wfn.org | UCC - Lilly awards large grant to Lancaster Seminary youth program

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Lilly awards large grant to Lancaster youth program

> Written by Staff Reports
> January 19, 2010

Lancaster Theological Seminary, one of the UCC's seven seminaries, has
announced that its Leadership Now: Spiritual Formation With Youth
program has received a multi-year grant of $939,000 from Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Impressed with the work the program has accomplished over the past
eight years, Lilly not only funded the full request but also increased
the award by $175,000. The Endowment's program officer has noted that
Leadership Now is among the top programs of its kind in the United States.

The grant will be used to expand programming that includes an annual
summer leadership academy and cross-cultural trip to another nation.

Dr. Riess Potterveld, LTS President, says the grant will support
Leadership Now for three to four years while the school continues to
build its endowment.

"During the past eight years, we have worked directly with over 800
youth from our region, and many of these participants in Leadership
Now have engaged in the program for multiple years," says Potterveld.
"All of them have been encouraged to integrate their faith into their
sense of vocation. We are constantly amazed by the idealism and
passionate faith of the youth we encounter. They see the world and are
intent upon making it a better place."

The mission of Leadership Now is to empower youth to live out their
commitments as people of faith with an emphasis on equipping them for
leadership roles in church and society. Its impact is apparent in the
lives of youth participants and the congregations in which those
youths share their creative gifts.

To learn more about Leadership Now, log on to www.leadershipnow.org.