The Ministry Lab curates upcoming opportunities for in-person and online worship, music, retreat, and contemplative practices. Join people around the corner and around the globe in grounding, deepening, and broadening your experience of the Divine.
For recurring group practices, see our Contemplative Prayer Online & In-person Group Opportunities curated list.
PRAY. WORSHIP. RETREAT.
JOIN COMMUNITIES AROUND THE CORNER AND AROUND THE WORLD – IN-PERSON AND ONLINE:
~~~
THE GATHERING: DECLARATIONS OF DEMOCRACY – HEALING AND REPAIR
As this country marks 250 years, we will examine the limits and possibilities of American democracy and our sacred call to shape a multiracial, interdependent democracy where everyone can thrive at Side With Love’s monthly event to strengthen your spirit, make sense of the threats to democracy, and take meaningful action alongside others!
This month we will dig into Healing and Repair with a rockstar panel of Caitlin Breedlove (UU the Vote), Rev. Vahisha Hasan (Movement in Faith & author of Building Up a New World), and QuianaDenae Perkins (Black Women of the Chalice). Rev. Verdis LeVar Robinson will root us in song and prayer.
October: 10 Years after Standing Rock
November: Elections
December: Spiritual Practice
See you at The Gathering to strengthen your spirit, make sense of the threats to democracy, and take meaningful action alongside others! Join us live or watch the recording with others later.
~~~
HOWARD THURMAN: THE WRITING OF JESUS & THE DISINHERITED ONLINE RETREAT DAY
Through audio teaching, guided meditation, reflection questions and invitations into silence, the late Lerita Coleman Brown invites you into intentional quiet space to reflect on Howard Thurman’s life and book, Jesus and the Disinherited.
Registration is now open.
Once registered, you can take this retreat day on your own schedule, at your own pace – through October 21, 2026.
September 9 – October 21, 2026
~~~
JOURNEYING WITH THE MYSTICS: 24 SESSIONS OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
with Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox & Rev. Cameron Trimble
We live in a time of profound upheaval. Institutions that once offered stability are struggling. Familiar certainties are thinning. Many people carry a quiet spiritual hunger beneath the demands of daily life: a longing for meaning, for courage, for a felt relationship with the Sacred, and for a way of living that can hold both beauty and grief.
The mystics have walked through such times before. They lived through plague, persecution, political violence, religious conflict, exile, ecological disruption, and periods of deep personal unknowing. They learned to listen beneath the noise. They discovered the Holy within creation, within the human soul, within silence, and within the struggle for justice.
Their witness reaches us as an invitation. We can become more attentive. We can love with greater freedom. We can create from the depths of who we are. We can meet suffering without surrendering our humanity. We can awaken to the Divine presence already moving in and around us.
Join the Full 24-Session Series
The full series offers the complete arc of teaching, practice, integration, recordings, and community.
The series live teachings begin October 6, 2026 and will be held once a month from 6:00-7:30 PM CT.
Sessions will be recorded and available if you miss a session. Individual sessions are also available for those drawn to a particular mystic or theme. That said, the hope is that you will sign up for the full experience.
Experiencing the complete journey through the teachings of these mystics offers the most powerful initiation into their wisdom.
The complete journey – $600 / scholarships available: Learn more here.
Learn more about individual events here.
Monthly, October 6, 2026 – October, 2028 / 6:00-7:30 PM CT
~~~
NEURODIVERGENT CLERGY GATHERING
901 Portland Ave, St Paul, MN
Wednesdays, October 21 & November 18, 2026 / 9:30-11:00 AM
~~~
MUSIC THAT MAKES COMMUNITY: ONE-DAY COMMUNITY SINGING WORKSHOP
Explore the richness of paperless singing and experience leadership practices and songs that build and strengthen community!
Need childcare? Reach out to hello@musicthatmakescommunity.org
St Anne’s Episcopal Church – 2035 Charlton Rd, St Paul
Registration: $150/person – includes workshop materials, lunch, and refreshments throughout the day
Saturday, October 17, 2026 / 9:30 PM – 4:00 PM
~~~
JOY AS RESISTANCE AND REFUGIA
We live in a collision of crises right now. Amid that collision, the MN Conference UCC is offering a series of three in-person retreats – Joy as Resistance and Refugia – between August 2026 and February 2027.
Each retreat stands on its own and is related to the other two in the series.
$175/person (25% discount for registering for all three)
Mt Olivet Retreat Center – Farmington, MN
November 4-6, 2026
~~~
GATHERED: BUILDING CHURCH THAT WORKS FOR NEURODIVERGENT CHILDREN
~~
St Clement’s Episcopal Church, 901 Portland Ave, St Paul
Monthly – 2nd Sunday
Starting November 08, 2026 / 4:00-6:00 PM
~~~
EMBODIED PRACTICE FOR SPIRITUAL CARE WORKERS: RETURNING TO THE BODY AS A PLACE OF WISDOM AND CONNECTION
A 4-WEEK SERIES FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS, CHAPLAINS, CLERGY, & OTHERS OFFERING SPIRITUAL SUPPORT.
Our bodies carry both the impact of our wounds and the pathways back to connection.
This 4-week series offers accessible practices for listening inward, tending the nervous system, a cultivating grounded presence in themiodst of holding space for others. Explore how intentional, embodied practice can expand our capacity for discernment, support resilience amidst charge & intensity, and deepen our felt=sense of connection with ourselves, one another, & spirit. These practices will grow your toolbox for supporting yourself, and those with whom you work.
Location: TBD (somewhere in South Minneapolis)
Thursdays, January 26, February 2, 9, 16, 2027 / 10:00- AM – 12:00 PM
~~~
EMBODIMENT RETREATS & WORKSHOPS
- Rachel Joy Somatics invites us into Embodiment Retreats & Workshops. Explore:
- ‘the lens of embodiment’
- ‘the wisdom and role of our nervous systems in our lives’
- and ‘practices for tending to the body in ways that support agency, integrity, and resilience – even amidst crisis and stress.
- Explore how you can work with Rachel here.
~~~
Community Opportunities
As introspection, prayer, and worship lead to a desire for justice and active love, find opportunities to engage with neighbors, law-makers, and others on our Community Opportunities page.
REGULAR OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Find recurring retreats and contemplative seminars in our Leader Renewal lib guide.
Find regional Online and In-Person Group Opportunities for contemplative prayer and worship in our lib guide.
