History
A comprehensive list of Companions retreats, themes and speakers is available for download here.
In the early 1980's Morton Kelsey joined with Professor Roy
Fairchild to develop the concept of
Companions on the Inner Way. 
They saw the advantage of offering a
retreat experience that gave people the time in which
to address their spiritual issues and attend to their own personal
growth. Roy was assisted by Andy Dreitcer and later, Elizabeth Liebert,
in providing Companions and other programs under the umbrella of San
Francisco Theological Seminary's Center for Christian Spiritual
Disciplines, as the Program for Christian Spirituality was then called.
In those early years, Companions was eight full days, and drew many
SFTS students during their January intersession to what was often their
first spirituality course.
By 1993 Morton was ready to retire, and Howard Rice, Chaplain as
well as Professor of Ministry at SFTS, became his successor. The length
of the retreat was cut back to five days and now held off campus at
various retreat centers. In March of 1995, the program saw its way
clear to hiring a part-time director; Joan Currey stepped into that
position, joining with Ann Pope, the Program Manager. A core staff was
soon developed with the addition of liturgist Jeff Gaines, musician
Ruthanne Svendsen, and Marjorie Hoyer Smith, who brought an art a
nd
movement
component
to the Companions experience. It was at this time as
well that a second event was added to the year and even an occasional
third. The Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center on Lake Tahoe
became our summer location while, our winter site included retreat
centers in Sierra Madre, San Juan Capistrano and Malibu in Southern
California. On one or more occasions Companions traveled to Portland,
OR; Issaquah, WA; and Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. In March of 2004,
Companions went through another transition, moving to San Francisco and
coming under the auspices of the Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church,
where it enjoys a close relationship with both the congregation and its
pastor, Jeffrey Gaines.