It’s OK to Grieve
On a recent trip to Washington DC, I met with a dozen friends and colleagues in the philanthropic community. In these conversations, I heard the ways that many of us feel a deep sadness, a sadness compounded by these times of deep polarization, othering, violence, and personal pain. I have to admit that I feel this deep sadness as well.
Teacher Residencies at GilChrist
The Nancy M. and Douglas M. Yeager Family Foundation, in partnership with GilChrist Retreat Center and the Fetzer Institute, is pleased to offer ten self-guided, one-week residencies for preschool through fifth grade teachers from July 16-23. This will mark our 20th summer!
Realistic Hope in 2024
At a time when the forces pulling our world apart often seem to be gathering strength, realistic hope is a precious commodity. Our conviction at Fetzer is that we as a human family can find this hope in the shared message of our great faith traditions.
Over the past two years, we have brought together teams of distinguished scholar-practitioners from nine of the world’s faith traditions to explore the traditions’ deep convergence, and we will be releasing the initial results of their work in 2024.
Re-Ignite Your Purpose
This retreat is for any woman going through an important life transition and wanting to consciously choose the next chapters of her life instead of letting life choose for her.
As women mature, we move into the phase of creativity and purpose...yet it can be hard navigating this transition when we have spent so many years giving to our families or/and careers, often being stuck in survival mode or even burnt out. How do we find our way back to ourselves? What is our calling for the next season of your life?
John Howie’s Retirement Party
Please join us in honoring John Howie as he retires after 28 years of contemplative labor and service at GilChrist Retreat Center! John’s gentle, compassionate spirit has been a profound blessing to this land and to all who have made this place a part of their story.
Teacher Residencies (Preschool through 5th Grade)
Note from the program sponsor: We are deeply saddened to share news of the passing of our founder and inspiration, Douglas M. Yeager, on December 24, 2022. While we continue to navigate the loss, we are committed to carrying on this work and building upon the legacy he initiated to honor the memory of his wife and our mother, friend, and grandmother.
Three ways to foster self- and collective care at work
Love is a pretty big part of our workplace vocabulary, but that’s probably what you would expect from a place with a mission to help build the spiritual foundation for a loving world! But truly, love can have a place in any workday and any type of workplace, no matter whom or what you’re working for: customers, patrons, patients, the public, students, a constituency, a mission.
Be the Change: Love and a Living Wage
What would it mean to have a compensation philosophy grounded in our organization’s values of love, trust, authenticity, and inclusion? In 2019, we set ourselves on a course to address this question by establishing the Pay Philosophy Project. The goal? To create a compensation structure that is equitable and transparent, that creates a deeper sense of community among staff, and that is aligned with our mission.
Expanding Welcome: Retreat Fund Creates New Pathways of Invitation and Access
“All are welcome!” From our unique corner of the hospitality world, retreat centers like to picture themselves throwing open our doors and our arms to all. Indeed, many of us have put special effort into expanding the reach of our welcome, with sliding scales or pay-what-you-can rates, representation from a wide range of spiritual experiences, and more.
Yet, the dominant demographic among retreat center leadership and guests remains relatively homogenous in many ways. What more can we do?
Resilience and Soul Work: Cultivating Courage to Create Inclusive Cultures [to be rescheduled]
When we think of "resilient” people, we generally think of individuals who adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, stress and/or tragedy. Resilience is a capacity that each of us can build within ourselves through our thoughts, behaviors, habits, and actions. The goal of our time together will be to explore strategies to deepen our commitment to live authentically and to undertake challenges to transform cultures to become more just.