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  • Residency Programs
      • Scholars, clergy, church leaders, thinkers, artists, and writers who are seeking to discern and communicate the meaning of Christian identity and unity in a religiously and culturally diverse world are invited to apply for our residency programs.
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      • Resident Scholars Program

        for those looking to stay a semester or a full academic year

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        for those looking to stay for a shorter period of time

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  • Writing Programs
      • Each year, the Collegeville Institute opens its doors to writers of faith for intensive writing workshops. In addition, the Collegeville Institute partners with other institutes, seminaries, or churches to coordinate regional off-site workshops.
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      • 2025 Workshops

      • Pop-Up Writers Workshops
        • Pop-Up Writing Workshop, March 22, 2025 (Colorado Springs, CO)
        • Pop-Up Writing Workshop, March 29, 2025 (Birmingham-Vestavia Hills, AL)
        • Pop-Up Writing Workshop, April 5, 2025 (Asheville, NC)
      • Flesh and Blood: Crafting a Communal Constructive Theological Anthropology, May 27-30, 2025
      • Apart, and Yet A Part, June 9-18, 2025
      • A Sparked Imagination, June 23-27, 2025
      • Deep and Wide: Longform Prose Revision, July 9-18, 2025
      • The Release:  How Writing in an Economy of Gifts Liberates Writers, September 29, 2025
      • Fifty Pairs of Eyes: Creating Characters in Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry, October 27-November 1, 2025
      • Waiting for Words: An Advent Writing Workshop with Lauren Winner – 2025, December 2-6, 2025
      • 2026 Workshops

      • Writing in the Wilderness: reflecting on the immigration stories that have shaped our lives, led by Isaac Villegas, March 2-7, 2026
      • Reading and Writing with Joan Didion (a workshop with Alissa Wilkinson), March 16-22, 2026
      • Writing in the Wilderness: reflecting on the immigration stories that have shaped our lives, led by Isaac Villegas, May 15-19, 2026
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  • Calling Initiatives
      • The Communities of Calling Initiative invites congregations into a 5-year project on vocation.
        The Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative, coordinated by the Collegeville Institute, funds 13 innovation hubs from across North America.
      • Calling Initiatives Overview »
      • Research Seminars on Vocation »
    • Resources on Vocation:

      • BridgeIntroducing Calling & Discernment – language of calling, models of discernment, and calling across the lifespan
      • gabriel-brito-80atz53Th9o-unsplash-2Prayer & Worship – prayers, hymns, sermons, spiritual practices, and liturgical year resources
      • Vis-Group-2Small Group Series – adult education and faith formation guides for congregational use
      • FrancoisVideos & Interviews – video storytelling projects on vocation from Christian and interfaith perspectives
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  • Fellows Program
    • Bringing together an ecumenical group of gifted Minnesota faith leaders, the Collegeville Institute Fellows Program focuses on leadership development with the goal of strengthening religious leaders’ sense of themselves as civic leaders.
    • Fellows Program Overview
    • Rural Minnesota Fellows Program
    • Multi-Religious Fellows Program
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You are here: Home / About Us / Our Programs

Our Programs

Fifty years ago, the Collegeville Institute was envisioned as a place where the best Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox thinkers would gather for study, dialogue, and prayer engaging in pressing issues of faith and society while being rooted in the Benedictine rhythm of Saint John’s Abbey.

Today that vision has both remained strong and has expanded; we invite you to explore the many programs and endeavors of the Collegeville Institute.

The Resident Scholars Program is at the heart of the Collegeville Institute’s life and at the core of its original vision. The Collegeville Institute gathers well-trained, creative, articulate women and men for careful thought in a place of inquiry and prayer. Each resident scholar commits to either a semester or full academic year of study, engaging in an independent rhythm of reflection and writing, discernment and conversation while also participating in scholarly and prayerful community with other resident scholars.

The Short-Term Residency Program (available September through April) accommodates individuals who cannot commit to a semester, but who can make a three-week or longer commitment. The program is flexible, providing for a variety of purposes and endeavors while still allowing individuals to take full advantage of the Collegeville Institute experience along with potential short-term integration into the resident scholar community.

The Ecclesial Literature Project invites pastors, ministers, lay leaders, and other thinkers for the church for week long, retreat-like, intensive workshops. Participants, taught and guided by such prolific writers as Lauren F. Winner, Renita Weems, and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, come together to write, learn, and discover anew (or perhaps for the first time) the call to be writers for the church.

The Collegeville Institute Seminars are an interdisciplinary, ecumenical, collaborative initiative designed to gather scholars and practitioners to explore issues of importance for today’s Christian communities. The Seminars have completed several efforts on vocation and theological education.

The Communities of Calling Initiative invites congregations to design new projects or enhance existing ministries to help Christians discover and deepen their sense of God’s calling in their lives. The Initiative is a five-year project with 14 partner congregations and resources on vocation for a wide network of interested church leaders.

The Collegeville Institute Fellows Program brings together an ecumenical group of gifted Minnesota faith leaders, focusing on leadership development with the goal of strengthening civic leaders and public theologians. Our most recent Fellows programs concluded in the summer of 2019; one focused on rural Minnesota clergy and the other on multi-religious leaders in the Twin Cities area.

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Dr. Aizaiah Yong appointed as new Executive Director of Collegeville Institute 

April 14, 2025

Collegeville Institute welcomes Andrew McNeil as its new Director of Communications.

March 11, 2025

Meet a Resident Scholar

March 11, 2025

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