The Journey of Ecological Discipleship for Leaders
May 26-30, 2025
Camano Island, WA
This learning retreat is designed to connect, support, and equip church and ministry leaders who are seeking to deepen their personal discipleship and lead their communities toward a more ecologically oriented faith. It is open to those with formal or informal leadership roles in their church, community, or workplace.
Invitation
​Every day brings new discoveries about creation that reveal a stunningly beautiful, complex, and interconnected world. These discoveries are challenging how we understand our place and role as human creatures within the larger community of creation. At the same time, each day brings new evidence of the degradation and destruction of Earth at the hands of humanity. This crisis, which now impacts every place and person around the globe, requires new understanding and action.
In light of these developments, followers of Jesus are faced with several urgent questions:
What does discipleship look like at this moment in history?
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Can there be a healthy church on a sick planet?
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What frameworks, skills, and practices are needed to lead faith communities toward new forms of identity, community, and mission that bring healing and cultivate shalom?
Leaders who seek answers to these questions are faced with a distinct challenge: the dominant paradigms and practices of Christian ministry and congregational life are mired in the same theological, ecclesial, cultural, and philosophical frameworks that created and perpetuate our current crisis. But the current moment also presents an opportunity to deconstruct these frameworks, cultivate new paradigms of faithfulness, and create new models of communal identity, ministry and mission. This is the exciting journey of ecological discipleship!
Through teaching, conversation, and creation-based practices, we will explore eight distinct stages/terrains in the journey of ecological discipleship, with special attention to each participant’s personal journey and leadership context.
“It was a retooling of my entire view of leadership and theology. Being part of the cohort began to change how and what I preach, how I lead the congregation, and has even influenced my spiritual journey, as I am learning how to see myself and everything as part of the great web of life that God has created.”
Pastor Hallack Grieder
Cost
Introductory cost:
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$600 (discounted from $750).
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Fee covers all expenses except travel, and is based on single room accommodation.
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Financial support may be available for select participants.
Cohort Guides
Rev. James Amadon (DMin) ​
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As the Executive Director of Circlewood, James guides our mission to “accelerate the greening of faith” through creative media, immersive education, and the development of Circlewood Village, a sustainable learning center on Camano Island. James is ordained in the Covenant Church, and pastored in churches for 15 years before starting Circlewood in 2017. He has a BA from Gordon College, an MDiv from North Park Theological Seminary, and a DMin from Duke Divinity School, where he focused his work on developing a framework for Ecological Christian Leadership (ECL). He lives on Camano Island with his family.
Rev. Forrest Inslee (PhD)​
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Forrest is the Associate Director of Circlewood, and the host of the Earthkeepers podcast. He has also served as a graduate professor of International Community Development for 20+ years at Northwest University. More recently he helped create the Resilient Leaders program and the Thriving Congregations program at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He earned a BA, MA, and PhD from Northwestern University in Chicago, and an MA in Theology from Regent College—where he designed contextualized strategies for theological education and leadership training for emerging Turkish churches. Forrest is ordained in the Vineyard, and was sent as a missionary to Turkey by a partnership of Vineyard and PCUSA churches; in Istanbul, Forrest served as a church planter and pastor for a number of years. He has a daughter currently studying at SPU, and lives in Edmonds with his dogs Nigel and Suzie.
