Inner Soul Work Groups provide leaders contemplative space to tend their own inner soul in community with others. Meeting once a month for a full day retreat, participants follow the gentle rhythm of gathering, contemplative prayer, two hours of silence and solitude, lunch and afternoon group sharing of the spiritual journey with attentiveness to God’s transforming presence.
The purpose of Inner Soul is to cultivate spiritual maturity through:
growing self awareness as we process our experiences as spiritual leaders
feeling loved and accepted by God and others
listening deeply for God’s presence and action in silence.
Who:This group experience is for clergy ministering in any setting. The maximum number is 6 participants.
When: Mondays or Fridays, once a month, from 9am to 3 pm The number of sessions between September and May will be 6-8 based on enrollment.
Cost: $70 per session Participants bring their own lunch. This is the same price as an individual spiritual direction session and is for six hours rather than one. This is an opportunity to try group spiritual direction in a retreat setting. Participants will be billed in September and February
Facilitator: Brian Roots
Brian grew up in the Lutheran Church. After college he joined Mennonite Voluntary Service and worked as a teacher in Chicago for three years. He then attended Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and took classes at six different seminaries each representing a different denomination. He became a United Methodist pastor and served churches for 32 years. In that time he served in the following settings: large cities (Chicago IL and Kansas City MO) blue collar suburb (Cicero IL) rural small town (Harvard IL) and an affluent suburb (Deerfield IL). The churches ran from small to large and old to new. Brian was the founding pastor of a new church in Kansas City MO. Over his 32 years of pastoring Brian discovered it was often a lonely position. This awareness led him to attend Creighton University to earn a Certificate in Spiritual Direction. For the past 15 years Brian has walked with numerous clergy to help navigate the challenges of being a pastor and seek a deeper experience of God. Brian looks forward to growing and learning together with fellow pastors through this group experience of spiritual direction.
If you are interested in participating in Clergy Inner Soul please complete the form below. The monthly date will be determined once the group is formed.