Offerings

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me.

Workshops:

Parenting with courage, humility and love.

Designing Learning Environments that illuminate humanity.

Building Leadership & Community Circles that nurtures

growth, supports change, inspires solutions, transforms lives.

Retreats...

Offerings...

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.

Next Retreat... Scroll down for additional offerings.

Do Not Miss this Extraordinary Event - One that will bring hope, inspiration, and community to these challenging times.

October 11-16, 2026 Standing on Sacred Ground - A Healing History Circle of Trust® Retreat beginning in Historic Savannah, Georgia - following woven stories to Andersonville Historic site, Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. This is a very speacial retreat that brings together truth-telling, history, and healing as ways to open perspective and pathways that support us in challenging times.

I am honored to be joined in this retreat by Gullah Geechee Master Truth-Teller and Historian, Sistah Patt Gunn, and by Dave Ellis, an internationally recognized expert in the fields of generational trauma, ACES, and healing.

Do not miss out on this extraordinary opportunity that includes performances by the local group the Saltwata Players, guided visits to historic sites by local historians, delicious meals, accomodations in Savannah - at Hotel Indigo that lives in a historic building, and in Montgomery at the lovely Embassy Suites Hotel located in the heart of the city's downtown, with time in community to debrief our experiences and uncover our questions throughout the retreat. For additional information and registration click on the link below!

https://couragerenewal.org/programs/standing-on-sacred-ground-a-healing-history-journey/

What We Offer...

Retreats:

We will custom design a retreat to respond to your organization's needs.

And...

You are invited to join us for one or more of our current offerings. We facilitate retreats for Create Safe Space Inc. Lori is an independent, professional Facilitator, prepared by the Center for Courage & Renewal, using the Circle of Trust Approach®, Co-Founded by Parker J. Palmer.

To receive an application for a retreat offering please send us an email: director@createsafespace.org, indicate the Retreat you are interested in and we will email you the forms and any additional information.

Scheduled Retreats:

Continuing: Benevolent Community, 2021-2022 Cohort 1

This Group began meeting in September 2026 A History of the gathering of Benevolent Community - During the Covid pandemic, and through deep dialogue and story-sharing we forged a path to building benevolent community that met in Retreat in June 2022. We are a group who live in different places throughout the United States. Together we are now writing a book on our experience that speaks to the value of benevolent community and providing a framework for others to create and nurture Benevolent Communities of their own. We continue to meet on-line the fourth Thursday of every month

New On-Line Benevolent Community Cirvle - beginning Tuesday, September 15, 2026 - This community circle will meet once a month on Tuesdays from 7:00 - 8:30 pm ETZ, using Zoom as our meeting space for one year, culminating in an in-person Retreat to be decided upon by the group.

Benevolent Community Circle:

A Year of Reflection, Conversation, and Community

There is a quiet truth many of us are beginning to recognize:

The health of our communities is inseparable from the health of the human beings who create them.

If we long for more thoughtful conversations… more trustworthy relationships… greater courage across difference… and communities rooted in dignity and belonging…

then our work begins within ourselves.

The Benevolent Community Circle is a year-long journey of inner and outer work—a welcoming community of people who are committed to living with greater intention, wisdom, and humanity.

Meeting online one Tuesday evening each month from 7:00–8:30 p.m., participants will gather in a spirit of curiosity, respect, and reflection.

Together we will explore the questions that shape a meaningful life while strengthening our capacity to contribute to families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities worthy of our shared humanity.

This is not a class.

It is not a debate.

It is a Circle—a place where listening is valued as highly as speaking, where questions are often more important than answers, and where each person’s lived experience becomes part of our collective learning.

Throughout the year we will explore themes drawn from the Benevolent Community Curriculum, Rooted In Humanity, history, philosophy, psychology, ethical leadership, and the timeless wisdom of those who have walked before us.

Together we will consider questions such as:

● What does it mean to live with integrity?

● How do we cultivate discernment rather than judgment?

