Manna is an opportunity to set aside time and space in your life to invest in you and your well-being. Manna is a six-month assessment and renewal program designed for clergy. The focus of Manna is on wholistic flourishing … which includes spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and financial flourishing as well as flourishing in your ministry.
Manna fulfills the Eight Year Assessment requirement that was mandated by the 2016 General Conference which requires clergy to engage in a six-month process of personal and professional assessment, development, and renewal every eight years.
Manna has intentionally been designed to be a highly personalized experience. Research has shown that to flourish, one needs to step back and assess one's current levels of flourishing. You will design your personalized Manna experience to include various assessments and days apart for renewal (whatever that looks like for you) and you're also encouraged to include some fun activities too.
For some, Manna will be a time of significant renewal and change in their life and ministry. For others, Manna will affirm the flourishing that is already present in life and ministry, along with next steps and new growth.
Participants in the Manna pilot cohort shared their experience of Manna:
"It is a well on the path of your journey. Stop and take a look to see whether and what kind of water you need for your continuing journey."
"Manna is an opportunity to step back from ministry and assess how things are going with helpful tools and people so that we might flourish in our call."
Wherever you are in life and ministry, we hope that Manna will be a fruitful and enriching experience for you!
The three phases of Manna take place over a period of six months.
The first phase begins with a three-day, in-person retreat at Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center in N. Andover, MA. The opening retreat features sabbath time, opportunities to reflect on your current wellbeing, and time with your small group with whom you’ll journey through Manna.
The second phase happens during months two to five. Using various wellbeing assessments that you choose will help you identify the areas in which you are currently flourishing and the areas that need some attention. You will also be meeting monthly with your small group led by a spiritual director.
Manna closes with a three-day, in-person retreat at Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center in N. Andover, MA, that features sabbath time, opportunities to reflect on your Manna experience with your small group, and time to focus on your next steps to continue growing in your flourishing.