Bridge Building with CliftonStrengths

Choose one or more of the upcoming events and coaching opportunities.

1.      Discover Your Talents

2.      Navigate Your Limitations

3.      Find Community in Prayer and Learning

4.      Deepen Your Strengths

5.      Practice Bringing Your Best Self to Your Callings

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	CliftonStrengths 101 On demand webinar Certified coaches Brenda Kresky, David Fremo, and Sam Rahberg offer a 60-minute webinar introducing a Strengths-based framework for thinking about work and relationships. The experience will prepare you to take the inventory or help you refresh your memory if CliftonStrengths is already familiar to you. The only cost to participants is purchasing your own copy of Living Your Strengths Catholic Edition, which includes access to the CliftonStrengths assessment.
Request Coaching	1-to-1 CliftonStrengths Coaching  Schedule a 45-minute slot via Zoom or in-Person. Meet individually with a certified CliftonStrengths coach to discover more about your unique talents and their expression in effective ministry. 12 slots are available. First come, first serve.
Register for Workshop	Navigating Change in a Strengths-based Way Tues., Oct. 8, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Central, Zoom and in Person, Church of Saint Joseph, 12 West Minnesota Street, Saint Joseph, MN 56374 The CliftonStrengths framework provides practical insights for interpreting relational dynamics and focusing our best energies in times of changing circumstance. Join a team of trained CliftonStrengths facilitators who are attuned to the demands of ministry. Together, we'll explore some practices and strategies that help individuals and teams navigate change in collaborative ways. Come solo or with a team. All participants must complete the CliftonStrengths inventory in advance. As a result of this interactive workshop, participants will be able to: Describe more fully the unique talents they bring to fluid and complex situations; Articulate questions that can clarify strengths others bring; and Experiment with tools and processes that help teams continue turning toward alignment and collaboration.
Register for Call	Keep Bridging: Group Coaching Call Talent + Practice = Strength  Zoom, first Mondays - Oct. 7, Nov. 4, and Dec. 2, 12:00 - 1:00 PM Central Explore your talents, navigate limitations, and find community in prayer and learning with a monthly group coaching call. Each session includes brief teaching, live coaching with a volunteer, Q&A, and interactive peer-to-peer learning. Bring your lunch, deepen your strengths, and practice bringing your best self to your callings. Drop in or come regularly as works best for you. Led by Sam Rahberg and other certified coaches.

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Interested in hosting a CliftonStrengths workshop tailored to your team/community?

The BBTM team of Gallup-Certified Global Strength Coaches can provide short introductions, staff/member/team development, project consultation, and more.

Request a Free Consultation

Sam Rahberg

Brenda Kresky

David Fremo

Sam Rahberg is Associate Director of Bridge Builders for a Thriving Mission. Brenda Kresky is Director of Pastoral Planning for the Diocese of St. Cloud. David Fremo is Director of Catholic Education for the Diocese of St. Cloud.

Congrats, Lay Pastoral Caregivers!

In April 2024, fourteen people completed the lay pastoral caregiver training program. This training consisted of fourteen modules over two weekends and included sessions on accompaniment, listening, spirituality and prayer, pastoral care, pastoral identity, pastoral visits, grief, confidentiality, family systems, and care for the caregivers. This was a collaborative effort between Bridge Builders for a Thriving Mission, Office of Lay Leadership, and Parish Nursing in the Diocese of Saint Cloud. This training prepares the laity for compassionate listening in ministry, pastoral visits to the homebound and nursing homes, bereavement ministry, engaged and marriage ministry, and ministry to those who are marginalized by homelessness, imprisoned, or sheltered for safety.

To those who completed the program in April: Well done and congratulations!

• Melanie Halter, Bethlehem Lutheran

• Kari Salzer, Benedictine Communities

• Alejandra Renteri, Church of the Risen Savior

• Carmen Marin, Church of the Risen Savior

• Bev Paul, Come to the Water ACC

• Patty Marriott, Come to the Water ACC

• Marianne Shrode, Come to the Water ACC

• Janelle VanErp, Disciples of the Mission ACC

• Greg and Vicki Spofford, Little Falls Ecumenical Faith Community

• Tina Standfuss, Holy Saints ACC

• Brenda Taylor, Isanti ACC

• Tamara Welle, One in Faith ACC

• Nancy Nordick, Red River Valley ACC

Are you interested in becoming a lay pastoral caregiver?

Our next training for a new group will be October 18–19 and December 13–14, 2024, at the Abbey Guesthouse in Collegeville, Minnesota. The cost for this training is provided by the Bridge Builders for a Thriving Mission Initiative. There is no cost to the participants. To register, click here. For more information, contact Sam Rahberg at srahberg001@csbsju.edu.

Partners in Bridge Building: Conversatio

Here at Bridge Builders for a Thriving Mission, we firmly believe that discernment is a lifelong practice, not a one-and-done event. We help ministers hone their discernment skills, explore their vocations, and seek out resources that enhance their ministries. Many of the people we work with have been in ministry for years. We also partner with the Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary to foster this discerning spirit in students, helping them grow in ministerial servant leadership.

Conversatio: Creating a Culture of Encounter is a three-year program during which students earn a Master of Divinity degree, live in intentional community, and participate in the Benedictine way of life. They serve in Area Catholic Communities in youth ministry, faith formation, or liturgical ministry. The parish component offers an opportunity to work with and be mentored by lay ecclesial ministers and gain pastoral experience in Area Catholic Communities. Conversatio’s main goal is to prepare students to foster ongoing Christian conversion and encounter in themselves and in local and rural congregations where they serve. Effective pastoral leaders commit to the ongoing work of renewing Christ’s body and foster relationships with God and neighbor. The Benedictine vow of conversatio morum (long-term commitment to conversion and growth by the Spirit) and Pope Francis’s notion of a culture of encounter (relationships) inform the mission and ministry of Conversatio.

As students are discerning their vocation to lay ecclesial ministry, our parish partners play an essential role in providing guidance, mentorship, and resources. The student’s coursework informs and forms them for parish leadership and ministry. Theological foundations, the Church’s tradition and history, vocational call to ministry, and various methods and models of catechesis and evangelization learned in the classroom provide students with a strong foundation to serve God and God’s people in ministry. Their work in the parish, in turn, breathes life into the body of knowledge they are learning in the classroom. They can directly apply and share the wisdom gained in “real life” to make a meaningful impact. 

Our graduate assistants provide support in different areas of ministry, all while learning about parish life and community in rural Minnesota. When students are placed in a parish, they are asked to observe, listen, and participate in parish life for the first month to understand the community, the history, and the people. One student is working in middle school youth ministry, building relationships and helping the parish keep an already robust ministry vibrant. Another student is teaching confirmation classes and helping with First Communion preparation for both the Spanish- and English-speaking communities. Another is assisting leaders in the community to teach English to new immigrants. One of the graduate students has said, “I am learning not only the tasks of ministry (creating forms, turning on lights, moving furniture, keeping a schedule, communicating details) but also how to build relationships, be present for people, and listen.”

Students are experiencing the day-to-day administrative work involved in ministry as well as the person-centered and relationship-building aspects of ministry. They work ten hours a week from September to June. Conversatio is always looking for partners in area parishes to mentor and accompany graduate students in meaningful ministry. 

If your parish is interested in being part of this partnership, please contact Donelle Poling at dpoling001@csbsju.edu.