Center for Clergy Renewal

10/26/2026

"To begin again
Isn't to go backwards,
But to decide to go.
Our story is not a circle carved,
But a spiral shed/shaped/spinning,
Shifting inward & outward ad infinitum,
Like a lung on the bank of speech.
Breathe with us."
~ Amanda Gorman, excerpt from “Closure”

As the leaves turn and fall, the world repeats the cycle of the seasons. But each year, each season, is different from all that came before. For this week's Monday Meditation, head outside and pay attention to the change of the season. Spend a few minutes in silence. Listen to the changing world. With one finger trace a spiral on the ground or on your other palm. Then pause and listen again, this time paying attention to your own breath and your place in all the cycles of creation.

10/21/2026

We are grateful for the opportunity to listen to Rev. Joseph Ellwanger in conversation with Venice Williams last Tuesday. Pastor Joe shared reflections and stories from his early ministry in Birmingham, AL and what continues to inspire him in his ongoing work in Milwaukee. We Shall Overcome was a great celebration of Pastor Joe's ministry and of the ways that our work supports and sustains clergy today. May we all continue to substitute responses of caution with responses of courage.
Many thanks to Sherril Knezel of Meaningful Marks for capturing the conversation so beautifully!

10/19/2026

"What if resting, all by itself, is the real act of holiness? What if honoring the gift of our only life in this gorgeous world means taking time every week to slow down? To sleep? To breathe? The natural world has never needed us more than it needs us now, but we can't be of much use to it if we remain in a perpetual state of exhaustion and despair." - Margaret Renkl in The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

How can you honor the gift of your life in this gorgeous world today? Create space to honor the gift of the creation that surrounds you and your unique created form within it all. Our Creator declared the world good, and very good, you included. Pause and celebrate the beauty. Take a deep breath in and release it slowly. Celebrate the gift of resting, pausing, breathing, in this gorgeous world.

10/15/2026

Please join us on October 29th for this opportunity!

The Center for Clergy Renewal (CCR) would like to give this gift of prayers to our cohort pastors.

We have created cards to be sent that will let the pastors know they will be held in loving intention for a week. We are hoping some of you might want to come, fill out a card to one or more pastors with a personal message, and commit to a week of holding them in your heart and in the heart of God.

We will be meeting in the Monastery Boardroom on Oct. 29th from 10:30-11:30 am to fill out cards. We are so grateful for all the ways our community of communities give pastors a place to experience in their own bodies and hearts the love and prayers they give to so many. Thank you for all the ways you hold them in loving intention!

10/12/2026

The things of the soul must always be considered plentiful, spacious and large. ~ Teresa of Avila

Take a moment today to find a viewpoint where you can see into the distance. Appreciate the vastness of the world around you, far beyond even the little part that you can see. Give thanks for the ways that God is at work in the world far beyond your comprehension. Then return to the small tasks and daily work that is yours to do today. Trust that your work is part of the plenty that God will knit together with love.

10/05/2026

The idea of a divine indwelling at the center of the whole universe, with every unique part in conversation with the others, has many names. What Thich Nhat Hanh names the web of interbeing is aligned with what Robin Wall Kimmerer calls sacred reciprocity. David Whyte calls it the conversational nature of reality, and quantum scientist David Bohm uses the term implicate order. Martin Luther King Jr. called it an inescapable network of mutuality, which he said was "tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." The ancient ancestors of Christianity called it logos. ~ Victoria Loorz, Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred

As the Northern Hemisphere moves into fall and we come to a time where seed heads and dry stalks stand alongside ongoing blooms and busy insects, take a moment today to appreciate the intricate ways in which we are all connected to one another. Is there a term of interconnection in the quote above that is particularly resonate for you today? Where do you see the divine indwelling made known in the world around you? Pause to give thanks for the ways in which you are not alone but connected to the whole of the creation God declared to good and very good.

10/01/2026

In the current political and social realities, people of faith are increasingly feeling called beyond the walls of the church to stand courageously alongside people facing oppression and injustice, but how do we sustain that effort over time?

Join the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery for a lunch and conversation with Rev. Joseph Ellwanger. Pastor Joe began a prophetic public witness during the first Civil Rights Movement alongside Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., continued that witness through community care and advocacy work at his second congregation, Cross Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, and at 93, is still fighting for justice.

Learn more and register for this important experience with the link in the comments.

10/01/2026

The Center for Clergy Renewal provides clergy with fertile soil to root deep into God’s love, grow in community, and scatter seeds of hope for a flourishing world. We hope that We Shall Overcome will be a time for all those who are present to root, grow, and be empowered to scatter seeds of hope for a flourishing world. Please join us for lunch on Tuesday, Oct 13th. Registration closes on Monday! Registration for a video recording is also available.

Join the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery for a lunch and conversation with Rev. Joseph Ellwanger. Joseph began a prophetic public witness during the first Civil Rights Movement alongside Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., continued that witness through community care and advocacy wo...

09/28/2026

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matt. 11:28-30 (The Message)

Seeking to learn the unforced rhythms of grace as we seek to walk with Jesus brings many pastors to Holy Wisdom Monastery seeking renewal and community. For our annual Celebration of Ministry, the Center for Clergy Renewal is seeking to learn from the wisdom of one who has sought to walk with Jesus from his early ministry working alongside Dr. King. Please join us to hear from Rev. Joseph Ellwanger about what has sustained his ministry as he continues to speak out against injustice and advocate for care for the vulnerable today.

Please join us on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at Noon. A video recording option is available for those unable to attend in person: https://holywisdommonastery.org/event/center-for-clergy-renewal-celebration-of-ministry/