In October, people from all over the U.S. gathered at IslandWood for a retreat offered by the Center for Courage and Renewal.

Marcy Jackson, one of the co-founders of the center, and one of the leaders of the retreat, set about creating a space that would support a handful of nervous strangers to come together to “explore who we are, how do we find the courage for the challenges we face, and how do we stay passionate and connected to our life’s work.

“The retreats offer a chance to slow down, to connect with teaching stories and poems and to talk about ‘third things,’ – the personal and the universal. We’re working at the level of human being,” Jackson said Monday in the center’s office tucked away at 182 Ericksen Ave.

The Center for Courage and Renewal, founded in 1997, helps people who wish to live and work more wholeheartedly to renew themselves, reclaim their vocational vitality, and deepen their professional practice.

Although retreat participants often fly thousands of miles to get here, the center itself flies pretty much under the radar on Bainbridge.

Thanks to the library’s fall speakers series, “How Bainbridge Touches the World,” islanders can get a taste of what folks are traveling so many miles to experience.

“At Sunday’s event I’ll do some presentation about what the center does and some experiential, work, followed by a Q&A,” she said.

She’ll also show a DVD about Circles of Trust, the trademarked name the center uses for its process.

The retreats themselves offer a variety of entry points to explore deep questions: periods of solitude, large and small group interactions, listening to stories, poetry and works from many wisdom traditions that speak to the issues at hand.

“It meets people where they are,” Jackson said.

One of the center’s core tenets is to listen to one’s inner teacher, something that requires slowing down and mining silence for the wisdom it holds.

Jackson, a former therapist, is co-founder and senior fellow of the organization. She served as co-director of the center for 13 years and has been facilitating Circle of Trust retreats since 1996.

Her primary responsibilities include leadership of the facilitator preparation program, and supporting the ongoing development of facilitators in the Courage Collaboration.

For more information, about the center’s work visit www.couragerenewal.org.

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Get renewed

Marcy Jackson from the Center for Courage and Renewal will give a free presentation at the Library’s fall speaker’s forum, “Reconnecting Who You Are With What You Do,” from 3-4:30 p.m. Sunday at the library, 1270 Madison Ave. For more information, visit www.krl.org.