Congregational Equity Cohort
2024-04-13 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-07-19 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Fairwood United Methodist Church, 15255 SE Fairwood Blvd., Renton, WA, 98058, United States
The date for one of six in-person Equity Cohort gatherings for Congregational Leaders within the Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Annual Conferences.

GNW 5 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation
2024-04-21 - 2024-04-26 | Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center at the Palisades, 4700 Southwest Dash Point Road, Federal Way, WA, 98023, United States
Many feel lost in a wilderness where little feels familiar.
We’ll explore how to move beyond simple survival to welcome our wandering as God’s people.
Registration is now open and includes tuition, room, and board.
Registration fee of $1070 includes tuition, private room with bath, and meals.
Scholarships available.
$100 non-refundable deposit will reserve a spot until 3/15/2024.
Contact Registrar Karen Fisher: kmfishwoman@nwi.net for more info.
Click here to register!
Click here to view/download/share the flyer.
Location: Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center, Federal Way, WA
Overlooking Puget Sound the Center offers private rooms & baths, views & trails, spaces for worship & learning, a labyrinth & library.
Faculty:
Daniel Wolpert
Cofounder & Executive Director, Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing
Hanging Your Laundry on a Beam of Light: Finding God When Things Fall Apart
Amy Oden
Working Professor of Church History and Christian Spirituality
Here Is Where We Begin: Practices for the present moment
The Academy for Spiritual Formation:
For those who hunger for deep spiritual experience. The Academy creates transformative space for communion with God, self, others, and creation for the sake of the world. Academy.upperroom.org

General Conference 2024
2024-05-03 08:00 - 17:00 | Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S College St, Charlotte, VA, 28202, United States
The Commission on General Conference has announced that General Conference will be April 23-May 3, 2024, at Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Institutional Equity Cohort
2024-05-30 09:00 - 17:00 | Grotto Retreat Center, 8840 NE Skidmore St, Portland, OR, 97220, United States
The date for one of six in-person Equity Cohort gatherings for individuals within the Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Annual Conferences leadership structures.

Congregational Equity Cohort
2024-05-31 09:00 - 17:00 | Grotto Retreat Center, 8840 NE Skidmore St, Portland, OR, 97220, United States

Laity Meet-Up: History was made - Learn what happened at General Conference
2024-06-01 10:00 - 11:30 | https://greaternw.org/event/laity-meet-up-history-was-made-learn-what-happened-at-general-conference/
‘The Laity Meet-Up’ Set for This Saturday, June 1: Click here to register today!
All area laypersons are encouraged to register now for the next installment of “The Laity Meet-Up” this Saturday, June 1. The free event will be held via Zoom 9 a.m. AKT | 10 a.m. PT | 11 a.m. MT.
A panel of speakers will address the topic: “History Was Made: Learn About the Recent General Conference.” The panelists – Skylar Marston-Bihl, Jan Nelson, and Jo Anne Hayden, represent all three of the annual conferences in the Greater Northwest Area at General Conference, held recently in Charlotte, N.C. More than 1,000 petitions were processed, and more than 800 delegates from around the world (and an additional 1,000-plus reserves and observers) attended.
The panel will discuss important legislation addressed as the conference, specifically: removing restrictive language from the Book of Discipline, revising church structure, updating the Social Principles, and how the church has dramatically changed.
All persons, laity and clergy alike, are welcome to the gatherings of The Laity Meet-Up. For more information or to register, click here.

Western Jurisdictional Conference
2024-07-10 - 2024-07-13
Dates for the 2024 Western Jurisdictional Conference were announced at the end of the previous session. The Greater Northwest Area will host the conference, with more details to be announced at a later date.

Webinar: Pledge Campaign Best Practices
2024-09-18 18:30 - 19:30 | https://greaternw.org/event/webinar-pledge-campaign-best-practices/
What do successful pledge campaigns have in common? Cesie Delve Scheuermann of Inspiring Generosity and Julia Frisbie of Faith Foundation Northwest will team up to teach an interactive class rich with real-world examples from our own episcopal area. Whether you’re preparing for your first pledge campaign or your thirtieth, Cesie and Julia invite you to bring your own stories and questions to the discussion. Attendees will receive a free e-book that contains five different appeal letter templates.
Click here to register for this webinar.

