National Clergy Renewal Program – Available to full-time ordained pastors
ORGANIZATION
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PROGRAM
National Clergy Renewal Program – Available to full-time ordained pastors
DESCRIPTION
The Lilly Endowment National Clergy RenewalProgram at Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) seeks to strengthen Christian congregations by providing opportunities for pastors to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations, but times for intentional exploration and reflection, for regaining the enthusiasm and creativity for ministry, for discovering what will make the pastor’s heart sing.
We at the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs are, like many of you, watching the situation with the worldwide spread of COVID-19 closely. We are particularly aware of how travel plans have been disrupted, and we realize that there is a great deal of uncertainty around future travel plans. To that end, if you feel as though your renewal leave plans are or will be impacted by these disruptions, we encourage you to contact our offices. Our hope is that, even if certain travel portions of the leave need to be delayed or rethought, that congregations and pastors will still be able to pursue a renewal plan that will be beneficial to the ministry. We look forward to working with you to determine how best that can happen in each case. CTS plans to award as many as 125 grants to the congregations that submit the most outstanding applications.
ELIGIBILITY
Christian congregations in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico can apply, but churches in Indiana must use the separate Indiana program. The church must have an ordained pastor who is actively serving the church and who has a strong, healthy relationship with the congregation. The church must agree to pay the pastor’s full salary and benefits during the leave, and both the pastor and the church must plan for the pastor to stay for at least one year after the renewal is finished.
AMOUNT
Congregations can apply for grants of up to $60,000 total. This money is used to pay for the pastor’s renewal activities, travel, and family expenses. Importantly, up to $20,000 of that total amount can be set aside for the congregation to use for their own activities, like hiring a guest pastor to fill in or hosting renewal events for church members while the main pastor is away.
DEADLINE
This grant program usually follows a yearly cycle. Applications are submitted in the year before the renewal leave is planned. The proposal deadline is usually in Mid-March. Churches are told if they received the grant around the end of August, and the funds are given out in October. This means planning needs to start well in advance!
APPLICATION