Institute for Religious Leaders
Our mission is to provide holistic retreats and counseling for religious leaders.
Our mission is to provide holistic retreats and counseling for religious leaders.
The goal is to facilitate for the restoration and renewal of leaders’ energy for leadership, for their calling, and for re-engaging in their work with purpose and fulfillment. The approach is holistic, with attention to restoring equilibrium between intellectual, affective, physical, and spiritual dimensions of our lives via resources and activities appropriate to each.
We extend an invitation to religious leaders from all faiths and denominations to join us on our inaugural retreat at the beautiful
Kripalu Center for Yoga, Health, and Wholeness
Stockbridge, MA 01262
November 15–19, 2009, Sunday evening–Thursday
We extend an invitation to religious leaders from all faiths and denominations to join us on our inaugural retreat at the beautiful
Kripalu Center for Yoga, Health, and Wholeness
Stockbridge, MA 01262
November 15–19, 2009, Sunday evening–Thursday
Institute for Religious Leaders Presents:
Be Still and Know That I Am God
Retreat Leaders: Rabbi Sigal Brier and Rev. Thomas Ryan
Religious and spiritual leaders are motivated by a deep calling to serve humanity. We support, guide, and inspire individuals and communities in the many aspects of their lives, while having very little time for self- renewal. In caring for others' needs, we sometimes lose sight of our own, with the result that we become depleted and find our work more mechanical, less inspirational, and less effective.
This is an invitation to slow down and step back - for the purpose of listening to your soul's promptings and drinking deeply from the wellsprings of inspiration and wisdom. The meeting place is Kripalu, a holistic, serene, and uncluttered environment removed from everyday preoccupations, in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains in the autumn season.
The goal is restoration and renewal of your energy for leadership, for your calling, and for re-engaging in your work with purpose and fulfillment. The approach will be holistic, with attention to restoring equilibrium between intellectual, affective, physical, and spiritual dimensions of our lives via resources and activities appropriate to each.
This unique retreat experience, lived together as leaders from different faith traditions, will provide mutual enrichment for our spirituality and open some fresh possibilities for new ways of engaging and supporting each other in our work by forging stronger interfaith relations among the participants.
Note to participants: Bring comfortable clothing for exercise, indoors and out, and walking shoes.
This is an invitation to slow down and step back - for the purpose of listening to your soul's promptings and drinking deeply from the wellsprings of inspiration and wisdom. The meeting place is Kripalu, a holistic, serene, and uncluttered environment removed from everyday preoccupations, in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains in the autumn season.
The goal is restoration and renewal of your energy for leadership, for your calling, and for re-engaging in your work with purpose and fulfillment. The approach will be holistic, with attention to restoring equilibrium between intellectual, affective, physical, and spiritual dimensions of our lives via resources and activities appropriate to each.
This unique retreat experience, lived together as leaders from different faith traditions, will provide mutual enrichment for our spirituality and open some fresh possibilities for new ways of engaging and supporting each other in our work by forging stronger interfaith relations among the participants.
Note to participants: Bring comfortable clothing for exercise, indoors and out, and walking shoes.
Retreat includes:
Daily group sessions
Daily yoga and YogaDance™ classes
Evening events
Use of all amenities: sauna, whirlpool, fitness room, private lakefront beach, walking and hiking trails, and more.
With a variety of workshops and activities to choose from at Kripalu, in addition to our group activities, your days can be as full or as quiet as you desire. Kripalu offers a rich daily scheduled that allows you to do just what you want, whether it’s soul-searching, celebrating, or simply remembering who you are when you’re not absorbed by the flurry of family, work, and life. Whatever it is, you'll return home renewed from the inside out.
