We Need Each Other
The Public Life Fellows at the March retreat.
Earlier this month, we hosted the first retreat for the inaugural class of our Public Life Fellowship program. These retreats are private — it is too rare for civic leaders to have a space and time during which they do not have to be "on" and are treated as though they, too, have souls. At CCPL, we are committed to building just these kinds of environments, and approaching civic life as a site of meaning rather than the raw pursuit and exploitation of power.
After our first retreat, here is what I can tell you that we (re)learned:
First, spiritual formation, apprenticeship to Jesus Christ, holds up in the thick of life. At CCPL, we do not bring the perspective of aloof mystics or cynical politicos, but of the conviction and experience that the deeper you go into Jesus' kind of life, the more equipped you are for life itself. This holds true for our civic life, and the Public Life Fellowship program is built on this conviction. Our faculty, mentors and our fellows themselves are proof of this. So many shared their stories of how their faith had prepared them for responsibility at the highest levels of our civic life.
Second, we need each other. We took a calculated risk building a program that included fellows and mentors from a diverse array of civic sectors, but at our first retreat, we were reminded why we took that risk. With the right amount of trust and shared ethos, the differences among the cohort came to be one of the great gifts to the cohort. In light of the diversity of professional sectors, denominations, political affiliations and personal backgrounds, the importance of what was shared was amplified, not dimmed, and the unique value every person brought to our time together could be appreciated. This is a lesson for the church and for our civic life.
Third and finally, the public needs what Christians have, and what we have can be offered as a loving service. There was no reticence at the retreat to explore what resources Christianity might have to offer in confronting serious civic challenges, nor was there embarrassment about taking seriously the dignity of each person, separate from what they are producing or what they have accomplished.
Over a dozen experts came alongside our fellows to lend their experience and wisdom. We’re grateful for their time and their investment in the future of Christian contribution.
What we discovered during our time together strengthened our confidence in one of CCPL’s foundational ideas: spiritual formation, the kind of people we are, is central to civic renewal.
We are grateful for the opportunity to continue working with and supporting this cohort of fellows. Our next in-person retreat is in June, and before then we'll provide our fellows with additional resources and opportunities for learning and development.
Thank you for all you are doing to support this work. It is our honor to join you as we contend for the credibility for Christian resources in public life, for the public good.