2027 Clergy Retreat FAQs
What is this experience?
An eight-month clergy leadership-formation experience combining a January retreat at sea with four online gatherings between the retreat and August 2027.
Who may apply?
South Central Conference authorized ministers and Members in Discernment. This explicitly includes congregational pastors, chaplains, ministers serving in specialized settings, and active retired ministers.
Do I need to be burned out to participate?
No. Burnout Is Not Personal Failure names a central conviction, not an admission requirement or a diagnosis. The experience is for people who want to understand the pressures shaping ministry, strengthen regenerative practices, and build sustaining relationships with colleagues.
Is this primarily a cruise?
No. The cruise is the opening residential intensive for a sustained formation experience. Participants commit to three sea-day learning sessions and four follow-up gatherings. The schedule intentionally preserves substantial time for rest, spiritual practice, recreation, and relationships because those are part of regenerative leadership formation.
Why hold the opening retreat at sea?
The South Central Conference covers a very large geography, so any in-person gathering requires travel to a common location. Galveston is within the Conference. Once aboard, lodging, included meals, meeting space, and recreation are available in one place, without asking participants to drive between venues, plan meals, or manage daily logistics. The combined cost is difficult to reproduce at a hotel or retreat center. Most importantly, the setting allows participants to practice spaciousness and rest while engaging substantive formation rather than studying regeneration within an exhausting schedule.
What about the environmental impact of a cruise?
Cruise travel has real environmental consequences, and the Conference will not describe this retreat as environmentally neutral. We are choosing the setting because of its accessibility within our geography, its comparatively inclusive cost, and its capacity to combine formation, rest, meals, lodging, and relationship-building. We will encourage shared transportation to Galveston and invite participants to hold care for personal capacity, communal resilience, and the wider living world together. This is a values tension we will acknowledge honestly rather than dismiss.
What does the Conference cover?
For selected ministers, the Conference will provide double-occupancy cruise fare and the meals included with that fare through Brown Endowment and Conference support.
What expenses remain my responsibility?
Transportation to and from Galveston, cruise-line gratuities, travel documentation, optional excursions, internet or beverage packages, shopping, specialty dining, and other personal purchases.
May I bring my spouse or partner?
Yes, as space allows. The spouse or partner fee is $600. Partners are welcome at shared dinners and informal activities; the core formation sessions and follow-up gatherings are for accepted program participants.
May I have a cabin by myself?
Single occupancy may be requested for a $600 supplement, subject to cabin availability.
What if I do not have a roommate?
The Conference will help match participants who request double occupancy. The application provides space to name a preferred roommate, but you do not need to have one before applying.
When will the online gatherings occur?
There will be four gatherings between the January retreat and August 2027. Dates will be determined in consultation with the selected participants.
What is expected of participants?
Participation in all three sea-day formation sessions, the four online gatherings, program reflection and evaluation, and a willingness to develop and test a regenerative leadership practice in your ministry setting.
How will participants be selected?
Selection will seek a committed group reflecting the Conference's geographic, cultural, vocational, and theological breadth. The application is not a test of writing quality, accomplishment, or who can demonstrate the greatest exhaustion.
What are the key dates?
Applications are due November 8. Applicants will be notified by November 10. Selected participants must confirm and pay any partner or single-occupancy fee by November 15.
What travel documentation will I need?
Each traveler is responsible for meeting Carnival and governmental identification and travel-document requirements. Requirements should be verified directly with Carnival before travel; a valid passport is strongly recommended for international cruise travel.
What if I have dietary, mobility, accessibility, or medical needs?
Please describe relevant needs on the application. The Conference will work with selected participants and the cruise line to determine what accommodations are available.