This retreat is an invitation to rest, reconnect, and renew.
Created specifically for faith leaders, this week set against the expansive beauty of Santa Fe, New Mexico, offers space to step away from the demands of leadership to rediscover the joy and calling that brought you to this work.
Summer 2027 Dates
Monday to Saturday
June 21 - June 26, 2027
August 9 - August 14, 2027
African American Faith Leader Retreat
August 23 - August 28, 2027
Created by faith leaders for faith leaders, The Sacred Pause offers a space for wisdom-sharing across traditions.
There will be time for meaningful conversation and shared wisdom across—and time simply to rest. Time for laughter, good food, nature, reflection, movement, and community.
Most importantly,
there will be space to ask:
How am I?
What do I need in this season?
What is giving me life?
What might the next chapter of my leadership look like?
2027 Program Details
Each cohort is limited to 30 participants from geographically, ethnically, and spiritually diverse communities.
Participants each bring 10+ years of experience in ministry, spiritual guidance, chaplaincy, or faith-based nonprofit leadership.
An interfaith Advisory Committee selects each cohort to ensure balance, diversity, and a shared commitment to renewal and connection.
All inclusive program includes:
— Five nights of beautiful accommodations; all rooms have private baths & desert views
— Four chef-prepared meals each day, with unlimited snacks and beverages
— Facilitated program and curated content designed for faith leaders
— Daily opportunities for restoration, including mindful movement, guided hikes, and sound baths
— Signature experiences and shared rituals
— Intentional conversation and connection with fellow faith leaders
— Spacious time for rest, reflection, laughter, and renewal
— Retreat location rated by Time Magazine as one of world’s top greatest places to visit.
The Sacred Pause is made possible by donors committed to supporting faith leaders.
Program Cost:
The actual cost of the retreat is $5,000 per participant. Thanks to generous donors we are able to make the program accessible to all faith leaders across circumstances.
We encourage applicants to apply at the level available to you or your sponsoring institution. All options include the same retreat experience.
$5,000 — Benefactor Rate | Single Occupancy
$2,000 — Supporter Rate | Single Occupancy
$900 — Supporter Rate | Double Occupancy
$300 — Sponsored Rate | Double Occupancy
*No payment is due at application; a deposit is due to secure a place once accepted into program.
Come as you are.
You spend so much of your life pouring into others.
This week is an invitation to be poured back into.
Facilitated by Proven Leadership in Midlife Renewal
Chip Conley
Co-Founder of the Sacred Pause &
Founder of MEA
Chip Conley is on a midlife mission. Chip founded MEA in 2018 to create a space where people in midlife could slow down, integrate their lived experience, and discover how their wisdom wants to be expressed.
Chip turned his vision of a “Modern Elder Academy” into a transformational science-backed retreat center that helps people in their 40s-70s live their best lives.
Over 9,000 Alumnae from 60 countries have participated in MEA’s programs on mid-life.
Watch Chip’s TedTalk:
The “midlife chrysalis”- an alternative to the "midlife crisis."
Sacred Pause adapts for faith leaders MEA’s evidence-based workshops based on social science proven by years of research and implementation
The workshop is built around the MEA Method, which has been designed in collaboration with academics from Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Yale, who have dedicated themselves to understanding modern midlife.
With MEA, the Sacred Pause has developed and refined experiential tools and practices that combine the social science of longevity and the art of intentional living to help people in midlife curate a second half of life that’s as exciting and meaningful as it is long.