The Michigan and Rio Texas Conferences will use a $1.25 million Lilly Endowment grant to fund an initiative to help congregations nurture children through worship and prayer.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church has received a $1,250,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish Making Meaning Together, an initiative to nurture children in worship and prayer in partnership and collaboration with the Michigan Conference of The United Methodist Church.
The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, a national initiative designed to help Christian congregations more fully and intentionally engage children in intergenerational corporate worship and prayer practices.
Through this initiative, Rio Texas and Michigan Conferences will partner with their churches and leaders to foster inclusive worship and prayer practices within intergenerational communities. Rev. Dr. Tanya Campen and Rev. Kathy Pittenger will lead this initiative. We are eager to see children participating in worship more fully alongside adults as we all worship and pray together. This initiative will provide tools, strategies, and seed money for designing and implementing worship with a high view of children. The objectives of this initiative are to listen to children, develop leaders through intentional training and cohorts, and design intergenerational worship and prayer experiences that honor children and invite them to participate fully.
We are excited about the collaboration between the Rio Texas and Michigan Conferences of The United Methodist Church in implementing this initiative. We are eager to see its impact on working towards a culture shift in corporate worship that values inclusivity and participation of all individuals, where children feel welcome, respected, and encouraged to engage in worship to deepen their connection to God and their faith community.
The Rio Texas Conference is one of 91 organizations funded through the latest round of the initiative. They represent and serve congregations in a broad spectrum of Christian traditions, including Catholic, mainline Protestant, evangelical, Orthodox, Anabaptist, and Pentecostal faith communities. Several organizations are rooted in Black Church and Hispanic and Asian American Christian traditions.
“Congregational worship and prayer play a critical role in the spiritual growth of children and offer settings for children to acquire the language of faith, learn their faith traditions, and experience the love of God as part of a supportive community,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These programs will help congregations give greater attention to children and how they can more intentionally nurture the faith of children, as well as adults, through worship and prayer.”
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About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the 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 supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking 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 the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
Press Contact
Rev. Dr. Tanya Marie Eustace Campen, Ph.D.
Intergenerational Discipleship
Rio Texas Annual Conference
The United Methodist Church
210-408-4500
[email protected]
Editorial note: Rev. Kathy Pittenger, Michigan Conference Associate Director for Connectional Ministries, who is co-directing this project, will return from renewal leave in November and be available to answer questions. Later this year, she will provide more details on implementing this new initiative.
Last Updated on October 14, 2024