Daily schedule:
We will gather twice a day for morning and afternoon sessions to explore and reflect on the wellsprings we draw from and find ways to strengthen our whole being; body, heart, mind, and spirit. Among the themes are:
keeping fit for ministry, making connections between our body and our spiritual lives,
living with a Sabbath rhythm, living with an awakened heart and prayerful presence, a spirituality for our everyday living, making space for our creative energies in the second half of life, and the gift of friendships.
living with a Sabbath rhythm, living with an awakened heart and prayerful presence, a spirituality for our everyday living, making space for our creative energies in the second half of life, and the gift of friendships.
Sample day:
Wake, stretch, and stroll down the hall to a morning Kripalu Yoga class, or sleep in.
Silent Breakfast
Silent Breakfast
Morning Session
Spend some quiet time alone, enjoy a meditation walk, join a tai chi class on the lawn, or get invigorated in a Kripalu YogaDance™ class.
Nurture your body and your soul by lunching with new friends.
Afternoon Session
Participate in an afternoon yoga class, take a walk, enjoy a relaxing massage, or head to the lake with your journal.
Chat with new friends while enjoying a fabulous all-natural meal and take an inspirational labyrinth walk at dusk.
Attend a concert or an evening program or have a healing arts session.
Relax in the sauna and then head off to bed.
Take time to de-stress.
Chat with new friends while enjoying a fabulous all-natural meal and take an inspirational labyrinth walk at dusk.
Attend a concert or an evening program or have a healing arts session.
Relax in the sauna and then head off to bed.
Take time to de-stress.
Cultivate inner peace.
Reconnect with joy.
About Kriplau Center
About Kriplau Center
For more than 40 years, Kripalu has remained a place where people come together to deeply inquire into the core issues of life, explore new and healthier ways of being, and put inspiration into practice. Kripalu’s vision is to build a new kind of educational institution, one dedicated to the inquiry of what creates a fulfilled human life.
An important aspect of the Kripalu experience is that it offers time away from your daily routines, activities, and surroundings. This frees you to focus on getting the most from your retreat or program experience. Many program participants describe Kripalu as a place where everything you need is conveniently provided without modern-day distractions such as televisions.
All of Kripalu’s activities take place within the context of a retreat center offering in-depth immersion programs, wholesome meals, saunas, whirlpools and other supportive amenities. In addition to the program you are welcome to participate in yoga, YogaDance, meditation, concerts, evening programs, hike, swim, and enjoy the amazing grounds. There is no need to commute to activities, as everything is under one-roof or an easy walk away. At Kripalu, a healthy lifestyle supportive of learning and positive change can be simpler than you think.
Bios:
Rabbi Sigal Brier, MA, is an innovative leader, psychologist, and experienced spiritual facilitator with an integrative approach. She has been a faculty member in diverse academic, holistic, and Jewish organizations, including Temple University, Kripalu Center, and Gratz College. She founded the Institute for Religious Leaders after serving as a congregational rabbi for 10 years and directing a program for rabbis and rabbinical students in New York City. An accomplished musician who has recorded a number of CDs, she is also the founder of Integrated Judaism and Integrated Practice: The Art of Moving Through Prayer. http://www.rabbisigal.com/
Bios:
Rabbi Sigal Brier, MA, is an innovative leader, psychologist, and experienced spiritual facilitator with an integrative approach. She has been a faculty member in diverse academic, holistic, and Jewish organizations, including Temple University, Kripalu Center, and Gratz College. She founded the Institute for Religious Leaders after serving as a congregational rabbi for 10 years and directing a program for rabbis and rabbinical students in New York City. An accomplished musician who has recorded a number of CDs, she is also the founder of Integrated Judaism and Integrated Practice: The Art of Moving Through Prayer. http://www.rabbisigal.com/
Rev. Thomas Ryan, CSP, is a Catholic priest who directs the North American office for ecumenical and interfaith relations for his community, the Paulist Fathers in Washington DC. His twin passions are the spiritual life and relationships of mutual enrichment between people of faith. He has authored 12 books and over 100 articles in a wide variety of journals. He leads ecumenical and interfaith retreats throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. http://www.tomryancsp.org/
