Episcopal Press and News
Lilly Endowment Awards $1.6 Million Grant to Chicago
Episcopal News Service. December 19, 2002 [2002-283-2]
Congregations and clergy in the Diocese of Chicago will be the beneficiaries of a $1.6 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. for a pioneering clergy mentoring program. The grant, the largest the endowment has made in its Transition-into-Ministry Program, initiated in 1999, will fund the five-year 'Making Excellent Disciples' pilot project being developed by the diocese's Department of Congregational Development and Deployment.
The pilot project, the first of its kind in the Episcopal Church, aims to create and sustain pastoral excellence among new clergy and to recognize and revitalize excellence among established and effective clergy through a comprehensive training and mentoring program. Recently ordained clergy will spend their first two years of ordained ministry in a 'mentoring congregation,' stable congregations led by exemplary pastors. Then they will be placed in 'mustard seed congregations,' missions or parishes of fewer than 150 active members with a strong sense of mission and the potential for growth.
'This program will allow us to take enthusiastic, promising ordinands and place them in some of our strongest mentoring congregations so they are better prepared for everyday realities as new ministry leaders,' said Bishop William Persell, Chicago's diocesan bishop, in his grant application letter.
In 2003 five congregations will be chosen as mentoring congregations with an additional five chosen in 2004. For the initial five-year pilot phase, 25 new clergy will be mentored by 10 seasoned and successful pastors. They will spend their first two years as curates (a newly ordained assistant priest) in the mentoring congregations and then be assigned to serve in one of the 15 mustard seed congregations for at least three years.
'This is a terrific grant to receive and promises to assist not only newly ordained clergy in Chicago in their further formation but also to have learnings for us all,' said the Rev. Melford E. Holland Jr., coordinator of the Presiding Bishop's Office for Ministry Development.' It connects in spirit with our Fresh Start program which seeks to provide resources for clergy, congregational leaders, and dioceses in the first two years of their new ministry together.' The Diocese of Chicago is also a participant in Fresh Start.