About Us
About Us
Washington Courage & Renewal is dedicated to sustaining the integrity, courage and commitment of those who serve children, families, and our community.
Who We Are
Job Opening!! We are now interviewing for an Office Assistant Position. Please read our full job description (PDF) for more information or contact our office for further details.
In retreat settings and in the workplace, we renew the vitality and effectiveness of individuals and groups, strengthening personal and professional leadership. Participants connect the inner life of mind and spirit with the outer life of work and service. Personal renewal leads to the revitalization of organizations that serve our community.
Since 1996 the facilitators of WC&R have led retreats and workplace programs to renew the heart and spirit of over 3000 individuals who serve children and families.
Our trained facilitators are members a of national network under the guidance of the Center for Courage & Renewal and senior advisor, Parker Palmer, author of Courage to Teach, A Hidden Wholeness, and Let Your Life Speak.
Who We Serve
Initially focusing on K-12 teachers and school leaders, we have expanded our programs to include individuals in a wide array of fields that serve children, families and communities – including early learning, human services, philanthropy, law, health care, clergy, community leaders, non-profits, and individuals looking to renew their heart and spirit.
What We Believe
The courage & renewal programs build on a simple premise: We teach and lead who we are. People who are disconnected from themselves cannot serve others well, nor invite others into an authentic learning exchange.
From a paraphrase of Parker Palmer in Courage to Teach:
We often ask the “what” question - what shall we teach or what shall we do?
When the conversation goes a bit deeper, we ask the “how” question – what methods and techniques are required of me?
Occasionally, when it goes still deeper, we ask the “why” question – for what purpose and to what ends do we teach or lead?
But seldom, if ever, do we ask the “who” question – who is the self that teaches or leads? How does the quality of my selfhood form – or deform – the way I relate to my students, my colleagues, my organization, my world? How can institutions sustain and deepen the selfhood from which good teaching and leading comes?