Resilience Circles for Women in Ministry

From Surviving to Thriving.

Learn to navigate challenges, cultivate resilience, and flourish in your calling – all within a supportive community.

From Surviving to Thriving. Learn to navigate challenges, cultivate resilience, and flourish in your calling – all within a supportive community.

Now Enrolling!

New classes begin in the fall.

Register Here!

100% of participants said that their capacity to tolerate/manage stress increased as a result of the program.

Are you a woman called to lead? We understand the unique challenges you face.

In a historically patriarchal church context, despite some progress, we still contend with a culture that often devalues or dismisses women’s callings. Alongside these barriers, there’s also the stress of our day-to-day lives – both professionally and personally.

As women, we have an incredible capacity for stress, but we also know it takes a toll on our bodies, minds, hearts, and those we care for. Some days, you may be questioning your calling – or thinking about quitting altogether.

That’s why it’s essential to cultivate resilience.

Living out your calling – all while facing barriers and managing stress of day-to-day life – requires a special kind of resilience.

Resilience means becoming stronger through adversity. It’s about increasing your capacity in response to challenges. Not just surviving or muscling through — but truly flourishing.

And you don’t have to do this alone.

We created Resilience Circles to help you foster more resilience because we believe in the power of community. We were made to learn, grow, and flourish together.

New this year: Resilience Circles for Women in Ministry

If you’re a pastor, ministry leader, educator, or change-maker, we invite you to join our upcoming cohort of women leaders to cultivate resilience together. Our Resilience Circles offer a unique, transformative journey of personal growth, connection, and support, empowering you to flourish in your ministry and leadership roles.

In a world where differences often divide us, the Resilience Circle aims to create a “safe enough” space to bridge gaps with presence, authenticity, and kindness. This year, we’re thrilled to offer our first women-only cohort, providing a space to share our unique struggles and celebrate our victories together.

Over the course of 8 months, you’ll join a small cohort of women for monthly two-hour online gatherings. Together, you will:

  • Develop strategies to tolerate and manage stress and conflict
  • Create more self-compassion and self-awareness
  • Cultivate supportive relationships through listening, vulnerability, and kindly giving and receiving feedback

If you desire personal growth and want to make a significant impact right where you are, you will benefit from joining a Resilience Circle.

Ready to build resilience and flourish in your calling? Sign up now to be notified when registration opens.

Sign up below to be notified and receive more information.

Name

100%

of participants said that their ability to deal with conflict in their vocational context has increased as a result of the program.

100%

of participants said their self-compassion increased

100%

of participants said that their capacity to tolerate/manage stress increased as a result of the program.

87.5%

of participants said their ability to cultivate supportive relationships through listening, vulnerability, and kindly giving/receiving feedback increased.

100%

of participants said that this program increased their ability to relate to others in positive, transforming ways.

87.5%

of participants said their ability to find purpose/make-meaning in your own story increased.

Meet Your Resilience Circle Convener:
Dr. Rose Madrid Swetman

Dr. Rose Madrid Swetman was ordained as a pastor in 1995, becoming an associate pastor in a local church that recognized women’s ordination before the national denomination did. She co-led the church with her husband, Rich, from 2000 to 2016, taking the primary lead. In 2006, she played a pivotal role in the denomination’s resolution to empower women in ministry, serving on a national task force to mentor and train women leaders.

She became the first female and Hispanic area leader, overseeing seven churches, and in 2012, was appointed one of the first two female regional leaders, overseeing fifty (male-led) congregations in the Northwest, and served in those roles for ten years. Rose is the Associate Director of the Center for Transforming Engagement and continues to mentor and coach women in leadership, passionately supporting their impact in ministry.

This fall, Rose will be convening the Resilience Circles for Women in Ministry. Sign up below to be notified when registration opens.

Register Now for Fall Classes

How Resilience Circles Work

Circles are not predetermined groups you can join, but are a unique space that brings together diverse people to learn and grow together in a cohort model.

  • Format: live online instruction and facilitated conversation
  • Duration: 8-months
  • Cohort Size: Each circle includes one convener and 8-10 participants
  • Time: Monthly Meetings of 2 hours
  • Cost: $600
  • Partial scholarships: available for clergy and church staff – Click here to check your eligibility
  • Coaching Add-on: $300 for three 50-minute sessions*

Coaching helps you activate all that comes up in the group experience. Our coaches specialize in various personality assessments, vocational discernment, and spiritual direction. We’ll customize our coaching to whatever best meets your needs!

*While this add-on begins with three coaching sessions, more sessions can be added after your first three.

Sign up below to be notified and receive more information.

Name

Copyright 2024 Center for Transforming Engagement ● Privacy Policy ● Website: Alford Creative

Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program.
Terms / Conditions. By registering for a Resilience or Leaders Circle, you agree to the following (scroll down and click agree)
Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu
Time commitment:
Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting.
Your feedback is immensely valuable!
As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use.
Code of Conduct:
The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. i. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. ii. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. iii. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. iiii. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. iv. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible.
Fair Use Policy
All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Agree and Close
(scroll down and click agree) Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program. Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu Time commitment: Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting. Your feedback is immensely valuable! As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use. 2. Code of Conduct The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. Confidentiality. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. Curiosity. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. Respect differences. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. You are invited to be a whole person, with both thoughts and feelings. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. Presence. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible. 3. Fair Use Policy All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Agree and Close