Clergy from across the Rio Texas Conference gathered September 13–15 at Camp Buckner in Burnet for the conference’s first All Clergy Retreat.

Centered around the theme “Streams in the Wilderness,” the retreat offered participants time to rest, worship, reconnect with colleagues, and listen for God together.

“We spend so much of our time taking care of other people,” the Clergy Retreat Planning Team shared with participants before the gathering. “For this time, we want to create some space for you to be cared for, too.”

That idea shaped the retreat’s intentionally open schedule. Rather than filling each day with presentations and required activities, planners encouraged those attending to use the time as their souls needed—whether that meant taking a walk, visiting with a colleague, creating something, taking a nap, or simply sitting quietly.

Optional activities included yoga, prayer walking, watercolor painting and reflection, planting, journaling, crafts, and games, with space for informal conversations, coffee, and shared snacks.

Clergy gathered with their Orders, worshiped together, and spent time in conversation with Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey. During a question-and-answer session, they discussed changing patterns of church participation, congregational vitality, church property, rural ministry, and the faithful use of conference resources.

clergy had a Q&A time with bishop Harvey

Bishop Harvey encouraged those gathered to think beyond traditional measures of vitality and consider how congregations engage their communities and reach people who may never enter a sanctuary. She also shared questions conference leaders are exploring as they consider how Rio Texas can faithfully use its financial, human, and property resources to support ministry into the future.

The retreat also created space for clergy to listen to one another and reflect on the future of the church through three guiding questions:

When have you seen the church most fully alive?
Where do you see God already doing something new among us?
If we were willing to release some things we have always assumed the conference must be, must do, or must look like, what might God be making room for?

As clergy shared stories from their churches and communities, several common themes emerged.

Participants described seeing the church come alive when people experience belonging, children are included in worship, and congregations respond to communities experiencing disaster or hardship. They spoke about ministry moving beyond the sanctuary through shared meals, small groups, community partnerships, and opportunities for churches to worship and serve together.

clergy discussed questions at their table

They also identified signs of new life in intergenerational worship, ministries addressing food insecurity, and congregations willing to try something different to meet their communities' changing needs.

The conversation invited participants to consider what churches—and the conference as a whole—may need to release to create room for that new life. Clergy spoke about the need for greater collaboration, shared leadership, and relationships built on trust. They imagined churches sharing resources rather than competing, creating more opportunities for connection and developing systems flexible enough to respond to changing ministry needs.

The discussion acknowledged both the diversity of the Rio Texas Conference and the different realities facing its congregations. Participants raised questions about equity, the sustainability of smaller churches, and how the conference can honor its congregations' distinct identities while living more fully into the United Methodist connection.

The retreat offered clergy something important: room to rest, ask honest questions, share what they are experiencing, and listen for where God may already be at work.

As participants returned to their communities, they carried an invitation to keep listening, notice where the church is alive, remain open to what is emerging, and trust that God is still creating streams in the wilderness.

clergy retreat photo gallery

Explore the photo gallery above to see moments from the retreat captured and shared by clergy who attended.