CLA-Detroit

2023-2025

CLA-Detroit is still accepting applications!

Thank you for your interest in CLA-Detroit!

Before submitting your CLA application, please make sure you have reviewed this important information:

Questions? Check out our FAQs or contact Anthony Marciniak, CLA-Detroit Cohort Coordinator, at CLADET@ignatianyoungadults.org.


CLA is sponsored in Detroit by Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church.

 The CLA Experience

CLA is an 18-month program that runs from September 2023 through April 2025 with a 2-month interlude in Summer 2024. CLA begins and ends with retreat experiences. Cohorts meet twice per month: once for a virtual workshop, attended by participants across the U.S. and abroad, and once for a cohort session (in-person and virtual). Three Days of Reflection are integrated throughout the program.

CLA Retreats & Days of Reflection

Weekend retreats and days of reflection provide the opportunity for deeper engagement with your fellow participants. The program begins with the opening retreat, which allows cohort members to get to know one another other and introduces some of the major themes of the program. 

Days of Reflection offer time and space to focus, individually and as a community, on what has been learned and how you will integrate it into your life. There are three scheduled throughout the program.

Finally, the closing retreat at the end of the program is a chance to reflect back on your CLA experience, look forward to how you will respond as a contemplative leader in action, and name your strategies for growth beyond CLA. 

All-Participant Virtual Workshops

Virtual workshops gather and connect CLA participants from across the country and abroad. Workshops are designed to introduce themes and new content and are led by subject-matter experts.

Cohort Sessions

Monthly, cohort sessions provide an opportunity for you to gather and engage topics more deeply through discussion, reflection, and prayer in community. Cohort Sessions give you time and space to more fully connect Ignatian themes and leadership skills with your lived experience and context.  Meetings are facilitated by the CLA-Detroit cohort coordinator.

Readings &  Exercises

Throughout the CLA experience, you will be invited to explore a variety of resources and practices to support your spiritual and leadership journey. These exercises will inform and augment your sharing and engagement in cohort meetings.   Participants should anticipate approximately 2 - 3 hours per month of independent engagement.

Spiritual Direction

You will be given the opportunity to meet with a spiritual director during portions of the program. To learn more about spiritual direction, check out these resources.

Making a Commitment to Your Cohort

A profound experience of community is among the most consistent pieces of feedback we receive from participants. Community is one of the pillars of the CLA experience. Many cohorts become tightly knit groups and the relationships formed in CLA serve as a meaningful source of support. Learning from and coming to know your fellow participants can only happen if you invest the time and energy to be fully present to each other. The following policies have been developed precisely because community is so integral to the CLA experience.  

Certificate of Completion: Every participant who remains sincerely engaged with the program shall receive a CLA Certificate of Completion. Participants shall be ineligible to receive the Certificate if they are absent for more than one session (cohort or workshop, in person or virtual) per curriculum movement OR if they are absent for more than one day of retreat/reflection including the opening retreat, closing retreat, and three days of reflection. Any participant who misses more than one day of a weekend retreat shall be ineligible to receive a Certificate of Completion.

Attendance Policy: It is incumbent upon every participant that they shall be willing and able to commit to and be present for the majority of scheduled program sessions, in person and online. Barring emergencies or other extenuating circumstances,  any participant who misses more than two sessions (cohort or workshop, in person or virtual) in any movement of the program, may not be able to advance to the next movement or otherwise complete the program.

Tuition

CLA Detroit 2023-2025 tuition is: $1,800

Thanks to the generosity of the Society of Jesus, and our local partners, the tuition for CLA is generally less than 40% of the actual cost. Financial assistance is available. We also offer payment plans to spread out the cost.

 We encourage all participants to seek funding for this personal and professional development experience from other potential sources, such as your employer and parish.

The CLA Curriculum

The CLA curriculum is organized into four parts, each with a theme that builds upon and expands those explored in earlier sections.

Part I: Ignatian Spirituality
Part II: Ignatian Leadership
Part II: Leadership for Mission
Part IV: Contemplative Leaders in Action

When & Where.