● How do we remain compassionate without losing our boundaries?

● What practices strengthen trust, courage, humility, and hope?

● How do we become people who contribute to communities that flourish?

Each gathering will include thoughtful readings, reflective practices, meaningful conversation, and time for quiet contemplation. Participants will be invited—not required—to engage in personal reflection between sessions, allowing insights to deepen over time.

The year concludes with an in-person weekend retreat, date and place decided by the Circle, offering an opportunity to strengthen relationships, celebrate the journey we have shared, and continue growing together in a setting that nourishes both reflection and community.

A Benevolent Community is not simply a place we hope to find.

It is something we help create.

One conversation. One relationship. One thoughtful choice at a time.

If you are seeking a community that values authenticity over performance, curiosity over certainty, and shared humanity over division, we invite you to join us as we journey together toward lives of greater purpose, compassion, and wisdom.

Who Is This Circle For?

The Benevolent Community Circle is for those who believe that becoming a better community begins with becoming more fully human.

It is for people who are willing to ask thoughtful questions rather than rush to easy answers.

For those who value curiosity as much as conviction… who seek wisdom rather than certainty… and who believe that listening deeply is an act of generosity.

This Circle welcomes people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, professions, faith traditions, and worldviews.

We do not gather because we think alike. We gather because we believe our shared humanity is greater than our differences.

You may be an educator, leader, healthcare professional, clergy member, nonprofit volunteer, artist, parent, grandparent, entrepreneur, retiree, or someone simply searching for a place where meaningful conversations still matter.

What unites us is not our profession or our politics.

It is our desire to live with greater integrity, compassion, discernment, humility, and courage.

Participants need not have all the answers. In fact, many come because they have discovered that the most transformative conversations begin with genuine questions.

If you long for a community where people speak honestly, listen respectfully, reflect deeply, and grow together, you may have found your Circle.

Together, we will cultivate the habits of heart and mind that strengthen not only our own lives, but the communities we touch.

Because every benevolent community begins with people willing to become benevolent themselves.

New Savannah Circle of Trust will begin to meet on Mondays at Hotel Indigo beginning Oct 5th - invitations will be sent...If you live in the Savannah area and are interested in joining Sistah Patt and I please email me at Director@ CreateSafeSpace.org

October 11 - 16, 2026 Standing On Sacred Ground - A Healing History - Circle of Trust® Retreat

Historic Savannah, Georgia is where we begin our journey - traveling to Andersonville Historic Site, Montgomery and Selma, AL. . This is a very speacial retreat that brings together truth-telling, history, and healing as ways to open perspective and pathways that support us in challenging times. I am honored to be joined in this retreat by Gullah Geechee Master Truth-Teller and Historian, Sistah Patt Gunn, and by Dave Ellis, an internationally recognized expert in the fields of generational trauma, ACES, and healing. Do not miss out on this extraordinary opportunity that includes performances by the local group the Saltwata Players, guided visits to historic sites, delicious meals, accomodations in a historic building which is now Hotel Indigo in Savannah, and the lovely Embassy Suites in Downtown Montgomery, with time in community to debrief our feelings and experiences throughout the retreat. For additional information and registration click on the link below!

https://couragerenewal.org/programs/standing-on-sacred-ground-a-healing-history-journey/

January 5, 12, 19, 26 2027 - Zoom

The Courage to Remain Human - Holding Integrity Withouth Losing One Another

This series explores the difficult yet essentia work of living faithfully and in alignment with our integrity while refusing to surrender our humanity toward those who see the world differently. Together we will examine the habits of discernment, courageous lisening, intellectual humility and relational trust that allow us to hol both truth and relationship with wisdom.

This series will explore:

Knowing Ourselves - Understanding the stories, experiences, and values that shape our own worldview.

Seeing the Other - Learning to distinguish understaning from agreement and curiosity from surrender.

Holding the Tension - Practicing discernment, intellectual humility, ambiguity, and integrity amid disagreement.

