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Lilly Endowment Gives $1.67 Million for Grant
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (November 28, 2003) - The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC)
received an early Thanksgiving blessing last week as the denomination
was selected to receive $1.67 million over five years from
Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. to participate in a national
program called "Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE)."
SPE projects, including a second round of 16 new projects, total $84
million. The first 47 of these projects were announced last year,
according to a Lilly Endowment representative. These projects range from
three to five years and enable ministers of many Christian traditions to
grow via biblical study, theological reflection and spiritual renewal,
among other things.
David Kersten, executive minister of the ECC's Department of the Ordered
Ministry, stated that the SPE program would be integrated through both
the Department of the Ordered Ministry and North Park Theological
Seminary (NPTS). Key components include areas pertaining to (1)
character - pastoral/spiritual direction, (2) constancy -
restoration/replenishment, and (3) competency - academic/educational
certification.
Last Thursday, the Department of the Ordered Ministry received the news
that Lilly Endowment Inc. had accepted the denomination's grant
proposal. The proposal, described by Kersten as "a proposal written by
pastors for pastors," included assistance from representatives of the
North Pacific, Central and Pacific Southwest conferences. Kersten and
fellow Ordered Ministry administrator Carol Lawson helped craft the
grant, along with NPTS administrators John "Jay" Phelan and Steve Graham
and Sally Johnson from the Covenant's President's Office.
More than 700 wrote proposals for grants, said Craig Dykstra, Lilly
Endowment vice president for religion. It took approximately eight
months for the Covenant's grant writing committee to write the original
grant proposal. Kersten said the hard work was well worth it, especially
as he considers the overall effects of added training for Covenant
ministers. He is confident that a little financial assistance could reap
a huge benefit to Covenant pastors.
Over five years, funds from the Endowment could help more than 300
Covenant pastors pursue spiritual direction, assist 150 pastors in some
form of theological training, and enable 300 pastors to explore a
restorative/renewal activity for self-care. It would also allow NPTS to
develop a Center for Christian Spirituality and train spiritual
directors to monitor the progress of pastors and future pastors.
"If we're going to talk seriously about self-care and collegial care, it
is one thing to talk about it but another thing to actually do
something," Kersten said. "It's an extraordinary source (of funding)."
"We are delighted that this funding will enable to us fulfill a
long-term dream: to develop a Center for Christian Spirituality on the
North Park campus," added Phelan. "The spiritual life of our pastors has
long been a central concern of the Seminary. Through this new center we
not only want to make a continuing contribution to the spiritual depth
of those pastoral leaders, but to the entire Covenant Church. We are
thankful for the generosity of the Lilly Endowment in making this
possible."
Founded in 1937, the Endowment is devoted to the causes of religion,
education and community development. Now the country's largest single
funder in the field of American religion, the Endowment supports a wide
variety of efforts that strive to ensure a quality ministry for the
future and build vital and healthy congregations. It also funds projects
designed to promote informed dialogue about religion in American life,
generate new knowledge, communicate fresh insights, and renew and
sustain vital institutions of American Christianity. More information
about the SPE program can be found on the Internet at
www.pastoralexcellence.org.
A search for a director to oversee the SPE program in the Covenant is
slated to begin in the coming weeks. It would require the director to
reside in Chicago in order to best facilitate the partnership between
the Department of the Ordered Ministry and NPTS. For more information on
the new SPE position or to receive a summary of the grant proposal, call
the Department of the Ordered Ministry at 773-583-3211.
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