Heartland Conference-Sponsored CHHSM Retreat Explores Benefits of Enneagram

For the past seven years, CHHSM has partnered with the UCC’s Heartland Conference to offer a day long retreat for its local churches and its Designated Ministry Partners, which include several CHHSM agencies. That tradition continued Aug. 27, 2025, in a day-long workshop, “From Role to Soul: Exploring the Enneagram as a Sacred Tool.” The free retreat—underwritten by a Designated Ministry Partner Grant from the Heartland Conference—was open to local church pastors, other local church staff members, and CHHSM agency staff.

The overview of the Enneagram was held at Camp Christian in Marysville, Ohio, and almost 50 participants, the most ever for a CHHSM and Heartland Conference sponsored retreat.

“Each year, in consultation with Conference Minister the Rev. Dr. Dave Long-Higgins, we try to match the and themes of the day to the needs of the conference—needs we are listening for from our CHHSM members and UCC congregations,” said the Rev. Dr. Elyse Berry, CHHSM’s associate for advocacy and leadership development. After reading a Diakonie article about the Enneagram retreat I led for Uplands Village last fall, Dave reached out to me to ask if we could offer this programming for the annual retreat. I enthusiastically said yes.”

The Enneagram is a personality framework that describes nine interconnected personality types, each driven by distinct core motivations (basic fears and desires) and coping strategies. It provides a model for self-awareness and spiritual transformation to wholeness by revealing  how a person thinks, feels, and behaves on “autopilot,” as well as how they react under stress and when they feel secure. It can be integrated into any faith or spiritual path.

Additionally, the Enneagram benefits more than just the individual, said Berry. The inner work and self-awareness tools are part of a practice of healing justice “to contend with our own suffering so that we do not add to the suffering of the world, to cultivate compassion, and to be able to act from a place of presence in the face of a reality that is often painful and frustrating.”

Dave Long-Higgins said that he was already interested in study of the Enneagram, but more importantly, in “the way in which the Enneagram can help us better understand each other. The Enneagram invites a precious pause to appreciate others who bring their particular gifts and presence into community life,” he said. “It seems to me that building such a capacity to pause and savor the delightful uniqueness of others is especially important in this season when there is so much division in the world.”

Celebrating the uniqueness of each person is something particularly poignant for United Church Homes (UCH) Chaplain the Rev. Andrea Mericle. “As someone whose personality type is only represented by about 2 percent of the population, I’ve had to push back against the wider cultural message that I have no value as a person, let alone anything to offer,” she said. “The Enneagram is one way to help counteract this messaging, as it helps people explore both the gifts and growing edges of their Enneagram type. It’s nice to feel like a person of worth.”

For Liesl Higgins, director of faith development at St. Paul’s UCC in Bellevue, Ohio, the Enneagram is one tool for building understanding. “In an age when division is running rampant in every aspect of our society, organizations, and families, the Enneagram is an important tool for greater understanding,” she said. When I know about who and how I am, I can respond with courage and grace towards my strengths and my growing edges. As I learn more about others, I gain insight into who and how they are and how they respond with courage and grace towards their strengths and growing edges. When we learn to have compassion and grace for others, we are less likely to demonize them.”

The Rev. Darla Metz, also a chaplain for UCH, concurred. “The Enneagram retreat was very helpful in my call as a pastor and chaplain,” she said. “It helped me have a fuller understanding of those I serve when providing spiritual care, recognizing what their needs might be, why they may need them, and how to meet those needs.”

Metz also reflected on how it also helped her in her personal life, especially in understanding her grandchildren. “I have one granddaughter who is extremely introverted, which was a frustration for me—who is an extrovert—because I did not understand that after a day of being around people, she needs to have that time of quiet to recharge,” she said. “I would tend to take her seclusion personally, when really it is just what she needs to stay healthy.”

The depth of conversation and of joy made the retreat a meaningful experience for all the attendees. “The energy in the room, the vulnerability of the conversations, the shared laughter and affirmation folks gave to each other made the day feel very much alive,” said Berry, who is a Certified Enneagram Professional. “Folks who were completely new to the Enneagram and folks who were very familiar with it noted how much the day impacted them. And that is what I hope for, to have an event that is widely accessibly because it goes deep, not because it skims the surface.”

UCH Vice President of Engagement and Director of its Center for Abundant Aging the Rev. Beth Long-Higgins reflected on the ramifications of the retreat in her daily interactions. “The Enneagram is an interesting tool to help us better understand how we each approach life,” she said. “In conversations with the various UCH staff who attended the event, I have heard us all continuing to reflect on what we have learned about ourselves. And, in turn, this helps us to learn more about each other as we work together.”

“It was well worth the time to spend the day in the retreat and since then, I have followed up with the resources Elyse shared to continue my own understanding of this work,” Beth Long-Higgins added. “I am so grateful for the Heartland Conference and CHHSM to offer an annual retreat. It is a great way to interact with folk from around the conference.”

Mericle was one of the attendees who had already done much work on the Enneagram, but never had clarity on where she fit into the Enneagram types. The workshop provided that clarity. “Learning more about myself through learning about my Enneagram type is helpful both personally and professionally,” she said. I was recently at a UCH chaplain’s retreat, and some of us were talking about our Enneagram types. It was nice to realize that what works well for one person doesn’t necessarily work well for someone else—that the difference is a reflection of who we are as a person, and one approach isn’t better or worse than the other, nor is one Enneagram type better than the other.”

Dave Long-Higgins reflected on the long-term benefits of the retreat. “In a season of loneliness and despair, this event gave the participants a glimpse of what is possible when we embrace our God-given gifts, and honor those of other,” he said. “I am so very grateful to CHHSM and, especially, the Rev. Dr. Elyse Berry, for its leading and serving presence in our midst. Because of the ‘we’ in our life, there was growth filled with delight. What a remarkable gift.”