The Clearing: CCDA Pre-Conference Retreat
About this Event
The Clearing
Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) Pre-Conference Retreat
Richmond, Virginia
October 7, 2026
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sponsored by the CCDA Women of Color Affiliate Group
Facilitated by Lisa Sharon Harper (President and Founder, Freedom Road Consulting, LLC) with Brian K. Walls (Northwest Mutual, Financial Planner) and Dr. Kathleen Walls (Clinical Psychologist and Specialist in Mental Health Resilience)
Inspired by Baby Suggs Holy’s call to radical self-love in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, The Clearing is a national intervention, seeding and resourcing locally-rooted networks of mutual care across the United States. In the context of a mounting economic crisis, including the expulsion of nearly 700,000 Black women from the U.S. economy in 2025 and drastically cut healthcare access, this one-day retreat will equip participants with timely resources for economic, mental health, and spiritual resilience. Participants will also be introduced to key mutual aid organizations available when needed.Come to The Clearing. Connect and get equipped to meet the challenges of our times.
Registration: All registration levels offer access to The Clearing resource experts. Lunch not provided.
Post-Retreat coaching services will be available from all resource experts.
Agenda
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Welcome To The Clearing!
Host: Lisa Sharon Harper
Info: Inspired by Toni Morrison's masterpiece, Beloved, The Clearing is a space where we center our needs, loves, and dreams. It is a space of radical self-love and community connection. The Clearing is a space where we get real with ourselves and each other. We must, to gain the strength and strategies we need to overcome formidable challenges in our current wilderness.
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
The Healing Circle
Host: Lisa Sharon Harper
Info: In an exercise of radical self-love, we will enter the Clearing by sharing our sacred stories. In the context of targeted economic violence, Black and Brown women were the first to feel the impacts of Project 2025's restructured economy--often suffering alone, in silence. We will begin by breaking our silence and realizing we are not alone.
🕑: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Financial Resilience in the Wilderness
Host: Brian K. Walls
Info: There is a difference between financial competency and financial fluency. Competency focuses on the basics. Fluency trains us to navigate our financial lives in unique, challenging circumstances. This conversation will prepare Black and Brown women to exercise financial fluency in shifting times.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch on your own
Info: Grab a bite with new friends at any one of the plethora of eateries available in Center City Philadelphia. Then return to the retreat for more resourcing in The Clearing!
🕑: 01:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Holding Our Hearts and Minds in the Wilderness
Host: Dr. Kathleen E. Walls
Info: Through practical exercises and expert instruction, Dr. Kathleen Walls will strengthen our resilience and capacity to cope in the context of targeted financial violence.
🕑: 03:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Introduction to The Village
Info: Participants will be introduced to a rich network of mutual aid organizations across Greater Philadelphia, available to help when needed. Need childcare? Check. Need a food cooperative? Check. Need a high-quality/low-cost health clinic? Check. And more...
🕑: 03:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Cultivating The Clearing
Host: Lisa Sharon Harper
Info: How do we move from this sacred space and cultivate The Clearing in our lives, in our communities, and in the next generations?
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 57.00 to USD 449.00
