May 8, 2023


Dear friends,


Last week, The BTS Center staff joined a group of dedicated fellows for the final of four sessions in the Adaptive Mind, a program developed by Dr. Susi Moser. We spent two days diving into conversations about how to engage deeply, both pastorally and prophetically, with the challenges of our climate-changed world. We are so excited by the ways in which these trainings have ignited our ecological imaginings, and we look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks and months.


At The BTS Center, we are dedicated to having these conversations — the ones that are challenging but held with love, the ones that matter deeply to who we are and who we wish to be. And we are grateful to have a community of people willing to engage meaningfully with us — through grief and lament, joy and celebration, uncertainty and hope.


This spring and summer bring so many opportunities for you to join us in these conversations. First up is the return of Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill's Fireside Chats, now called Let's Talk! Conversations that Matter. We hope you will join us this Thursday for the first of the series, a conversation with Rabbi Natan Margalit, author of The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking. We have many other offerings coming to you, as you'll see below, from retreats to offerings for spiritual directors and chaplains, from a new cohort of our Small Church Leadership Community to our Leadership Commons Open House. All of it culminates in an in-person Convocation in September — we hope you will save the date and join us!


We hope that however you choose to join us, what we offer will give you opportunities to engage in your own conversations that matter — and that you'll continue to let us know how what you find at The BTS Center infuses your lives and work.


With best wishes,

The BTS Center Team

Join us for these Upcoming Programs!


Let's Talk! Conversations that Matter with Rabbi Natan Margalit

  • Thursday, May 11 • 12.15 - 1.00pm (Eastern) • Online
  • In conversation with Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill


Cultivating Refugia: A Small Church Leadership Community

  • Second cohort runs June 2023 - May 2024
  • Facilitated by Rev. Peter Ilgenfritz and Rev. Dr. Wanda Stahl
  • For congregations in Northern New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts)
  • Applications are being accepted until May 15, 2023


Group Spiritual Direction Circles

  • For clergy and other spiritual leaders
  • Meeting once per month from May to December 2023
  • Just a few spaces left!


Spiritual Direction for a Climate-Changed World

  • Tuesday, May 16 • 1.00 - 4.30pm (Eastern) • Online
  • a gathering for trained spiritual directors and spiritual companions


Leadership Commons Open House

  • Wednesday, May 17 • 12.15 - 1.00pm (Eastern) • Online
  • Join us to learn more about our newest resources!


Conversation Circle: Chaplaincy and the Environment

  • Twice monthly meetings for six months beginning in June
  • Facilitated by Rev. Alison Cornish and Gabrielle Gelderman
  • Applications are due by May 18, 2023


Spiritual Ecology for Spiritual Leaders Gathering

  • August 27-30, 2023
  • a four-day gathering for early-career leaders from diverse backgrounds, in person in Portland, Maine
  • Interest forms are due by May 25, 2023


Wonder and Wander at Tir na nOg Farm

  • Saturday, August 5 and Friday, October 27 • 9.30am - 4pm (Eastern)
  • In person at Tir na nOg Farm in Pownal, ME


Convocation 2023: Save the Date!

What we're reading, listening to, and pondering:




The BTS Center | 207.774.5212 | info@thebtscenter.org | www.thebtscenter.org

 Our mission is to catalyze spiritual imagination with enduring wisdom for transformative faith leadership. We offer theologically grounded programs of continuing education and spiritual formation, including workshops and retreats, learning cohorts, public conversations, and projects of applied research.
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