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Chaplains Religious Enrichment Development Operation (CREDO) supports sea service personnel and their families. CREDO offers resources to strengthen the lives of the Department of the Navy’s most important asset – our people! CREDO uses a spiritual care model that looks beyond behaviors to affirm each person as a unique creation of God with value and significance. CREDO seeks to enhance spiritual well-being and inspire hope in the lives of its participants by helping them to achieve a level of personal maturity that is manifested in healthy relationships, spiritual expression, positive moral thinking, and resiliency. Our goal is to build trust and facilitate an experience of unconditional acceptance that invites reflection and offers practical skills for change.

For more information, or to inquire about our programs or to register for an event, please call CREDO at (757) 444-7654 (DSN 564-7654).

Eligibility...

CREDO retreats are open to all active duty military and their dependents and active reservists. Please contact CREDO for additional information on family member age requirements for the different programs. Participants are responsible for their own child care arrangements.
 
The Marriage Enrichment Retreat is for married couples. If you are engaged, consider pre-marital programs or contact Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) for information on their workshops (444-NAVY).

Mission is…

To serve the Navy and Marine Corps by promoting personal, relational, and spiritual development. To show and share the unconditional love of God throughout the sea service communities by...
(1) Modeling healthy personal, marital, and family relationships;
(2) Enabling people to discover hope, and;
(3) Encouraging all to access community resources.

Our History…

CREDO (Chaplains Response to the Emerging Drug Order) was originally established in 1971 as an innovative program focused on personal and spiritual growth in response to, and for the treatment of, increased drug and alcohol abuse among personnel. CREDO soon evolved beyond that single purpose and in 1977 its mission was expanded to provide a variety of avenues through which military personnel and their family members are “enabled to develop personal and spiritual resources and grow...” (Navy Chief of Chaplains, 1977). With a new mission and identity, CREDO became the “Chaplains Religious Enrichment Development Operation.” In February 2005, CREDO was renamed the “Spiritual Fitness Center” and then “Spiritual Fitness Division” as it continued to provide both its traditional retreats and developed innovative programs to assist Sea Services personnel in their personal, work, and family lives.

Today, CREDO's 10 regional/worldwide locations provide ministry, hope, and enrichment. Navy “quality of life” surveys continue to emphasize CREDO’s long history of being ranked as one of the best programs for Navy and Marine Corps personnel and their families.

Locations of CREDO Mid-Atlantic and Registration Information

The office of CREDO Norfolk is located at Naval Station Norfolk, Building X-70, at 9591 Maryland Ave. just one block inside Gate 2. Gate 2 is at the corner of Hampton Blvd and Adm. Taussig Blvd. The phone number is (757) 444-7654 (DSN 564-7654). Retreats are held at different retreat sites or resort locations in the Greater Hampton Roads area.

The office of CREDO Groton is located at Naval Submarine Base New London, Building 84 (Gilmore Hall, near Dealey Plaza on the lower part of the base), Room 103. The office phone number is (860) 694-1144 (DSN 694-1144) and the office email address is NWLN_CNRMA_CREDO_GROTON@navy.mil. Retreats are held for three major geographic areas: New England (eastern Massachusetts), New Jersey/eastern Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), and northern Illinois (Naval Station Great Lakes).

Retreats...

The Family Enrichment Retreat (FER) offers families an opportunity to learn practical skills based on proven principals that will strengthen, support, and empower your family to grow closer and stronger. You will learn steps to resolve conflict, ways to encourage each other, and steps for effective discipline. You will discover how to bring out the best in each other and how to build on the strengths of your family. 

The Marriage Enrichment Retreat (MER) weekend offers the opportunity for committed couples to explore how they may grow together in intimacy and love. Couples on this retreat will reflect upon and actively explore the health of their relationship by looking together at where they are in their relationship, how they got there and where they want to go.

The Personal Resilience Retreat (PRR) provides a safe space for us to tell our stories in the midst of a supportive community. This retreat is not designed to fix or diagnose problems. It is a chance to get to know yourself better. Your mind will be opened to a new way of looking at yourself through a variety of activities designed to revitalize your mind, body and spirit.

Retreat meals, lodging, and material costs are covered by CREDO, which means these retreats are FREE to you!  Preregistration is required for all retreats and workshops, by contacting CREDO. Upon the participant’s arrival, active-duty personnel must present no-cost TAD orders, a special request chit, or leave papers covering the retreat/workshop period.

Workshops...

The Marriage Enrichment Workshop (MEW) offers couples an opportunity to explore how they may grow together in intimacy and love. Couples will learn new tools for their communication toolbox.

The Pre-Marital Workshop (PMW) provides an opportunity for engaged couples to explore those topics most important to a healthy relationship – communication, intimacy, expectations, and boundaries.

The Healthy Dating Workshop (HDW) gives singles, and dating couples, the chance to learn more about each other while equipping individuals with proven, effective skills in communication, safety, conflict resolution, and boundaries.

The Team Building Workshop (TBW) is designed to build understanding and morale of groups by revealing personal type preferences and group type preference through a series of personality type inventories and experiential activities that highlight how differences may be used constructively.

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is for formal or informal caregivers in any community, group or organization. The program enhances caregiver skills to intervene with a person at risk of suicide in order to achieve safety for now. The desired outcome for this program is to increase confidence in one’s suicide intervention skills and build community networks.

SafeTALK is for any individual, and required for Barracks RAs, wanting to be alert to persons with thoughts of suicide and to connect them to suicide intervention resources. The program is designed to help participants recognize people thinking of suicide, their invitations for help, and learn to apply basic TALK steps.

Some Quotes from Retreat Participants (extracted from I.C.E. Comments)

Marriage Enrichment Retreat:
“The best-kept secret in the Navy!”
“We now know how to communicate better.”
“I can see where I need to work harder and deal with my negative thinking.”
“I am going to work on being responsible for home issues, just as I do for work.”

Personal Growth Retreat:
“Totally unexpected, I went not expecting much and found new direction and friends who actually listen.”
“I’m calmer, and know what I need to do to get where I want to be.”

Women’s Retreat:
“I am now less fearful and more positive.”
“People see me as beautiful, which seems like a foreign word to me.”

Family Enrichment Retreat:
“I know [now] how to talk with my family in a more positive way and get better and more satisfying results for all of us.”