Western Jurisdiction Webinar: Understanding the Constitutional Amendments
2025-05-19 18:30 - 20:00
At the General Conference 2020/2024 meeting, four pieces of legislation passed that would change the denomination’s constitution. In order for these changes to go into effect, the legislation must be ratified by the collective votes of annual and central conferences of the UMC. Throughout 2025, all central and annual conferences will be asked to vote on these important topics at their Annual Conference meetings.
The four pieces for ratification are:

Ballot #1: Regionalization: Changing the structure of the UMC to create equity across the worldwide church.
Ballot #2: Expand inclusiveness in church membership, especially as it relates to gender and ability.
Ballot #3: Stand against racism and colonialism.
Ballot #4: Clarify local pastor status regarding who can vote for clergy delegates.

Understanding these amendments is crucial as we move forward together, as each will impact how we operate as a global church. The Western Jurisdiction has prepared information on each to help you cast your vote. Lay and clergy members of the annual conference are invited to learn more and prepare for this critical vote by joining us on May 19 at 5:30 p.m. AKDT, 6:30 pm PDT, 7:30 MDT, for an information webinar where you can learn more from your ratification conference teams, and ask any questions you may have.
Sign up now

Greater Northwest 5 Day Academy
2026-04-21 - 2026-04-26 | Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center at the Palisades, 4700 Southwest Dash Point Road, Federal Way, WA, 98023, United States
Registration is now open for the
Greater Northwest 5 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation
April 21-26, 2026
We’re taught to fear and flee darkness and dark times. But the gifts of God’s presence await when we learn to face and befriend the dark. We invite you to step away from the demands of daily life to enter into this enriching and transformative week of spiritual exploration.
The daily rhythm includes morning and evening prayer, worship with Eucharist, morning and afternoon study led by faculty, reflection time, silence, community sharing, listening circles, and free time.
Click here to register for this retreat.
Early Bird Registration $1030 through 1/15/26 | Full Price Registration $1130 after 1/15/26
Registration fee includes tuition, private room & bath and all meals at the beautiful Archibishop Brunett Retreat Center overlooking Puget Sound in Federal Way, WA.
Scholarships are available. Contact Karen Fisher, registrar for information.
We’re grateful to have received a generous donation toward the retreat center costs, and invite you to consider contributing to the Greater Northwest Academy for Spiritual Formation, or to sponsor a participant.
To contribute contact Winona Forme, treasurer.
THEMES & FACULTY
DESCENT FOR THE SAKE OF ASCENT
“In Jewish mystical tradition we ‘fall’ precisely in order to spur our spiritual rise,” writes presenter Rachel Barenblat, whose vocations include poet, rabbi, spiritual director, and parent. Co-founder of Bayit, a Jewish spiritual innovation incubator, she has blogged as the Velveteen Rabbi since 2003. She holds in MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, and is author of several volumes of poetry, among them Crossing the Sea and Texts to the Holy. She teaches at the intersection of creative life and spiritual life. She serves Congregation Beth Israel of the Berkshires, and lives in western Massachusetts with her son.
EMBRACING HOPELESSNESS: LAMENT, CRITIQUE, & ESPERANZA
Presenter Juan Carlos Huertas is committed to practices that move communities to liberation through shared wisdom, communal leadership, and contextual action. Juan Carlos is a follower of Jesus, husband, father, spiritual director, and Minister of Proclamation and Practice of Justice at First-Plymouth CongregationalChurch in Lincoln, NE. He holds a Master of Divinity from Emory University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana College in Pineville, LA where he majored in Religion and minored in Spanish—his first language growing up in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
For those who hunger for deep spiritual experience. The Academy for Spiritual Formation creates transformative space for people to be in communion with God, self, others, and creation for the sake of the world. The daily rhythm includes morning and evening prayer, worship with Eucharist, morning and afternoon study led by faculty, reflection time, silence, community sharing, listening circles, and free time.
OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM
Cathy Warner, Retreat Leader, Laity, Episcopal Diocese of Olympia
Carolyn Bowers, Worship, Clergy, Pacific Northwest UMC
Karen Fisher, Registrar, Clergy, Pacific Northwest UMC
Karen Nelson, Hospitality, Clergy, Oregon-Idaho UMC
Anne Schlesinger, Listening Circles, Clergy, California/Nevada UMC
