Application |
Staff |
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Barbara J. Libby Interim Associate Conference Minister for Clergy Concerns 860.761.7107 barbaral@ctucc.org |
The Clergy and Lay – Professional Enrichment Grants Program is a new grant program of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ (CTUCC) made possible through a generous gift given to the Connecticut Conference in 2010 by the Rev. Marshall and Ellie Linden in honor of the Rev. Dr. David Y. Hirano, former Conference Minister of the Connecticut Conference.
Under the conditions of the gift, the Connecticut Conference will award grants to clergy and lay professionals serving local churches, including interim pastors, for the purposes of continuing education, professional enrichment, spiritual refreshment, self-care, and related activities. The particular focus of the grant money will be individuals serving in situations where continuing education dollars may be limited or where other factors hinder the clergy or lay professional from being able to participate in professional enrichment activities.
The gift provided by the Linden’s for this new program is NOT an endowment, and will be expended in its entirety over a four to five year period. It is anticipated that grants totaling approximately $5,000-$6,000 will be awarded annually until the funds are exhausted.
Grant sizes to individuals will not exceed $500, and an individual may not receive more than one grant per year.
Clergy and Lay Professionals serving local churches (i.e. youth ministers, Christian ed. directors, music directors, etc.), serving local churches, and Interim Pastors.
Applications may be submitted at any time.
Professional and personal enrichment may include a broad array of activities, and no one activity is preferred or recommended. Each applicant is expected to request funding for activities that will provide meaning, refreshment, solace, and vitality in the context of their own personal and professional lives.
Examples of activities that might be funded by a Clergy and Lay – Professional Enrichment Grant:
The idea is for you to identify what it is that you need in order to refresh yourself personally and/or professionally. There are no right or wrong answers. Maybe you need to study Trinitarian theology or learn the latest new concept about pastoral ministry. Maybe you just want to sit quietly on a beach and listen to the waves, or perhaps things would all come together for you by taking a class in French bread baking.
Special consideration will be given to requests for events presented by the Interim Ministry Network for intentional interim/transition pastors.
The maximum is $500. You will need to show why you need the amount you are requesting by submitting a brief budget within the grant request itself. Example: If you were a local church pastor serving in a in a setting without an associate pastor and you were requesting a grant to go on a personal retreat to a monastery in the Hudson River Valley, your budget might look like this: $170 monastery’s weekend retreat fee, $150 supply pastor fee. Total grant request: $320.
Only ask for what you actually need. If your church’s budget has plenty of money for hiring supply pastors, then you could omit that $$ request if you were going to the Hudson River Valley Monastery.
Note: It is anticipated that grants will not cover the full cost of many activities. For example, an individual might request funds to attend a theological conference in another state. The grant might cover the registration fee, but would not be sufficient to cover the hotel costs or the airplane fare. The individual would be responsible for finding the additional funds for those costs on his or her own.
Written reports will not be required. However, all grantees will be invited to attend a celebration and sharing gathering at the conclusion of our first year of granting activity.
Complete the one page grant application form. Grant applications may be submitted at any time. Email submissions are preferred.
Grant applications should be submitted to the staff member listed at above right.
NOTE: In order to allow time for check processing, grant applications should be submitted at least 2 weeks before grant funds are needed.
