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Baylor University
Institute for Faith and Learning
  • About
    • Staff
  • Conferences and Symposiums
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture
      • 2022 Art Seeking Understanding
      • 2021 Living Accountably
      • 2019 The Character of the University
      • 2018 Stewardship of Creation
      • 2017 The Bible and the Reformation
      • 2016 Higher Learning
      • 2015 The Spirit of Sports
      • 2014 Faith and Film
      • 2013 Kierkegaard: A Christian Thinker for Our Time?
      • 2012 Technology and Human Flourishing
      • 2011 Educating for Wisdom in the 21st Century University
      • 2010 Human Dignity and the Future of Health Care
      • 2009 Secularization and Revival
      • 2008 Bottom-Up Approaches to Global Poverty
      • 2007 Friendship
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
      • Bailey Lecture Video Archive
    • Other Conferences and Events
      • IFL@25
      • 2019 LFP National Conference
      • Art & Soul
      • Pruit Memorial Symposium
      • Baylor University Medical Ethics Seminar
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    • Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators
    • William Carey Crane Scholars Program
      • Additional Information
    • Missio
    • Forming Character in the Classroom
      • About the Program: Called to Character
      • Past Workshops
    • Reading Groups and Guest Speakers
    • Soundings Project
  • Media and Resources
    • Faith Animating Online Education
      • Starting Points
      • A Christian Imagination about Online Education?
      • Cultivating Character and Online Learning
      • Additional Resources
    • Institute for Faith and Learning Video Archive
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture Video Archive
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
    • Recommended Reading
    • External Resources
    • The Christian Reflection Project
      • Acedia
      • Advent Ethics
      • Aging
      • Anger
      • Apocalyptic Vision
      • Attentive Patience
      • The Book of Acts
      • Caring for Creation
      • Catechism
      • Chastity
      • Children
      • Christianity and Islam
      • Christmas and Epiphany
      • Cities and Towns
      • Cloning
      • Consumerism
      • Death
      • Disability
      • Easter
      • Food and Hunger
      • Forgiveness
      • Freedom
      • Friendship
      • Gambling Culture
      • Generosity
      • Global Wealth
      • Health
      • Heaven and Hell
      • Hospitality
      • Immigration
      • Inklings of Glory
      • Lent
      • The Letter of James
      • Marriage
      • Membership
      • Monasticism Old and New
      • Moral Landscape of Creation
      • Mysticism
      • Parables
      • Patterns of Violence
      • Peace and War
      • Pentecost
      • Pornographic Culture
      • Prayer
      • Prison
      • Prophetic Ethics
      • Racism
      • Sabbath
      • Schools in a Pluralist Culture
      • Scripture
      • Sermon on the Mount
      • Singing Our Lives
      • Sports
      • Suffering
      • Traveling Well
      • Virtual Lives
      • Vocation
      • Where Wisdom Is Found
      • Women and the Church
      • Women in the Bible
      • Work
Baylor BU Institute for Faith and Learning Programs Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators
  • Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators
  • William Carey Crane Scholars Program
  • Missio
  • Forming Character in the Classroom
  • Reading Groups and Guest Speakers
  • Soundings Project

Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators

 

Communio

If Christian universities are to pursue excellence in teaching and research while deepening their religious commitment, they must provide opportunities for their faculty to reflect upon the relationship between faith and learning and the promise and challenges found in Christian higher education.

Since 2001, Communio has met this need for more than 700 Baylor educators.

Hosted each May at historic Laity Lodge in the Hill Country, Communio features guest lectures and guided discussions, common meals and worship, and other activities that encourage faculty to explore together their common aims as educators at Baylor.

The Purposes of Communio Include:

  • Acquainting faculty with a theological understanding of vocation/calling
  • Exploring the implications of Christian calling for academic life in both its teaching and scholarly dimensions
  • Enhancing faculty readiness to help mentor students in discerning and responding to their own Christian vocation
  • Building collegiality and common purpose and and fostering the development of genuine friendship
  • Providing a place and opportunity for prayer, leisure, rest, and renewal

The Rhythm of Retreat at Laity Lodge

Each day begins and ends with common prayer. Through scripture, sacred music, and prayer we seek to orient (and often re-orient) the pattern of our daily living towards becoming more attuned to God’s calling on our lives.

Each morning and evening, we meet for a time of presentation and discussion led by one of our retreat speakers. Here we are able to learn and reflect together about matters of vocation, the relationship between faith and the academy, and the university's engagement with the church and culture.

The rest of the day is left for hiking, swimming, fishing, reading, painting, sculpting, or simply resting. Meals are unhurried to allow plenty of time for conversation with colleagues.

What our Colleagues Have Said:

Communio is a microcosm of what Baylor aspires to be. It is thoughtfully and prayerfully Christian and focused on questions of vocation, including the ways in which Baylor can serve students and the world.

