Center for Ministry at Millsaps College receives
Lilly Endowment grant to "sustain pastoral excellence"
The Center for Ministry, a shared work of the Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and Millsaps College, has been selected to receive a grant of $2 million from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. to participate in a national program called "Sustaining Pastoral Excellence." The program is a new effort of the Endowment to focus attention and energy on maintaining the high caliber of many of the country's pastoral leaders.
Overall, 47 grants were awarded for a total of$57.9 million to religiously affiliated organizations across the country. The three- to five-year awards range from $252,355 to $2 million.
The Center for Ministry will use funds to create the Pastoral Excellence Project. The project has five components that will sustain and encourage pastoral excellence in Mississippi. In the first component, the Pastoral Excellence Project will host listening groups composed of clergy and laity from various denominations to assess the state of ministry locally and identify best practices in pastoral ministry. Component Two is designed to build community among pastors and to broaden knowledge, deepen faith, and sharpen skills for ministry through a series of foundational seminars. Component Three provides grants for self-directed clergy peer learning groups. The Component Four focuses on developing new models of evaluation and support for United Methodist clergy, and Component Five will fund a scholar-in-residence program for Mississippi. "The Center for Ministry Pastoral Excellence Project will open the doors to high quality resources and life-changing experiences for many pastors in Mississippi," said Rev. Andy Johnson, Center for Ministry Executive Director. "Our goal is to honor God's call and to offer support as pastors seek to nurture that call over a life-time of ministry."
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1701 North State Street, P. O. Box 150041, Jackson, MS 39210. (601) 974-1488,
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