Building Benevolent Community in Support of a Community's Coming of Age - Discovering how trust, courage and shared humanity become the foundation for communityes coming of age.

A Four-part Dialogue Series via ZOOM,

7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Workshop Fee $180

March 16th, 2026 - Savannah, GA Benevolent Community On-Line Circle Day Retreat -

Courage In Community (via zoom) Circle Day Experience, providing an opportunity to consider the value of community and its connection to sustaining humanity and democracy. We will begin at 1:00 and conclude at 4:00 pm. Fee: $50

April 9-11, 2027 Exploring The Gifts of Benevolent Community, Savannah, Georgia - Venue TBA

Harvesting from the wisdom found in Parker J. Palmer's Books: Healing The Heart of Democracy and On The Brink of Everything, Sally Z. Hare's book, The ElderGarten, and my book, Rooted In Humanity - this weekend retreat will challenge us to think about legacy as a responsibility we hold in building benevolent communities and caring for future generations. This weekend retreat is great companion to the Benevolent Community Courage In Community Circle Day Experience, providing an opportunity to consider the value of community and its connection to sustaining democracy. This on-line Day Retreat will be held on Tuesday, March 16th, 2026. Details and Registration Information will be posted soon.

May 14-16, 2027 - Living With Intention Women's Retreat

An Invitation for women who long to live with greater purpose, in alignment with their integrity, and wholehearted presence in a world that too often tries to pull us away from ourselves.

The retreat begins with an intiate three-day, in person gathering wher women step away from the hoise and urgency of daily life to reonnect with what matters most.

Through reflection, meaningful conversations, restorative practices, and the trusted vessel of Circle of Trust facilitation, participants are invited to isten more deeply to their own lives, their inner wisdom, and to one another, and to the quiet wisdom that is so often drowned out by the demands of our ives and the world.

The Retreat is only the beginning. Following our time together, partiipants continue to gather monthly via zoom, creating an ongoing community of encouragement, accountability, and shared learning.

Together, we support one another in living more intentionally, not only during the retret but in the ordinary moments where our values are often tested, our relationships are formed, and our lives are ultimately shaped.

My hope is that these circles of women beome places where courage is strengthened, wisdom is cultivated, friendships deepen, and eah participant is reminded that she does not have to navigate life's complexities and transitions alone. This is an offereing of benevolent community.

Workshops:

We schedule workshops open to everyone, as well as design workshops that respond to the interests and needs of organizations and communities.

An example of our Workshop Themes:

Designing Learning Environments that illuminate humanity and create a foundation for health and success. How do we define "Learning Environment"? We are persuaded that every "environment" provides a space for learning" - this includes our home, work, places of worship, community, and school environments.
What's Your Story? An invitation to knowing your organization and/or community by understanding who is in the room, what is each individual's lived experience, and how together you support your mission and vision, creating a more honest, open, and caring environment that will support successful outcomes and well-being.

Professional Development Coaching:

We focus on Human Awareness Coaching, building skills necessary for living in alignment with one's values - integrating mindfulness practice into the ways we communicate, think, and act.
We believe that at the core of our potential and an organization's potential is relationship. The relationship we have with ourselves and others'. If our core relationships are not positive and healthy, we cannot expect to sustain positive outcomes.
Relationship is foundational to the Learning Environments and Communities we establish for ourselves and others.

Vision:

To foster healing by

illuminating our shared humanity.

Mission:

Create and support

experiences & environments

rooted in compassion, humility, and

healthy relationships;

using essential questions as the foundation for engaging

with each other to build benevolent communities,

and social advocacy organizations.

Our Goal: Design spaces for thought, dialogue, education, questioning, collaboration and problem solving that supports the healing of the brokenness in our relationships and communities, by illuminating the gifts of our shared humanity so to foster Benevolent Communities. Working together to abolish fear and hate – and create the healthy relationships, environments and systems needed to honestly engage in the challenge of reconciling with the truth of our past so to build pathways of healing and well-being that hold every person’s dignity, story, and health as closely as one holds their own.