News & Resources

THANK YOU TO BIG SIGH MINISTRIES

It is with deep humility and gratitude that the Davidson Centre for the Professions wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to Big Sigh Ministries for their recent donation.

“It has been an honor and blessing to serve pastors, educators and church leaders through Big Sigh Ministries’ renewal and sabbath ministry.  We are thrilled that this ministry will live on through the Davidson Clergy Center.”  Jacqueline and Jack Tookey, Co-founders of Big Sigh Ministries, Inc.

Thank you Big Sigh Ministries!

 

NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

We are pleased to announce our new Director, Suzanne Schilling, who will be undertaking leadership of Davidson Centre for the Professions on January 1, 2024!  The Rev. George Jacobs, Co-Founder, will step into the Director Emeritus role.  Both George and Gordon Jacobs, co-founders, will remain on the Board of Directors.

Suzanne is a certified professional life and leadership coach and began her association with DCP in 2018.  As the proprietor of Suzanne Schilling Coaching LLC, she has been journeying with individuals and groups for over 25 years as they navigate their public relationships and personal lives.  She is an active lay member and clergy spouse within the Western North Carolina Conference of the UMC, and she brings a unique perspective to fostering health and wellness for clergy and congregational leaders.

Welcome Suzanne!

 

GRANTS FOR PARTICIPATING PCUSA PASTORS

The Board of Pensions of the PCUSA has established the “Clergy Wellness Program”.  The BOP has listed Davidson Centre for the Professions as one of seven approved programs that address vocational, spiritual, mental, and physical wellness for clergy.

The grant will cover full tuition for the Clergy Program, travel, and lodging.  A pastor “must not have an effective salary that does not exceed $80,000 (excluding manse value).”

You can check their website at Clergy Wellness Support, www.pensions.org.

georgejacobs@davcp.com
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Time for a Road Trip?

This past weekend, my wife and I took a road trip to visit family in Virginia.  It was nice to have a long conversation on the journey – enjoying different meals and seeing new things.  A few miles on the way back through the mountains, we stopped by a country store and farm to table restaurant.  Later, we learned it was owned by a famous writer.  Interestingly, the road trip helped us to experience home in a fresh, vibrant way. On a journey, we can feel the vitality of life.  Knowing that “who we are”…
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Katie Stankiewicz
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Through the Horse’s Eyes

“There is something about the gentle wisdom in a horse’s eye that can put even the most troubled soul at peace.” A desire to serve, guided from Above, helped you enter this sacred path.  Ministry.  Clergy are faced with copious challenges and stressors specific to their vocation.  Ultimately rewarding, yet over time, many pastors encounter struggles with transitions, leadership, self-doubt, or friendships.  Schedules become intense with life/work balance, self-care and identity squeezed in.  Also, coping with emotions such as grief.  The human aspect while serving as a pastor is tenuous. You became connected to the…
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Jody Seymour
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Standing Knee Deep in a River and Dying of Thirst

The above words come to mind when I work with ministers who face the constant challenges of “our work”.  I often say to my brother and sister clergy, “We can get awfully thirsty giving other people water.”  Anyone in ministry knows what I mean.  We who are called on to provide water to thirsty souls learn over time that giving the water does not mean drinking the water. Those whom we serve must think that we have some kind of artesian spring that naturally feeds our spirit.  Not true.  We too need to stop by…
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Alix Felsing
In Articles

Write Your Way Forward

What if I told you there’s a tool that is easy to use, never breaks, and doesn’t cost much? The more you use this tool, the better it works — and it’s literally at your fingertips. Journaling is a reflective practice that helps us make sense of our experiences. Writing about events and emotions leads to greater self-awareness, new perspectives, and transformed behavior. But I’m so busy, you say. My head is buzzing with all the competing demands I’m juggling and all the things I’m trying to remember to do. I don’t have the time…
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Jan E. Lorah
In Articles

Spiritual Direction Jan-style

When I first sit with a client, I offer my abbreviated definition of spiritual direction – that which I have come to recognize as true over the more than a decade of answering the call to this wonderful ministry. To me, it is about “Holy Listening;” the client and I are seeking to discern how God is working through what is happening in their journey of the moment. I define “Holy Listening” as the practice of keeping my heart and soul open to hear what is really being said – what is the real issue…
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Clergy Program participants are saying:

 

“It is an incubator for abundant & holistic care that plants seeds of possibility for life moving forward.”

 

“….offers professional development on a personal level with great balance…”

 

“…gives freedom to stop & focus on oneself.”