wfn.org | ELCA Colleges, Congregations Benefit from Lilly Grants

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 4, 2002

ELCA COLLEGES, CONGREGATIONS BENEFIT FROM LILLY GRANTS
02-283-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lilly Endowment Inc., Indianapolis, awarded
grants of up to $2 million each to 39 four-year church-related liberal
arts colleges to implement programs that help prepare a new generation
of leaders for church and society.  Four of the colleges are affiliated
with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
     In a separate program, the Endowment awarded grants of up to
$30,000 each to 135 congregations in its National Clergy Renewal
Program.  Twenty-six ELCA congregations were among the recipients.
     Lilly Endowment is a private philanthropic foundation founded by
the Lilly family in 1937.  Both sets of grant awards were announced in
November.
     The four ELCA colleges that received grants in Lilly Endowment's
"Program for the Theological Exploration of Vocation" are Augustana
College, Rock Island, Ill., $2 million; Pacific Lutheran University,
Tacoma, Wash., $1,998,714; St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.,
$1,998,020; and Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, $2 million.
     The grants were awarded to colleges which devised programs that
encourage students to reflect on how their faith commitments are related
to their career choices and what it means to be "called" to lives of
service, according to a Nov. 21 Lilly Endowment news release.  The
program also provides opportunities for students to explore the rewards
and demands of Christian ministry and consider church ministry as a
career choice, the release said.
     This year's grants -- the third year in which the Endowment
awarded its theological-vocation grants -- totaled $76.8 million.  In
2001, similar grants of nearly $2 million were awarded to three ELCA
colleges -- Augsburg College, Minneapolis; Concordia College, Moorhead,
Minn., and Luther College, Decorah, Iowa.  In 2000, the ELCA's Gustavus
Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn., received a theological-vocation
grant, as did Valparaiso University, an independent Lutheran university
in Valparaiso, Ind.
     "The Endowment's grant-making in religion is focused heavily on
attracting a new generation of talented ministers for congregations,"
said Craig Dykstra, Lilly Endowment vice president for religion.
"Church-related colleges play a big role in this task.	They provide the
environment in which young people explore future possibilities.  These
grants help colleges strengthen this important work."
     Over the course of the initiative, more than 400 schools were
invited to submit or submitted proposals for the theological-vocation
grant programs, Dykstra said.
     The ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES) had no
direct involvement in writing or evaluating Lilly Endowment grant
applications, said Arne Selbyg, DHES director for colleges and
universities.  However, "we constantly talk with the colleges about how
their focus on vocation is one way to honor their Lutheran heritage and
serve their students," he said.
     Two years ago, at an annual conference organized by DHES on "The
Vocation of a Lutheran College," representatives from Gustavus Adolphus
and Valparaiso spoke about their Lilly Endowment grants, Selbyg said.

CONGREGATIONS AWARDED CLERGY RENEWAL GRANTS
  Lilly Endowment's National Clergy Renewal program awards
congregations grants of up to $30,000 each to plan a program of renewal
for their pastor(s) and themselves.
  Grants for this years' program total $3.5 million and were
distributed among congregations representing 15 Christian denominations
and traditions, according to a Nov. 26 Endowment news release.
Congregations may use up to $10,000 of the amount to pay for pastoral
services in the pastor's absence and for expenses related to a
congregation's own renewal, the release said.
  "We hope to strengthen the efforts of today's excellent pastors,
because it is no secret that pastors who have reconnected themselves to
the passions that led them to the ministry in the first place are more
likely to lead healthy and vibrant congregations," Dykstra said.
  ELCA congregations receiving clergy renewal grants are:
  + Celebration Lutheran Church, Peoria, Ariz., $27,472.
  + Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Saratoga, Calif., $16,218.
  + All Saints Lutheran Church, Aurora, Colo., $20,372.
  + Faith Community Lutheran Church, Longmont, Colo., $29,785.
  + Lamb of God Lutheran Church, Fort Myers, Fla., $25,827.
  + Peace Lutheran Church, Palm Bay, Fla., $29,899.
  + Resurrection Lutheran Church, Franklin Park, Ill., $30,000.
  + Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, Ill., $29,300.
  + Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa, $25,573.
  + Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Lawrence, Kan., $24,538.
  + St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Arlington, Mass., $28,685.
  + Zion Lutheran Church, Blackduck, Minn., $29,902.
  + Bethel-Trinity Lutheran Church, Bovey, Minn., $14,512.
  + Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mountain Iron, Minn.,
$22,333.
  + Bethany Lutheran Church, Nevis, Minn., $23,974.
  + Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, Lincoln., Neb., $15,400.
  + Lutheran Church of the Nativity, Arden., N.C., $29,971
  + St. Philip Lutheran Church, Raleigh, N.C., $30,000.
  + Olivet Lutheran Church, Fargo, N.D., $29,962.
  + Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, West Chester, Pa., $16,350.
  + St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Charlestown, R.I., $30,000.
  + Celebration Lutheran Church, Mount Juliet, Tenn., $30,000.
  + Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Seattle, $14,450.
  + Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Vancouver, Wash., $30,000.
  + Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Charleston, W. Va.,
$28,993.
  + Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Eagle River, Wis., $27,560.
-- -- --
  Note: A brief description of Lilly Endowment Inc. can be found at
http://www.lilly.com/about/community/foundation/endowment.html on the
Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html