Site
Contents
 |
General Information about the Area Office
North Indiana Conference Office
South Indiana Conference Office
Prayer Guides
(Courtesy of the NIC Prayer Team)
Area United Methodist
Foundation
For resources to assist your congregation in welcoming guests,
click here
Seashore District Volunteer Center VIM project -- Completed
Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
October 2004 |
Lilly Endowment announces seventh year of Indiana clergy renewal program
INDIANAPOLIS - Up to 40 Indiana congregations and their pastors will be selected next spring to receive grants in the Lilly Endowment's 2005 Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations. This is the seventh year for the popular program in which nearly 200 congregations have received grants to allow their pastor time away for reflection and renewal.
"Few people probably realize what an around-the-clock job ministers have," said Craig Dykstra, Endowment vice president for religion. "They are called upon to fill many roles: preacher, counselor, community leader, fund-raiser and on and on. They are with their parishioners at the most important moments of their lives: marriages, baptisms, illnesses, funerals - times of great joy and deep sorrow.
"All this takes a lot of energy - physical, emotional and spiritual. The resources upon which pastors draw must be replenished periodically. They need renewing experiences, as well as time to reflect on what led them into the ministry in the first place so they can return to their congregations with new vigor," he said.
Any congregation in Indiana with an ordained pastor is eligible to apply. "The application cannot be put together quickly," Dykstra said. "It requires a deliberate process of thinking and planning that involves collaboration between the congregation and the pastor. These renewal programs work best when everyone involved has a shared vision for what will be truly renewing for the pastor, his or her family and the congregation.
Each congregation is eligible for a grant of up to $45,000. Up to $15,000 of the grant may be used to help the congregation fulfill pastoral duties during the pastor's absence or to support activities that enable the congregation to be renewed in its ministry. The deadline for applications is Feb. 17, 2005, and recipients will be announced by June.
Interested persons may gain access to the brochure/application by logging on to lillyendowment.org and clicking on Religion.
An information meeting about the program for interested persons will be held Oct. 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at North United Methodist Church, 3808 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis. Those who would like to attend may return the invitation card that accompanies the application, print the invitation card off the Endowment's Web site, e-mail indianaclergyrenewal@yahoo.com, or call 317-916-7350.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008