5:40 p.m. Informal Gathering Time in which I hope to have some nice time to hang out with those of you who come early to enjoy some tea, coffee or hot apple cider together.
- 6:00 p.m. Promptly begin with our Opening by David Eppelsheimer followed immediately by delicious food and conversation.
- 6:25 pm Our EcoFaith Story: Returning to the Rhythms of God with EcoFaith Recovery in 2016 This will include
- a brief overview of the three upcoming all-EcoFaith retreats (being carried out in partnership with St. Andrew Lutheran Church with funding from their Lilly grant) focused on the theme of “Returning to the Rhythms of God” and of my three month sabbatical on this same focus which will begin on February 1st. The purpose will be to help you consider how your community of faith might benefit by participating in the retreats and exploring this theme with the EcoFaith community;
- an introduction to how our pilot permaculture extension agent initiative will engage congregations in weekend workshops in biblical ecotheology as well as design and implementation of food-bearing, pollinator friendly, or native habitat landscapes;
- a brief lay-out of the 2016 strategy for how our Beyond Fossil Fuels Initiative will help us engage interested faith communities in taking public action for a sustainable energy future;
- a proposal that we move towards an internship cohort model that will kick off with a weekend EcoFaith catechism in which the larger EcoFaith network will be invited to participate;
- an introduction of Chris Bekemeier as our 35 hour per month interim organizer to work with Rachael Johnson while I am on sabbatical;
- references to how we will more deeply cultivate our “Practices for Awakening Leadership” in all of this.
- Update on where we are at in our shared efforts to meet the matching grant offered by Bishop Dave Brauer-Rieke of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America here in Oregon with thanks to all of you who are becoming monthly sustaining contributors by January 31st in order to have your entire year’s gift matched now!
- 7:20 pm Our Individual Stories: Sharing with another what interests us most deeply, how we might like to engage our communities, and what support we need from one another.
- 7:45 pm Our Song: Solveig Nilsen-Goodin will lead us in raising our voices together as part of an emerging EcoFaith Choir of Leaders who can lead public song and utilize the gift of music as a means of engaging our communities in all of this important work in the months to come.
- 8:15 Time of Blessings for me as I head off on a three-month Sabbatical and for Chris as interim organizer and Rachael as retreat coordinator
- 8:30 End (with optional additional 15 minute evaluation and “next steps” for those who desire to participate)
Who Came? Leaders that wanted to celebrate what is happening among us and consider how we may want to “Return to the Rhythms of God” in the months ahead and invite communities to join us.
EcoFaith Recovery Grounding for Leadership:
An Inspirational Gathering for Existing Leaders and those ready to take on deeper leadership within EcoFaith Recovery
The event was held on:
Saturday, May 3 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at St. Andrew Lutheran Church Chapel in Beaverton
Together we:
- Clarified the mission and vision of EcoFaith Recovery
- Grounded ourselves in the spiritual and relational resources needed to sustain this work,
- Discovered together how the Spirit is bringing new life through the eight Initiatives of EcoFaith Recovery,
- We were inspired, uplifted, and energized for the important work ahead,
- Engaged new leaders ready to get more deeply involved in the great work of our time,
- Benefited from over 20 years of professional consultation experience by Jim Pence in the areas of mission discernment, strategic visioning, and leadership development
- Learned about and offer input into the development of a 6 Phase leadership development model for use, not only within the Initiatives of EcoFaith Recovery, but also within our own congregations and communities!
How we accomplished our Goals: Consultant Jim Pence facilitated a “Design Charrette” with us that engaged us in a relational process of collaboration, consultation with stakeholders, and achieving joint ownership of plans and solutions.The intended outcome of the charrette was a draft of a Mission Portfolio and the identification of volunteer leaders and staff to provide leadership for implementation of its components. The Core Team is working with Jim to finalize the portfolio.
Implementation of the model will take time and require the commitment of stakeholders to participate. At the conclusion of our gathering, we each offered our pledge of leadership and financial support so we can actualize this vision.
Who Came? Anyone active in any area of EcoFaith Recovery’s work (Beyond Fossil Fuels, Simply in Season, Organizing in the BioCommons, Preaching in the Biocommons, Internships, Mentoring, etc.) and those interested in deepening their engagement within the work of EcoFaith Recovery.
First Annual EcoFaith Retreat and Engagement Day
Building Power for the YES:
Engagement and Leadership Development in Our Communities and Institutions
The event was held on: September 28, 2013 from 9:00am – 4:30pm at Camp Collins in Gresham, OR
EcoFaith Recovery Leaders (old and new) met for a day-long leadership retreat and leadership development workshop.
The day included:
- A keynote and reflections on the threats (the NO) facing us today, as well as the opportunities and resources (the YES!) we have as we grapple with how to respond effectively as people grounded in Eco-Faith-Recovery, to run-away consumerism and the threat of climate change
- Spiritual grounding, outdoors among the trees
- A chance to meet other leaders, and learn more about the many faces of EcoFaith Recovery, including Organizing in the BioCommons, Beyond Fossil Fuels, Simply in Season, Care for Creation, Internships, and Mentoring.
- A workshop on practices and tools for engaging our congregations and other communities and institutions and developing leadership
- An invitation to step into deeper leadership within EcoFaith Recovery, and in your own congregations and other communities and institutions
Who came? Those active in any area of EcoFaith Recovery’s work (Simply in Season, Organizing in the BioCommons, Beyond Fossil Fuels, etc.) and those interested in deepening their commitment to leadership.
Crisis, Compost & New Creation
The event was held on: Saturday, April 27th from 3:30-5:30 at Central Lutheran Church
We came together to:
- Learn about this evolving ministry from its many volunteer leaders,
- Explore our own sense of call to this ministry
- Consider a deeper level of involvement
- Fertilize the young tree that is EcoFaith Recovery with our personal stories, creative ideas, relational networks, and pledges of our time and finances, as we are so moved.
This gathering was for those wondering:
- What in the heck is this “EcoFaith Recovery” thing, anyway?
- How can I get involved in a small ecofaith recovery group like Simply in Season?
- How can I serve as an EcoFaith intern or leave a living legacy by mentoring an intern?
- What’s up with the course with the long name: “Ecology of Grace and Justice: Organizing in the BioCommons for our time?”
- How can I get trained to help my faith community incorporate caring for God’s creation into every area of ministry?
- How can we organize faith communities to affect economic and political change towards a more sustainable and just way of life for all?
- Could our faith communities really have a role in launching local worker-owned cooperatives that help create a more just and sustainable economy? How?
- Our goal for the evening was 25 new leaders committed to offering their leadership to this movement and $25,000 raised to help us build the capacity we need to support this movement. In short, we asked for 25L and 25K and all the prayers you can offer!