Franciscan Dialogue FORMATION SERIES
Interested in deepening your spirituality?
Have any of your relationships been strained by societal polarization?
Do you long to engage with others who see the world differently in ways that are connective?
Don't miss this formative retreat series when chaplain and mission integration consultant Brent Anderson, M.Div, shares proven techniques and stances for encountering deeper dimensions of the soul, sparking conversation, leading effective dialogue, and overcoming polarizing dynamics. It draws from Franciscan heritage, contemplative spirituality, chaplaincy skills, and spiritual direction practices, along with neuroendocrinology, social psychology, empathy research, and conflict mediation studies. The virtual offering includes four 2-hour sessions, a 45-minute 1:1 integration/coaching session with the facilitator, and short daily guided meditative practices for a month.
Retreat Alumni Report:
1. New abilities for finding healing in strained relationships.
2. Enhanced capacity for connecting with others who see the world differently & reduced polarization.
3. Growth in empathic presence (social workers, clinical psychologists, pastors, chaplains, & spiritual directors report the formation has enhanced their work.)
4. Enhanced leadership skills and stances.
5. Growth in self-knowledge.
6. Inner healing.
7. Greater connection with their spirituality.
8. Greater intercultural competence & humility.
9. Growth in ability to speak one's truth and advocate while preserving relationships.
10. Deepened sense of connective community and fellowship.
11. Organizations report dialogical breakthroughs in longstanding issues that are core to their mission and values.
Cost & Expectations
Cost: Pay-It-Forward.
The vast majority of our retreat alumni have experienced transformation in their lives. They believe that if a critical mass of us had this formation, that we could turn the tide on growing societal polarization. They have "paid-forward" the registration fee for the month-long formation to remove the obstacle for others (you!) to experience this.
To honor their gift, our team asks you to:
1. Commit to attending all 4 sessions (if you have a scheduling conflict, the session can be made up in an alternative cohort.)
2. Commit 5-10 minutes each day to reinforce the contemplative dialogical practices in daily reflection (we provide daily prompts). This also maximizes the depth of your formation over the course of the retreat.
3. Take 2-minutes to write a couple of notes to encourage the outreach efforts of the broader community.
4. If at the end of the retreat, you find these stances and skills can deepen peoples' lives and ways of connecting with one another, you might consider generously extending the reach of the retreat by “paying-it-forward” for others in a way that would be within your means (this provision can help the movement achieve "exponential growth.")
5. Thoughtfully complete a short 5-minute evaluation at the end of the series.
pay-it-forward fund!
Your contribution helps us share this life-changing formation for others. Thank you for propelling this movement forward!
1. Enhanced Dialogue
I have studied a number of different approaches for constructive dialogue over the last 40 years. The Cultivating Unity method... is by far the most helpful.
- Jewel Payne, Church Committee Leader
This has transformed the way I talk to clients and groups about their emotions. - Licensed Clinical Social Worker
2. On Healing in Relationships
My son and I have barely spoken in the past two years after a couple of blow-ups. Using these skills really changed my approach to him, and we're talking again. - Retiree
This has really improved my relationship with my spouse.
- Reflection after 4 years of marriage
3. Spiritual Growth
I return to the guided meditations over and over again for my own prayer, and have referred those I accompany in spiritual direction to do the same.
- Franciscan Sister
4. Greater Experience Of Authentic Community And Belonging
I feel like I got to know people better in the retreat, than I have in my own church. - Retiree from Atlanta
Even though we live together, we all learned important things about each other’s story. It would be great if we could keep connecting in this way.
- Franciscan Sister
5. Growth In Ministerial Abilities
The people I visit now feel more “heard” and “important.”
- Franciscan Sister Home Visitation Minister from Upstate NY
My visits (with patients) are so much deeper and more healing now… I wish I would have had this formation when I first started this ministry 30 years ago!
- Dennis Williams, Hospital Minister
6. Leadership Development
I normally have very strong opinions about strategic direction. We have another person on the board who is equally as passionate as I am, but she has a very different idea about where we should be going next. Normally, I would immediately jump in to identify the problems with her vision, but these skills helped me slow down, notice my reactions, and try to really hear her out. I was so pleased with the outcome. - Nonprofit Board President
I had a series of meetings with another pastor. We had very different views of what we wanted for the congregation…I came to dread these conversations. When I applied some of these Cultivating Unity stances, it opened something in me. I was able to really find the goodness in his point of view, and then when I shared mine in a more skillful way, I was surprised by how open he was to how my ideas could be represented going forward. A collaborative spirit emerged, and I felt so much more free.
- Congregational Leader
7. Enhanced Intercultural Awareness/Competence
The most powerful part was when *** shared about his experience of feeling unwelcome and unincluded. I don’t think any of us had any idea of the impact of cracking a light joke about someone’s ethnic food could have.
- Member of a Growing Multicultural Congregation
8. Greater Self Awareness And Self Knowledge
I came here to try to figure out what to do with my brother. Now I realize that the issue is really mostly in me. Not a pleasant feeling, but eye-opening.
- Retreatant from Atlanta