Communio was a gift and holds a special place for me in my experiences as a BU faculty member. It allowed me space outside the pressured pace of a tenure-track faculty member to reflect on my calling.

The demand to teach well is felt by faculty regardless of where they teach, but the responsibility to teach well as Christians is even greater. IFL’s annual Communio retreat allows faculty ample time and space to step back to reimagine and even renew their faith commitments, motivations, and aspirations, all in a context with fellow sojourners. 

Past Communio Speakers Include:

  • James Davison Hunter, University of Virginia
  • Elizabeth Newman, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond
  • John O'Callaghan, University of Notre Dame
  • Shirley J. Roels, International Network for Christian Higher Education
  • David Smith, Calvin University
  • Susan VanZanten, Valparaiso University
  • Candace Vogler, University of Chicago
  • Paul Wadell, St. Norbert College
  • Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University

 

Baylor BU Institute for Faith and Learning Programs Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators
  • About
    Back
    • Staff
  • Conferences and Symposiums
    Back
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture
      Back
      • 2022 Art Seeking Understanding
        Back
        • Call for Proposals
        • Conference Schedule
        • Key Information and Frequently Asked Questions
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
      • 2021 Living Accountably
        Back
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2019 The Character of the University
        Back
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2018 Stewardship of Creation
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2017 The Bible and the Reformation
        Back
        • Co-Sponsors
        • Featured Speakers and Panels
        • Video Archive
      • 2016 Higher Learning
        Back
        • Featured Speakers and Panels
        • Video Archive
      • 2015 The Spirit of Sports
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2014 Faith and Film
        Back
        • Video Archive
      • 2013 Kierkegaard: A Christian Thinker for Our Time?
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2012 Technology and Human Flourishing
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2011 Educating for Wisdom in the 21st Century University
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2010 Human Dignity and the Future of Health Care
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2009 Secularization and Revival
        Back
        • Video Archive
      • 2008 Bottom-Up Approaches to Global Poverty
      • 2007 Friendship
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
      Back
      • Bailey Lecture Video Archive
    • Other Conferences and Events
      Back
      • IFL@25
        Back
        • Select Pictures from IFL@25
      • 2019 LFP National Conference
        Back
        • Presenters
      • Art & Soul
      • Pruit Memorial Symposium
        Back
        • 2001 Celebrating Augustine's Confessions
        • 2002 Christianity and Economics
        • 2003 The Schooled Heart
        • 2004 Slavery, Oppression, and Prejudice
        • 2005 Global Christianity
      • Baylor University Medical Ethics Seminar
        Back
        • 2016 Medical Ethics Seminar
        • 2017 Medical Ethics Seminar
        • 2018 Medical Ethics Seminar
      • One-Time Conferences
  • Programs
    Back
    • Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators
    • William Carey Crane Scholars Program
      Back
      • Additional Information
    • Missio
    • Forming Character in the Classroom
      Back
      • About the Program: Called to Character
      • Past Workshops
    • Reading Groups and Guest Speakers
    • Soundings Project
  • Media and Resources
    Back
    • Faith Animating Online Education
      Back
      • Starting Points
      • A Christian Imagination about Online Education?
      • Cultivating Character and Online Learning
      • Additional Resources
    • Institute for Faith and Learning Video Archive
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture Video Archive
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
    • Recommended Reading
    • External Resources
    • The Christian Reflection Project
      Back
      • Acedia
      • Advent Ethics
      • Aging
      • Anger
      • Apocalyptic Vision
      • Attentive Patience
      • The Book of Acts
      • Caring for Creation
      • Catechism
      • Chastity
      • Children
      • Christianity and Islam
      • Christmas and Epiphany
      • Cities and Towns
      • Cloning
      • Consumerism
      • Death
      • Disability
      • Easter
      • Food and Hunger
      • Forgiveness
      • Freedom
      • Friendship
      • Gambling Culture
      • Generosity
      • Global Wealth
      • Health
      • Heaven and Hell
      • Hospitality
      • Immigration
      • Inklings of Glory
      • Lent
      • The Letter of James
      • Marriage
      • Membership
      • Monasticism Old and New
      • Moral Landscape of Creation
      • Mysticism
      • Parables
      • Patterns of Violence
      • Peace and War
      • Pentecost
      • Pornographic Culture
      • Prayer
      • Prison
      • Prophetic Ethics
      • Racism
      • Sabbath
      • Schools in a Pluralist Culture
      • Scripture
      • Sermon on the Mount
      • Singing Our Lives
      • Sports
      • Suffering
      • Traveling Well
      • Virtual Lives
      • Vocation
      • Where Wisdom Is Found
      • Women and the Church
      • Women in the Bible
      • Work
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