UCC Sioux Falls church receives Lily clergy renewal grant

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

Sioux Falls church receives Lily clergy renewal grant

> Written by Staff and Wire Reports
> January 10, 2011

First Congregational UCC in Sioux, Falls, S.D., has received a grant
of $41,808 to enable its minister, Rev. Kathryn J. Timpany, to
participate in the 2010 National Clergy Renewal Program funded by the
Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc.

The church is one of 149 congregations nationwide to support their
ministers in the program, which allows pastors to step back from their
busy lives and renew their spirits for the benefit of their ongoing
ministries. This year's grants total $6.4 million.

Since 2000, more than 1,430 congregations have received clergy 
renewal gran ts.

"We ask these congregations and ministers to consider the question,
'What will make your heart sing?', as they devise their plans," says
Craig Dykstra, senior vice president for religion at the Endowment.
"They never fail to come up with wonderful and imaginative yet doable
ways to fulfill their dreams.

Time away frees up pastors to pursue personal interests and needs, and
to re-energize their ministries, says Dykstra. "The congregations have
discovered that they, too, experience a refreshment of their own and a
newfound sense of their own strengths."

Each congregation is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $50,000.
As much as $15,000 of that amount can be used to fulfill pastoral
duties during the minister's absence and to pay for expenses related
to the congregation's own renewal. The 149 grants this year total 
$6.4 mill ion.

Timpany's sabbatical focus will be to continue her education in
teaching and preaching by learning from the best clergy of our time.
She will attend several writing workshops to enhance her artistic
expression. She will also travel to Europe with her spouse, and spend
time with extended family members.

While Timpany is away, members of First Congregational will be
visioning and taking ownership of an expanded ministry of mission and
arts. The church will participate in a planning retreat and small
group activities to focus on three key strategic aims:

*  To instill a sense of ownership for the specifics of our
unfolding "future story"

*  To provide a perspective of our existing ministries by
demonstrating accomplishments

*  To foster community partnerships to carry out the mission of
the church as it relates to advocacy, outreach and arts in the 
community

This year's group of recipient's includes congregations of all sizes
in 40 states and the District of Columbia. The oldest recipient ?
First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, Pa. ? traces its heritage to
1675 when the first meeting house was built.

The Endowment's larger goal is to bolster the good work that America's
pastors and congregations accomplish day in and day out and to
reinforce and build upon important work being done on both sides of 
the pul pit.

"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," says Dykstra.