The Origins and Evolution of Fetzer’s Sacred-Centered Community
The Early Days: John Fetzer’s Intent and Initial Development
Early on, in the 1960s and 70s, John Fetzer gathered every Monday night with a group of advisors and friends to engage in contemplative practices. This experience guided his early efforts to fund the intersection of science and spirituality, and to create the Fetzer Institute. Then, in the late 1980s and nearing the end of his life, John Fetzer crystallized his belief that for Fetzer Institute to succeed, it had to be a cohesive community that was bound together by a deeply inclusive and mobilizing larger purpose. John Fetzer called this a Community of Freedom.
“I am sure that as you listen, you will hear the ring of truth, first and foremost, trying to create a community of freedom within the [Institute], which is based upon freedom of consciousness, freedom of the individual, freedom of movement, freedom of thought, freedom of development, and freedom of expression, which will allow the [Institute] to succeed in its mission.” — John Fetzer
What such a Community of Freedom meant in practice was not clear to most people at the time, even John Fetzer. However, he was clear that an active and growing spiritual life would be paramount for the Institute and its members (Parker, 2017).
After John Fetzer died, staff integrated his vision for a Community of Freedom through spiritually rooted practices that remain part of the Institute’s organizational fabric today, such as opening meetings with a meditation or centering practice, and pausing for 20 minutes of quiet reflection every day at 2 p.m. According to Rob Lehman, who was president throughout the 1990s, “I feel my most important mission is to carry love to this process, to nurture it . . . We simply must have love as an institution.”
In the 1990s and early 2000s, several projects were funded to create spaces for shared spiritual formation of staff and board members, and a spiritually grounded approach was intentionally embedded into convenings and program work. Staff learned that “to do the work is to be the work,” and staff and board together participated in spiritual processes to discern key aspects of the Institute’s evolution, including its guiding purpose. Over the years, board meetings were accompanied by communal spiritual formation opportunities and widely respected spiritual teachers were brought in to lead retreats for staff and board members; these practices continue today.
2013-2019: Forming a Spiritually Grounded Community
After a period of turbulence punctuated by demanding work and significant transitions at Fetzer, the new president, Bob Boisture, felt that it was necessary for healing and progress for the entire staff to spend dedicated time together each week. The intent was to build on the Institute’s existing spiritually rooted practices and to cultivate an intentional community that encouraged people to show up at work as their full and authentic selves, to deepen their relationships with one another, and to find spiritual common ground. What’s more, providing the space to develop such a community could help Fetzer become a more effective organization — if it could create a culture of love and authenticity and develop the skills to lean into challenging situations (Parker, 2017).
A staff committee was established to guide the community. For several years, leadership was collaboratively held, with workgroups planning weekly sessions. The planning team engaged longtime contemplative practitioner Mirabai Bush to help design sessions, and staff members assumed coordinating roles.
From the start, the gatherings were mandatory for all Fetzer employees. That decision drew on prior experience, as earlier attempts to foster spiritual community on an optional basis had unintentionally created “in-groups” and “out-groups.” After a few years of gathering together, staff began asking for more time to pursue their own spiritual interests. In response, in 2015, self-directed individual and small group work was incorporated into the dedicated gathering time.
In those early days, not all staff members were eager to participate in a workplace spiritual community, as it had not been part of their original job expectations. It became clear that shared expectations for engagement in the community was critical. By proactively telling prospective employees about the Community of Freedom and the expectation of their participation in it, new hires would be more likely to arrive aligned with the Institute’s vision for workplace spirituality.
That hypothesis proved accurate. Since 2017, when recruiting and hiring practices began incorporating information about the spiritual community and related expectations, alignment with the community’s intentions has strengthened. According to Nathan Moore, Spiritual Engagement Coordinator, “People come here knowing that they’re going to be participating in a larger culture building experience. People are excited about this. There are fewer concerns like, ‘Are they trying to convert us?’ Or, ‘Am I spiritual enough?’”
2020-2021: New Leadership, Structure and Intentionality
The COVID pandemic ushered in a new era for Fetzer’s spiritually grounded community. Like so many organizations, Fetzer quickly pivoted to remote work in the spring of 2020. At a time when staff were feeling isolated, anxious, and grieving the loss of loved ones, the weekly online gatherings were a balm to many. They became a source of stability, and an opportunity to authentically connect and engage in a sacred-centered community providing levels of support for the soul as much as the mind and body.
