In a city as diverse as San Francisco, and in a church that holds a multiplicity of viewpoints, what does it mean to truly belong? It can be difficult to bring our whole selves, rather than our ego, to our community. That tension is where we want to spend some time together, and we hope you will join us for a daylong retreat on Saturday, September 12th. We’re calling the retreat “Risk Community,” both as an invitation to engage in the kind of community the Bible calls us to and as a reminder that this call comes with the risk of vulnerability.

Our retreat will be lead by a team of facilitators* from the Center for Courage and Renewal, an organization founded by Parker Palmer. At this retreat you will learn new skills for fostering leadership – both within yourselves and among others – for the sake of reinvigorating our community here at City Church. We will also learn a new set of skills that will help us as we create a safe and brave space for others, where we can listen attentively to each other and to the Holy Spirit at work in us.

We will spend the day talking about five different practices meant to transform the way we see, exist in, and interact with those around us as well as ourselves. We’ll practice this new way of engaging with community in small groups and triads, and we’ll spend another part of the day learning how to communicate in ways that can transform churches, schools, and your workplaces.

Register Today

About the facilitators for Risk Community

*John Fenner, as you know, is our Program Director for Clergy and Congregational Leaders. He also is the lead facilitator in our two-year Facilitator Preparation Program which means he is one of the best teachers of the Circle of Trust approach we have. Before coming on with the Center, he served for 17 years as director of the Center for Dialogue, a community-based nonprofit he founded to promote peaceful communities and positive change. He lives in Brevard, NC where he is a member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church.

Estrus Tucker brings over 30 years of executive leadership experience in the church world and nonprofit sector. He is a Vietnam-era Veteran and an ordained minister active in interfaith and ecumenical initiatives. He currently sits on the Board of organizations such as the Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation (University of Mississippi), the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and the International Association of Human Rights Agencies. He hails from Fort Worth, TX.

Mardi Tindal is the immediate past Moderator of the United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant denomination. She has brought energetic leadership throughout her career as an educator, consultant, broadcaster, and writer. (You can find her regular column "Soul Work" at UCObserver.com). Recently, she has been involved with Canada's Truth & Reconciliation commission that sought healing between First Nation, government and church leaders. She resides in Toronto, ON and loves spending time with her grandchildren.

Nathan Kirkpatrick is the managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School. He facilitates a variety of leadership development opportunities for congregational, denominational, and institutional leaders, including a new Courage to Lead retreat series for young United Methodist clergy. He is currently working on a PhD at the University of Durham (Durham, UK) on how theological education forms or deforms trust among pastors. Nathan is ordained in the Episcopal Church. He lives in Durham, NC and enjoys long distance running.

Erin Lane has worked closely with the Center for Courage & Renewal for four years now to develop and facilitate programs that deepen the spiritual formation of people of faith and support healthy congregational life. A writer and speaker, she is the co-editor of Talking Taboo: American Christian Women Get Frank About Faith and author of Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe. Erin received a Masters Degree from Duke Divinity School with a concentration in gender, theology, and ministry and currently serves on the board of the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in Durham, NC.