AST awarded $2.5 million USD Lilly Endowment grant

AST awarded $2.5 million USD Lilly Endowment grant to launch Canada-wide Ecumenical Shared Ministries Training Program

Atlantic School of Theology (AST) has received a grant of $2.5 million USD from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish its Ecumenical Shared Ministries Training Program (ESMTP). 

ESMTP will operate with a combination of local resources housed with the collaborating partners and online teaching that uses the resources of AST.  

AST is working with St. John’s College in Winnipeg, the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in Saskatoon, Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Henry Budd College for Ministry in The Pas, M.B., and the Canadian Council of Churches on a project that will develop curriculum and training for lay and ordained leaders in Ecumenical Shared Ministries. 

The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. This initiative is designed to help theological schools across the United States and Canada as they prioritize and respond to the most pressing challenges they face as they prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future. The grant to AST is one of 45 that was approved in this competitive round of funding to support theological schools as they lead large-scale collaborations with other seminaries, colleges and universities, and other church-related organizations.  

In an Ecumenical Shared Ministry (ESM), people worship and serve God in a unified way while still maintaining their denominational identity and connections. An ESM is any combination of denominations sharing a program, mission, ministry, staffing, worship, and/or building. 

In thousands of towns, cities, and rural communities in Canada, there are multiple Christian churches struggling with ageing membership, dwindling financial resources, and crumbling buildings. This reality has opened an incredible opportunity to revisit the call of Christ to unity. 

As an independent ecumenical theological university accredited by the Association for Theological Schools, AST is uniquely positioned to lead this collaborative endeavour of organizations across Canada. The network thus built will then become self-sustaining, as each partner, already doing parts of this work, can build their efforts together for mutual benefit. 

ESMTP will provide resources to train and equip those preparing for ordained ministry, lay congregational leaders, and those who have served as pastoral leaders for some time in their own distinct traditions. It would allow the limited resources of each of the collaborating organizations to come together to be more than the sum of their parts, giving learners access to innovative scholarship, practical skills, and a network of practitioners and mentors to empower them to live into this vibrant model of local ministry. 

“We are enthusiastic about the opportunities this grant provides to advance ecumenical ministry across Canada through innovative education and training,” shared The Rev. Dr. Heather McCance, President of Atlantic School of Theology.  

“We deeply appreciate the visionary support of the Lilly Endowment in advancing theological education for pastoral leaders, and look forward to collaborating with our partners to enhance AST’s capacity in this vital work.” 

Lilly Endowment launched the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative in 2021. Since then, it has provided grants totaling more than $700 million to support 163 theological schools in efforts to strengthen their own educational and financial capacities and to assist 61 schools in developing large-scale collaborative endeavors. 

About Lilly Endowment Inc. 

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private 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. A 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 about religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United States and around the globe.