Applications are now open for the second cohort of fellows in The Leader’s Way, a program focused on leadership, innovation, and resilience in ministry. The Leader’s Way is Berkeley Divinity School at Yale’s year-long cohort-based learning immersion. It is designed for Episcopal and Anglican clergy leaders, poised to be catalysts who inspire their communities to bear witness to the Gospel more effectively. Beginning with six days on Yale’s campus in June and continuing with six months of online learning, leaders grapple with the greatest challenges of ministry today and pursue faithful innovations to meet them. The Leader’s Way program is just one dimension of a larger Transforming Leaders initiative at Berkeley. Transforming Leaders also includes online courses and workshops as well as The Leader’s Way podcast to catalyze innovative leadership within the Church. The Transforming Leaders initiative has been made possible through the support of Trinity Church Wall Street and the generosity of donors at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.
The inaugural cohort had 49 Leader’s Way Fellows, and the second cohort will gather in June 2024. “We encourage all lay and clergy leaders to apply who feel called to stand courageously at the intersection of faithfulness and innovation in the service of creating more vibrant Christian communities,” says Dr. Brandon Nappi, the program’s director.
Employing an adaptive leadership framework, distinguished Yale faculty from across the university are helping fellows mine the theological past and present for resources that can inspire us to meet today’s challenges in fresh ways. Each Leader’s Way Fellow develops an innovative ministry project to help propel their parish and/or larger community. Peer groups and mentors support Fellows personally and professionally to apply the learning from the program to the practical and ongoing needs of daily ministry. The Rev’d Jean Baptiste Rock, PhD, priest in charge at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut shared his experience this way: “I can’t thank you enough for all you have done in the ministry that God has given me to do at St. John’s Bridgeport. This past week was a transformative experience. My spiritual battery has been fully charged, and I am now ready to act and share it with my parishioners and all people in the community.”
At Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, we believe that lifetime learning is a powerful form of leadership, an essential act of faith, and an important form of Christian service. Berkeley has created a hopeful, courageous, and imaginative space for in-person and online learning where clergy and laity can reflect on the urgent need for spiritual leadership and innovation. No matter your country, diocese, or seminary background, Berkeley welcomes you to join with others called to be agents of transformation in the Church.
Learn more, apply, or nominate a leader for The Leader’s Way.
For more information, contact Brandon Nappi, DMin, Executive Director of Leadership Programs
brandon.nappi@yale.edu
203-577-8867