What is the 5 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation?

The 5 Day Academy is for laity and clergy of all denominations who hunger for renewal and spiritual growth. The Academy model invites participants to spend time apart in a Christian retreat setting with worship at the center. Morning and evening prayers, eucharist, and silence provide the container for each day. The faculty make a daily presentation on their theme - one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Participants are then provided the time and space to respond to this theme through silence, written and spoken word, prayer, worship, and community sharing. The daily schedule is based on the Benedictine monastic schedule.
The intent of the Academy is for participants to be informed, nurtured, encouraged, and sustained by the spirit of God and to provide means to carry that into their daily lives. When the Academy is over our hope is for participants to be renewed in mind, body, and soul to live as faithful disciples of Christ in relationship with God, community, and creation.
This 5 Day Academy is sponsored by the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church under the guidance of The Upper Room®.