Participating in CREDO

 

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in CREDO at Bellwether Farm near Wakeman, Ohio. CREDO is a program offered by the Board of Pensions of the PC(USA) for pastors. In the materials I received about CREDO I read that “the mission of CREDO is to provide opportunities for clergy to examine significant areas of their lives and to discern prayerfully the future direction of their vocation as they respond to God’s call in a lifelong process of practice and transformation.”

I was offered the opportunity to attend CREDO earlier in the year and quickly responded by saying “yes.” The beauty of CREDO is participants can participate for no charge. This is quite a gift offered to those of us who were able to attend. This gift is a beautiful investment by the Board of Pensions in the wellness of pastors.

Different types of events are offered under the umbrella of CREDO. The one I attended was for people in their late career; others that are offered are for new pastors and mid-career pastors.

Twenty-four of us gathered as participants and leaders. I was pleasantly surprised to reconnect with a seminary classmate (who I hadn’t seen since we graduated), a colleague who served in the Twin Cities, and a man whose church I visited over twenty years ago when I was discerning my next step in ministry. The beauty of our group was we were all about the same age, we had similar questions about our own wellness, and we all liked each other.  None of us had an ax to grind about God or the PC(USA) or the upcoming elections.

The first part of the week we (participants) received talks on finances, physical wellness, spirituality and vocation. We were placed in small groups where each day we could talk to others about the presentations and our responses to it. I very much enjoyed talking to the three other participants in my small group. All of the participants had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the leaders of each talk.

Each of us were asked to participate in two exercises. One was to discern our own Core Values. We spent an afternoon going through a process that helped each of us identify our top beliefs that give our life meaning. The top five Core Values that I identified were Accepting, Prayerful, Safe, Compassionate, Visionary. Later in the week we were encouraged to develop a Rule of Life. A Rule of Life is a Spirit-led, intentional rhythm of practices that align us with our core values, transform us, and lead us toward abundant life in Christ. The Rule of Life focus that I landed upon was for my physical health.

This coming year I plan on revisiting the Core Value exercise and go through the Rule of Life exercise for other parts of my life.

This CREDO was held at Bellwether Farm in Ohio, about a half hour from Cleveland. This is a farm-to-table operation that also functions as a Camp. I enjoyed a tour of the farm and daily hearing the sounds of chickens, cows, and pigs. All of the food that we ate came from the farm. I normally don’t remember food, but I will remember the food we were served. Fantastic!

 Our group worshiped each day in a beautiful setting called the Barn. All of the leaders shared a sermon—and every sermon was excellent. The music shared was superb.

If this blog feels like I’m gushing about CREDO, it’s because I am gushing about CREDO. It’s an experience that I would hope every Presbyterian pastor will enjoy.

Some of my colleagues have shared that they have tried to get into CREDO, but were not successful. The leaders of this CREDO shared that the number of CREDOs offered is going to significantly increase.

The only suggestion I have for improvement is to wonder if seven days is the right length of time. Though I enjoyed my experience, seven days is a long time to be away from my family. Could all of this be done in five or six days.

 A big thanks to the Board of Pensions for the significant investment they have made in CREDO.