CLA-Detroit

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.

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.