Here are the dates, times, and locations for all CLA-Detroit 2023-2025 meetings

Please review the dates and times for all CLA-Detroit sessions for the 2023-2025 program and assess whether you are able to make a firm commitment to yourself and to your cohort before submitting your application. Dates, times, and/or locations may be adjusted for logistical reasons on occasion. We are grateful for your adaptability if such changes occur. We will aim to make this as minimal and infrequent as possible, and will notify participants accordingly.

Retreats, monthly sessions, and Days of Reflection have previously been held at locations including the Jesuit Community at University of Detroit Mercy, Colombiere Center, and Ss. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church. Finalized information will be added below as it becomes available.

Part 1: Ignatian Spirituality
SessionDateTime
Opening GatheringTBDTBD
Opening Retreat6:00PM Friday - 1:00PM Sunday
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 09-26-21TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 10-17-21TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 11-14-21TBD
In-Person Session
Part 2: Ignatian Leadership
SessionDateTime
Day of Reflection9:00AM to 4:00PM
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 01-23-22TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 02-20-22TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 03-20-22TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 04-24-22TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 05-15-22TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 06-20-22TBD
Part 3: Leadership for Mission
SessionDateTime
Day of Reflection9:00AM to 4:00PM
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 09-25-22TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 10-16-22TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 11-13-22TBD
In-Person Session
Part 4: Contemplative Leaders in Action
SessionDateTime
Day of Reflection9:00AM to 4:00PM
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 01-22-23TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 02-19-23TBD
In-Person Session
Virtual WorkshopWeek of 03-19-23TBD
In-Person Session
Closing Retreat6:00PM Friday - 1:00PM Sunday
 

Apply to CLA-Detroit!

Now that you have reviewed the dates, times, and locations for CLA-Detroit, you’re ready to apply!

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The CLA enrollment process for our 2023-2025 cohorts is now closed.
We are currently not accepting applications.

The process begins when you submit your completed application.

Within one month of each deadline, all application submissions will be reviewed.  Applicants who demonstrate alignment with CLA's program goals will be invited for an interview. This is a 30 minute conversation with the Application Review Committee, composed of a cohort coordinator and CLA alumni or current CLA participant. Following a successful interview, your references may be contacted.

Decisions will be communicated approximately one month from the application deadline. Applicants will either be accepted, offered a place on the wait-list, or declined. We want to create cohorts that reflect the diversity of our faith community: different identities, professional experiences, and educational backgrounds. We sometimes have to defer otherwise qualified applicants. On such occasions, applicants will be offered a spot in a future cohort.

Successful candidates will be sent a welcome packet which includes a program overview, some introductory materials, and a tuition payment plan agreement. You will have 10 days to return the completed agreement with your deposit in order to reserve your place in the cohort. If we don’t receive your enrollment materials within 10 days, you will be moved to the waitlist. 

If signed into your Google Account, your progress is automatically saved as a draft for 30 days. If you do not have a Google Account, we encourage you to compose your Short Essay responses in a separate document, then copy and paste them into the form so as not to lose your progress. The short essay questions are below.


CLA Application: Short Essay Questions

  • Please provide a brief biographical sketch. Your sketch should include a personal, educational, and professional overview in approximately 150 words or fewer. If accepted into CLA, your sketch will be shared publicly on the CLA website.

Each of the following essays should be no more than 500 words:

  • Please provide a short spiritual autobiography. A spiritual autobiography is the story of your life, focused specifically on your faith journey. In highlighting spiritual influences and milestones, you might include, but are not limited or bound to: a description of your relationship with God, challenges and questions that have impacted you, sense of vocation, relationship to organized religion, prayer life and/or spiritual practices, growth and evolution in your beliefs, etc. 

    The purpose of this question is to get a sense of how you reflect on your spiritual experience.

  • What type of leader does our world need today? What strengths do you bring to this and where do you seek development?

  • CLA's three pillars are faith, community and leadership. Why are you looking for leadership formation in the context of a spiritual community?