The leadership structure also shifted in 2020. An assessment of the Community of Freedom Gathering’s first three years revealed that the COFG felt separate from the rest of the Institute’s work, its organizational policies, and way of being (Parker, 2017). While a collaborative leadership model was initially crucial for building the desired shared ownership of the community (Parker, 2017), it was time to evolve toward a clearer vision and supportive organizational structure; more centralized leadership could help. Shakiyla Smith-Sengu was promoted to Vice President of the newly created Organizational Culture department, which includes the COFG, Fetzer’s HR and DEI work, and the GilChrist retreat center. Previously, each of these functions, and the ways in which they supported employee well-being and inner life, had been operating in silos. Now housed within a single department, both individual staff development and the cultivation of a sacred-centered organizational culture benefit from a more holistic and integrated approach. Each of the departmental units are advancing mutually reinforcing work. Team members are in dialogue with one another and the departmental VP champions and stewards the shared vision.
Building on her background in adult and organizational development, Smith-Sengu introduced a developmental vision for the community: If Fetzer could center the Sacred in its own organizational practices and culture, then individuals and the community could experience deeper spiritual growth, enhancing their capacity to contribute to a future of shared flourishing. In this way, Fetzer could serve as an inspiration to other organizations seeking to integrate embodied spirituality into their culture and practices. According to Smith-Sengu, “We engage in self-inquiry, inner work, and personal transformation to alleviate our own suffering for sure, but mostly for the purpose of better relating and co-creating with others for societal transformation.”
In 2021, Smith-Sengu emphasized the small group structure as a form of spiritual practice and container for catalyzing deeper relationships and growth among participants. Staff could opt into small groups focused on racial equity and deep transformation with an initial participation commitment of six months.
These were spaces where participants could embark on profound developmental work. This involved clear guidance and support for how to structure and facilitate the groups such that a solid container could be quickly established, participants would know what to expect and, as a result, staff could more comfortably and effectively participate in this new structure. While formation and facilitation of small groups has since become more organic, small groups continue to be integral to the COFG today.
Smith-Sengu’s vision for spiritual growth was accompanied by intentionally building capacity and skills for genuine learning and inner development. She and her team have articulated a suite of core competencies for facilitating that growth — among them, the ability to guide oneself with discernment, fluency with difference, and a sustained commitment to self reflection and contemplative practice. These are woven, explicitly and tacitly, into community gatherings and other spiritual formation opportunities.
The vision and supportive organizational structure established in 2020 created a strong holding environment for the COFG, one that is key to its success today. Across the Organizational Culture department, the intent is to create the conditions and infrastructure that open doors to growth, which community members can choose to enter. As Smith-Sengu says, “COFG is meant to be catalytic. We invite, not force, people to change.”
2022-Present: A Mature Community With Clear Signs of Impact
In the spring of 2022, once the initial COVID crisis quieted and an extensive remodel of Fetzer’s headquarters was complete, staff began coming back to the office and the Community of Freedom started in-person gatherings again.
The Institute also began recruiting for a new Director of Spiritual Care position to expand the Organizational Culture team and help enact the department’s vision of a “spiritually grounded, deliberately developmental, beloved community that invites and supports individual and communal growth and thriving.”
With the new position, the Organizational Culture team would have someone trained in spiritual formation who was dedicated to holding this body of work and community in a sacred-centered and developmentally appropriate way. In 2023, Sarah Roelofs, an ordained minister and former hospital and military chaplain, arrived as Fetzer’s new Director of Spiritual Care. “As chaplains,” Roelofs explained, “we assess spiritual need and we pair that with a spiritual intervention. This is core to the work at Fetzer.”
Under Roelofs’ leadership, staff have been invited to discover and express the full range of their religious and spiritual traditions and worldviews. In Roelofs’ words, “It can feel daunting to know how to “best” talk about your own faith and spirituality in a workplace. There is a fear of offending someone or saying the wrong thing. We are giving permission for folks to speak from their first spiritual language.” In line with Roelofs’ belief that people can connect with Spirit in myriad ways, she has welcomed and incorporated into the COFG a wide range of avenues for exploring spirituality, such as nature, music, grief, photography, somatic practice, and learning across diverse world religions.
According to Roelofs, “Our hope is that staff are inspired to explore more deeply beyond the COFG container and the allotted time on Tuesdays. That what we learn and practice will spark something.” Such ripple effects can already be seen in the increased use of Fetzer’s individual spiritual development benefit — the annual opportunity for staff to take time away from the office and access funding for their own spiritual or religious practice. Roelofs regularly meets with community members to explore their spiritual interests and needs, encourages them to tap into benefits, and helps them identify relevant resources. In 2025, 80% of staff (52 people) used the individual spiritual development benefit, up from less than thirty percent (20 people) in 2023.