Hello {{First Name}}!

Thank you so much for your interest in Siena Retreat Center’s Spiritual Guidance Training Program (SGTP)! I am Nicki Nelson, the current director and coordinator of the program, and I am excited to be reaching out with information on the upcoming 2027/2028 Cohort!

Our next cohort will begin in January 2027 and will consist of 16 weekend intensives over the course of two years. Five of these weekends will be at the beautiful Siena Retreat Center on the shores of Lake Michigan in Racine, WI. These will be in January, June, and November of 2027 and June and November of 2028. 

The other weekends will be held via Zoom and you can join from a contemplative environment of your choosing. These virtual weekends will run from 9:00am-5:30pm CT on Saturday and 9:00am-12:00pm CT on Sundays. We will also meet in small groups one time between each weekend gathering. There will be multiple options for these 90-minute small group meetings that you will be able to choose from as you are accepted into the program.

For more information about the program, including specific dates, please be sure to check out our brochure & website.

Prior to applying for the Spiritual Guidance Training Program, we require you to participate in Cultivating Curiosity: Making Heart-centered Decisions in Transformative Times. This is a virtual, 5-session program focused on discernment. It is designed to support you as you consider whether the SGTP is your next step. This program is run by members of the SGTP team, and will allow you to get a sense of the worldview and culture of the SGTP, as well as the kind of community that is formed. Cultivating Curiosity will be offered twice in 2026. The first will begin on March 15th and run on Sunday afternoons through the spring. The second will begin on August 29th and run on Saturday afternoons through the fall. You can find more information on this program and register for it here.

I am here to journey with you throughout your discernment process. Please, do not hesitate to reach out directly if you have any questions. My plan is to send out emails such as this one on the first Friday of each month in order to share more information about the Spiritual Guidance Training Program and to stay connected throughout this next year. If at any point along the way, you have decided that Siena’s program is not the right fit for you, feel free to unsubscribe or to let me know and I can take you off this email list.

I look forward to accompanying you in the next year, and hope to see you as part of our 27/28 SGTP Cohort!

In active hope,

Nicki Nelson

SGTP Director