Thriving in Rural Ministry is a continuing formation program for Catholic clergy who are serving in rural ministry. There are multiple ways for clergy to participate in the Thriving in Rural Ministry program, either in-person or online. Priests and deacons can attend a 5-day in-person retreat or invite CRL to present a workshop or during diocesan education days. Clergy can also join the online sessions, which take place nearly every month, or sign up to access the Thriving in Rural Ministry portal on the website and view past online sessions, rural blessings and liturgy guides, and much more. The Rural Ministry Monthly email is open to everyone and goes out the first week of each month.
The retreats are offered only for Catholic priests and deacons, in good standing, who are currently serving in rural ministry or anticipate doing so soon.
Thriving in Rural Ministry is centered around 5 pillars: Spiritual Renewal, Best Practices in Rural Ministry, Integral Ecology, Leadership Development, and Clergy Fraternity. These pillars form the curriculum of Thriving in Rural Ministry and are covered holistically on the retreat, while other formats may focus on just one or two of the pillars.
The core of the program is a 5-day in-person retreat that is offered at various times throughout the year and in different parts of the country. When, where, and how often these retreats are offered is dependent on interest from clergy who are participating in the program. CRL also offers 6-8 clergy-only webinars during the year on topics related to the best practices, leadership development, and integral ecology pillars of the program. Thriving in Rural Ministry is also available to present in a truncated form at conferences, education days, and convocations by invitation.
First, sign up for the Rural Ministry Monthly email here. This will connect you with the themes, prayers, in-person events, and online sessions available through Thriving in Rural Ministry each month. Then, contact CRL about joining CRL as a Thriving in Rural Ministry member to access the online portal and be added to the mailing list for the online sessions. Or go to the retreat page of our website to see upcoming events and retreats and register there.
The content of Thriving in Rural Ministry is tailored specifically to the needs of rural clergy and their unique charism, challenges, and blessings. To keep the conversations confidential and respect the privacy of clergy who are seeking continuing formation through CRL’s programming, we limit the in-person, 5-day retreats and the topical online sessions to clergy only. The resources in the Rural Ministry Monthly, CRL magazine, prayers, blessings, public webinars, and any invited talks or workshops are available to all. CRL is also available to present truncated versions of the Thriving in Rural Ministry curriculum to diocesan or parish groups.
Dates and locations for retreat are constantly being updated. To see the upcoming retreat dates and register for a retreat, click here!
The retreat begins on Monday afternoon and continues through Friday morning. You can view a sample retreat schedule here.
The cost of the retreat is $700 or an amount commensurate with your budgeted retreat allowance through your diocese or parish. Covered expenses include pre-retreat assessment tools, lodging, meals, materials, and participation in post-retreat virtu8\al cohort meetings. Transportation to the retreat center is the responsibility of each priest (or his parish or diocese).
Through a special collaboration between CRL and Catholic Home Missions, travel expenses incurred by priests serving in mission dioceses are reimbursable up to a certain amount per diocese. This reimbursement can also include stipends for substitute clergy while you are away from your parish. This is in addition to any other support your diocese may receive from CHM.
The Hogan Assessment is a leadership and personality inventory which is used across business, non-profits, and church organizations to increase awareness of how you may be viewed in your role as a leader. It is most often used in a corporate setting, but it has great value in our context as well. There are no right or wrong answers and successful leadership is a multifaceted process, especially in the priesthood.
The assessment is for your edification and awareness. In the midst of your day-to-day responsibilities, you do not often have a chance to stop and look at your leadership qualities and their impact. An enhanced understanding of your leadership traits can increase your success in evangelization, communication, managing change, and forms the basis for how you approach your role as pastor.
The results of the assessment are yours. We do not share individual results with anyone, but you may share them with whomever you wish.
Because of your unique role in leadership, a member of Catholic Rural Life staff, certified in interpreting the results, will provide a feedback session before the retreat to explain your results and answer questions in the context of priestly ministry. The feedback session is intended to familiarize you with your own results before the retreat where growth in leadership will be discussed as a part of priestly ministry.
