The universe sings no less
Because time and space
Wear us thin.

The music calls us
To recognize our limitations,
To recognize that
The song is best
sung with others.

—Manish K. Mishra-Marzetti

This workshop invites participants into challenging territory. The activities explore the stresses that are part of the fabric of the life of our congregational community. Participants name and embrace that which sustains and grounds them, and learn how this self-knowledge can help them lead from a place of creativity and imagination, rather than reactivity. The workshop offers models to help individuals and leadership teams support and reinforce the integrity of those entrusted with leadership positions in our congregations.

Goals

This workshop will:

• Demonstrate that a leader’s personal grounding and spiritual well-being are crucial to their ability to lead
• Help participants understand their own responses to challenge, crisis, and opportunity
• Explore some ineffective responses to the stressors that challenge congregations, and consider how insights from Salsa, Soul, and Spirit point to antidotes
• Foster laughter, meditation, reflection, and artistic expression to help participants connect more fully with their spiritual and emotional selves.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Use the story of Fannie Barrier Williams as a springboard to reflect on the supports that sustain them in moments of crisis, change, challenge, and opportunity
• Reflect on the idea that who a leader is matters as much as what they do
• Explore the stresses that permeate our society, our families, and our congregations
• Become aware of leadership practices that act as barriers to creativity and imagination
• Laugh, meditate, create, share, and be renewed as spiritual beings and as leaders.

Workshop-at-a-glance

Spiritual Preparation

Take time to reflect on how and where you find grounding and sustenance in times of crisis and challenge. Read Handout 1, The “Who” of Leadership, and journal or reflect on how you nurture your own spirit.

Read Handout 2, Gridlocked Systems, and consider the ways that you have become gridlocked by chronic stress in your family life or congregational life. How much have you viewed leadership as a solo experience? Explore the antidotes to the stresses that come from “I” culture, suggested by quotes from Salsa, Soul, and Spirit. Visualize yourself as a person with integrity, a well-differentiated person who is able to move away from “I” toward “we,” staying in touch with other leaders and with the congregation. How will you move toward that vision?