First Christian Church, Weirton, West Virginia has received a grant of $47,150 to enable its minister, Rev. Kevin L. Bowers, to participate in the 2009 National Clergy Renewal Program funded by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. It is one of 149 congregations across the country that will 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.
Rev. Bowers will be going back into the history of our country and the church as well as personal history. He will be visiting historical as well as growing congregations. His congregation in Weirton will celebrate their past, with a 180th anniversary celebration, and plan for the future. Many special speakers will grace the First Christian Church pulpit during Rev. Bowers’ absence.
Now in its 10th year, the program invites Christian congregations and ministers to consider and plan a period of intentional reflection and renewal. It provides a time for ministers to take a break from their daily obligations and gain the fresh perspective and renewed energy that a carefully considered “sabbath time” of travel, study, rest and prayer can provide.
Each congregation is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $50,000. Up to $15,000 of that amount can be used to fulfill pastoral duties during the minister’s absence and for expenses related to the congregation’s own renewal. The 149 grants this year total $6.2 million.
This year’s group includes congregations in 36 states. Almost two-thirds of them see between 100 and 300 at Sunday worship services. Twelve congregations have more than 1,000 at worship. The group of pastors counts 40 women, four of them members of clergy couples.
The 2009 class of grantees brings to 1,290 the number of congregations that have received clergy renewal grants since 2000. “We have heard wonderful stories from these pastors who already have experienced their sabbaticals,” said Craig Dykstra, Endowment senior vice president for religion. “Their time away has freed them up to pursue personal interests and needs in ways that have given them new energy for ministry – and their congregations have discovered that they didn’t fall apart without their minister around. Indeed, they too experienced refreshment and a new-found sense of their own strengths.”
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 pulpit. “In our religion grantmaking, 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,” Dykstra said.
