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Columbia Theological Seminary has received a grant of $433,300 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help the successful continuation of the seminary’s Pastoral Excellence Programs: Leadership in Ministry and Ministering to Ministers through its Center for Lifelong Learning.
Columbia Seminary’s Pastoral Excellence Programs will help realize the goal of the Thriving in Ministry Initiative by providing a forum for clergy to: explore congregational leadership in their contexts and their personal ministerial trajectory; re-define and re-envision their calling and vocation toward thriving in a peer-oriented supportive environment; identify and name the challenges of ministry and discover agency in addressing them; participate in a safe, challenging, and stimulating peer group experience for renewal and challenge; and discover the sustaining practices of life and ministry that can enable them to thrive in ministry.
Seminary President Leanne Van Dyk said, “Columbia Seminary is eager to serve congregations who are facing the challenges of ministry in a post-pandemic context. Pastoral leaders know that even after the crisis itself has passed, there will still be significant impacts in the broader culture and in the congregations. We are eager to take up the task of resourcing these churches and are grateful to Lilly Endowment for its generous support.”
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education and community development. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s grantmaking in religion is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen their pastoral and lay leadership.
About Columbia Theological Seminary
Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828, and is an educational institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). We are led by Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, and we are committed to educate, equip, and nurture students to become a new generation of pastoral leaders for the church and the world; to become a community that embodies welcome, hospitality, justice, and belonging; to build partnerships that bring vibrant spiritual, cultural, and academic exchanges; and to embrace boldness, enabling us to learn, teach, serve, and live joyfully.
