Workshops and Programs

Our Workshops/Group offerings are listed below.

Offered by Hollis Burkhart, LMHC

• Women's Spirituality Group  
• Stress Workshop
• Dreamwork as a Spiritual Process
• Meditation Practice Sampler

Offered by Rev. Gregory Carpenter

• Clergy Support Group: "Engaging Clergy Leadership Challenges in the 21st Century"
• Parenting: Communication, Connection and Consequences
• Personal and Spiritual Development
• Church and Leadership Development

Offered by Hollis Burkhart, LMHC (Intake Coordinator)

Women’s Spirituality Group
If you are feeling a need for more spiritual connection, come and explore various ways of thinking about and expressing your spirituality in a group with other women. We’ll explore what it means to be fully present in our bodies, minds, and spirits while being grounded on a solid spiritual foundation. We will use check-ins, relaxation and meditation exercises, guided visualizations, as well as a weekly topic, such as hope, relationships, the sacred in things, teachers in our lives, and creativity. The group will meet for six weeks for 90 minutes each week. We are currently forming the group so please contact the Center if you are interested.
Cost: $20/week ($120/6 wks)

Stress Workshop
Is life getting too stressful? Do you wish life would slow down?  In this workshop, discover which relaxation techniques work for you.

Topics Covered

• Is all stress bad
• How stress affects us
• Stress reduction techniques
• Personalized stress assessment

Benefits

• Reduction in personal stress level
• Develop a positive outlook on life
• Skills for coping with stress
• Feel more relaxed and peaceful

Cost: $30

Dreamwork as a Spiritual Process
This workshop is designed for anyone interested in understanding how to use dreams for personal, spiritual growth.

Topics Covered

• Value of dreams in various cultures
• Why we dream
• Keeping a dream journal
• Tools for dreamwork
• How to catch your dreams

Benefits

• Understand what your dreams are telling you
• Be able to use your dreams for personal, spiritual growth

Cost: $30

Meditation Practice Sampler
This workshop offers a variety of meditation techniques for everyday practice that allows each individual to find the one that works best for them.

Topics Covered

• Why meditate
• Meditation techniques: walking meditation, meditation using words and breath
• Lovingkindness (metta) meditation
• How to quiet the mind

Benefits

• Increased happiness and self-understanding
• Develop a sense of equanimity
• Strengthen the connection to your spiritual roots
• Relax the body

Cost: $30

^ back to top

Offered by Rev. Greg Carpenter

Clergy Support Group: “Engaging Clergy Leadership Challenges in the 21st Century”
        
Cost: $20 per meeting

Group is designed for clergy leaders who can identify with one or more of the following

• clergy leaders at some point feel dispirited or disconnected
• need to develop new & healthy connections
• struggle to balance competing expectations
• new pathways of learning are needed for all congregational leaders

Benefits

• connections & renewal
• shared wisdom
• leadership agility & resilience
• tools for the journey

Parenting: Communication, Connection & Consequences
Many workshops on parenting seem to expect parents to have a doctorate in psychology and to live in a laboratory.  This offering is designed to meet the “real world” of parenting head on. 
 
Topics Covered

• Building Connection
• Getting Kids to Talk
• Creative Consequences
• When Not to Dance

Benefits

• Learn age appropriate ways for connection, communication and consequences
• Understand the process of moving from “stuck” to “unstuck”

Cost:  $30

^ back to top


Workshops are custom designed to meet the your faith community or organizational needs. Please contact us for more information. Below is a listing of other workshops that we offer periodically and are also available by request.

“Parenting by Heart”
Most workshops on parenting seems to expect parents to have a doctorate in psychology and to live in a laboratory. This workshop is designed to meet the “real world” of parenting head on. The goal is connection not perfection. We will look at ways to surround our children with positive connections, communication and consequences. Topics covered will be “Getting Kids to Talk,” “Creative Consequences,” and “When Not to Dance.”  
Facilitator: Greg Carpenter

Substance Abuse Support Group
This group is for the children of substance abusing parents. These children are also at higher risk for problems in school and social relationships. Support groups provide education, and a safe and supportive environment in which children of substance abusing parents can explore and express their feelings freely. The curriculum, the Children's Program Kit, covers addiction, feelings, problem solving, treatment and recovery. The group will meet weekly for one hour for six weeks. We are forming the group so please contact the Center if you are interested.  
Facilitator: Paula Marcello

“The Gift of Fear: Psychological Self-Defense”
Interpersonal violence is our primary phobia. Many persons in our culture have been paradoxically taught to ignore their intuition. In this workshop, we will explore the notion that fear is a gift with powers to help us predict and protect ourselves from violent behavior. We will explore some of the insights from Gavin De Becker's “The Gift of Fear.” Topics covered will include "how intuition works,” “survival signals and understanding threats,” “intuitive fear vs. worry,” “intimate enemies,” and “violence in the work place.”  
Facilitator: Greg Carpenter

^ back to top

“The Soul of Tomorrow’s Church”
If you feel like doing church work or day-to-day responsibilities are getting in the way of experiencing God, then this training event is for you. We will look for ways to restore soulful connections to ministries of administration, worship, education, evangelism and outreach. This is a good training event for both lay and clergy. Workshop can be a “stand alone event” with the topic of your choice or as a full training series.
Facilitator: Greg Carpenter

“The Dance of Leadership”
Using the Communiqué Personality & Management Report, we will look at your unique preferences around leadership, motivation, communication and conflict management styles. This report will produce a read-out of the personality and leadership expectations of your congregation. This workshop is designed to increase your personal and relational effectiveness as a leader.
Facilitator: Greg Carpenter

“Front End Alignments”
Church Culture is that invisible reality of shared beliefs, behaviors, and norms that form the glue of congregational life. In this workshop, we will use a cultural assessment tool for identifying your congregation’s organizational and religious culture. Is your pledge drive or study group in alignment with your congregation’s unique culture? Awareness of your cultural type has implications for planning and programming.  
Facilitator: Greg Carpenter

“Solution Focused Ministry”
So much of leadership and ministry is about the stewardship of energy, focus of attention and attitude. One of the assumptions of Solution Focused Ministry is that people and faith communities tend to move in the direction of their questions and thoughts (problem talk is not solution talk). Come together to explore a positive solution focused approach to problem solving, decision-making and strategic planning. Together we will explore what is on the cutting edge of organizational thinking and leadership.
Facilitator: Greg Carpenter

^ back to top