What Now? A Retreat for Retiring Clergy

What Now? Living as Faithful Stewards after Our Active Ministry has Ended

A retreat for clergy nearing retirement or recently retired.

For many of us clergy, it is hard to recognize how fully we live within the role or identity as pastor or leader. As we approach the end of our active ministry career, new questions of purpose, faithfulness and human connection emerge.

This four-day retreat will be a chance for guided reflection on the significant questions emerging within the hearts and lives of clergy as they end their active ministries.

Immersed in the rhythms of Benedictine life and using some practices from the work of the Center for Courage & Renewal, participants will be invited to a time away for prayer, conversation, reflection, rest and wrestling.

Other groups offer insight on finances, boundaries, ecclesiastical standing, etc. This retreat will explore the questions, uncertainties and opportunities most important to you. We’ll do our own individual work, in community. We’ll support each other and listen for the nudge of the Spirit.

Dates/Times/Schedule

Mon., Apr. 26, 4:30 pm – Thu., Apr. 29, 2027, 1:00 pm

We begin at 4:30 on Monday and finish with lunch on Thursday. There will be ample free time, small group time, individual reflection time and worship with Holy Wisdom sisters.

Cost

$499/person.

Register

The registration deadline for this retreat is April 1st, 2027, or when the retreat fills.

Cancellation policy – if you register but must cancel your registration, you can receive a 75% refund up until April 1st. After that, a 50% refund is available until the retreat starts.

After you register, if you would like to request a double room with another retreatant or if you have other questions about accommodations, please contact us at retreats@holywisdommonastery.org.

About the Program Leaders – Rev. Winton Boyd and Rev. Rachel Young Binter

Rev. Winton Boyd has a long history with Holy Wisdom Monastery since attending his first retreat in 1987 (Parker Palmer and Henri Nouwen).  He’s loved the openness and welcome of the sisters for most of his adult life.  As Senior Pastor at Orchard Ridge UCC in Madison from 1999-2019, he brought groups on retreat, did personal days with colleagues, and developed friendships with the sisters.  He’s been co-facilitating the Clergy Immersions for 4 years and is also an Oblate of the monastery.  He’s now a retired UCC pastor and a long time facilitator with the Center for Courage & Renewal.  For Courage & Renewal, he directed a multi-year Lilly Endowment Grant focused on clergy retreats and facilitator formation.  In addition to the clergy immersion program, he’s led retreats on aging, men’s issues, political dialogue, and healthy conflict.  He’s trained in family systems and Kingian non-violence, and is a long time mentor for new Courage & Renewal facilitators.  He’s a proud citizen of Minneapolis now, sharing a 100 year old home with his spouse of 40+ years, Tammy.  They have three adult children and 2 grandchildren.  He particularly loves walking the monastery prairie and singing in the oratory.

Rev. Rachel Young Binter is the director of the Center for Clergy Renewal. She is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Church in America (ELCA). Her ministry experiences include street ministry, parish ministry, and campus ministry. In her campus ministry role, she served as a regional facilitator, providing support, training, and networking to other campus pastors. She has a long history of interfaith and ecumenical ministry, with the campus ministry she served at UW-Milwaukee being known as a catalyst for creating interfaith training, events, and dialogue on campus. She is a member of Proclaim, the professional community for Lutheran ministers and candidates who publicly identify as LGBTQIA+ and has been a presenter for LGBTQIA+ events and conferences. She has an interest in embodied care of others through yoga and Reiki. She loves to garden, make teas, and smell fresh mint on her skin. She has led many retreats over the years at Holy Wisdom with parishioners, colleagues, and students, and is grateful to be rooted on its holy ground. Rachel and her husband, Kurt, live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their eldest, Nadezhda, is a healthcare worker and labor organizer in Milwaukee, and their youngest, Hans, cares for plants by day and plays music by night in New York City.