Thrivent Financial is sponsoring a faith and business forum at their Heartwood Conference & Retreat Center in Trego, Wis., on Aug. 22-24, 2007. The event is open to middle- and upper-management executives of nonprofit and for-profit organizations. The event is cosponsored and managed by Spirit in the Desert, a retreat center in Carefree, Arizona (brochure).

The forum will provide opportunity for business leaders to:

1. Reflect on their personal ethics, spirituality and religious beliefs relative to business life;
2. Meet and network with others who seek wisdom from religious traditions;
3. Gain an enhanced sense of vocation, vision and leadership, especially in the business culture of their organization.

Leaders for this forum are well-known and respected presenters in the area of organizational life and performance. David Specht, is program director for Seeing Things Whole, an action-research group that works with a network of theologians and organizational leaders to explore the implications of spirituality and religious belief. He teaches mediation and applied conflict studies at the college level and has a private consulting practice working on various forms of conflict engagement and training in the area of managing difficult conversations and meetings.

Allen M. Comstock is an ordained UCC pastor who serves as a consulting theologian with Seeing Things Whole, engaging leadership teams of business organizations in theological reflection in retreat and roundtable settings.  

The Heartwood Conference Center & Retreat is owned and operated by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to carry out and complement the organization's mission, demonstrating its core values in a unique and different way.  Heartwood is a center for education providing experiences of togetherness, learning, leisure, renewal, celebration, and overall wellness for the benefit of the Lutheran community.  For more information about Heartwood and travel directions, visit heartwoodconferencecenter.com or call (800) 577-4848.

The fee is $445 and includes lodging, meals and program costs. A limited number of scholarships are available through Spirit in the Desert.  

The deadline for registration is Aug. 3, 2007. For more information and to register, visit spiritinthedesert.org or call (480) 488-5218.