"O sing to the Lord a  new song." - Psalm 96:1

Recognizing the importance and necessity for busy pastors to have an opportunity to take an extended break for renewal and refreshment, Lilly Endowment in 1999 introduced a new competitive grants program. The program awards grants to Indiana congregations that offer a program for the renewal of their pastor and, at the same time, give the congregations themselves an opportunity to better themselves as vital places of worship and mission.

In Lilly Endowment's Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations, the Endowment will provide as many as 40 congregations with up to $45,000; $15,000 of that amount may be used to help the congregation replace the pastor or to fulfill pastoral duties in his or her absence. The program is for ordained pastors who are serious about parish ministry and who can - in conversation and discernment with their congregations - envision this program as a means of renewing a long-term commitment to that congregation and to ordained ministry. Deadlines for proposals are generally in February, with announcements of recipients generally made by the end of June. The Endowment administers a separate program for congregations in the other 49 states.

At the center of the congregation is the pastor. Spiritual guide, scholar, counselor, preacher, administrator, confidant, teacher, pastoral visitor and friend, a pastor has a privileged position and performs many roles. In season and out, a pastor is called upon to lead communities to the life-giving waters of God.

The job is demanding, and pastors perform their duties among a dizzying array of requests and expectations. Congregations are not always easy places, and the responsibilities can sometimes wear down the best pastors. It is not a job for the faint-hearted, but requires a balance of intelligence, love, humility, compassion and endurance. Most importantly, it demands that pastors remain in touch with the source of their life and strength. Like all people of faith, good pastors need moments to renew and refresh their energies and enthusiasm.

Lilly Endowment seeks to strengthen congregations by providing an opportunity for pastors in Indiana to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations, but times for intentional exploration and reflection, for drinking again from God's life-giving waters, for regaining the enthusiasm and creativity for ministry. 

Life-giving experiences - strengthening relationships, renewing a sense of call, meeting and serving neighbors in a new way, finding joy and purpose in a simplified life, traveling to new lands and unfamiliar territory, creating opportunities where members of the congregation can exercise their gifts for ministry - all are common themes of the program. Profound discoveries that pastors and their congregations describe as "life-changing events" occur as they participate in this program.

Since 1999 the Endowment has invested $8.7 million in this program for more than 250 congregations and their pastors. For a review of the program, click on the following links:

• 1999 Recipients
• 2000 Recipients
• 2001 Recipients
• 2002 Recipients
• 2003 Recipients
• 2004 Recipients
• 2005 Recipients
• 2006 Recipients

The program director for this grant program is Jean M. Smith, 317/916-7350.

For application materials for the 2008 Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations, click here.