Covenant News

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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