APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 15, 2008
SABBATICAL TIMELINE: March 1, 2009 thru August 31, 2010
NOTICE: 2008 SGPL Applications will be available in May
2008.
Click here to view the Sabbatical
Grant for Pastoral Leaders
Application procedures.
Time.
Many things necessary for the faithful
practice of ministry are in short supply. Nothing, however, seems in
shorter supply than time. Time for prayer, time for family, time for study,
time for self.
Time.
The Louisville Institute offers pastoral leaders a
chance to step out and step back from the pace and pressures of ministry
through its Sabbatical Grant for Pastoral Leaders program. We believe that
when clergy have opportunity for learning, growth, and recreation they also
learn the habits and practices that sustain them in and for meaningful
ministry. During a season of personal renewal, study, and reflection pastoral leaders
embrace the gifts of time and Sabbath for their lives and ministries. As
they are renewed and strengthened so are their families, and so is the
Church.
Program Outline
Through its 2008 Sabbatical Grant for
Pastoral Leaders grant competition, The Louisville Institute will award up
to forty grants for eight-week ($10,000) and twelve-week ($15,000) sabbaticals. During this time recipients will devote themselves
to a season of prayer, study, renewal and reflection on their vocations and
ministries.
Recipients must be released from all
pastoral duties during the entire grant period.
There are no residency or travel
requirements or expectations, except for attendance at the
preparation consultation in Louisville in February 2009.
All expenses for that consultation are covered by the
Institute, over and above the grant award.
Recipients are free to use the grant
award at their discretion. Previous grantees have used their awards for the
purchase of books, research material and equipment, conference and seminary
expenses, salary replacement, travel, etc.
The application process requires
pastoral leaders to center on a theme of concern, topic of study, area of
inquiry, or focus of reflection designed to:
Areas of focus and
inquiry might include, but are not limited to:
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Spiritual Practices |
What are the distinctive spiritual practices vital
to Christian faith and life, and how may they be best cultivated for
sustaining Christian ministry?
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Pastoral Imagination |
How does the ongoing encounter with scripture,
theology and tradition nurture the pastoral imagination necessary for a
flourishing pastoral ministry?
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Worship |
How may churches create and adapt patterns of
Christian worship that meaningfully engage successive generations of
believers and seekers while remaining faithful to Christian tradition?
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Changing face of ministry |
How may pastoral leaders renew their vocations and
sustain their gifts in response to the ever increasing pace of change in
the life of the Church and the expectations of ministry?
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Timeline Options
To encourage a successful sabbatical experience, eight-week and twelve-week sabbaticals shall be taken in a single time
segment. The Louisville Institute recognizes that in some extraordinary
circumstances this may not be possible. A waiver may be negotiated after a
grant is awarded. All proposals should be developed based on a single time
segment and be taken between March 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010.
Recipients of a 2008 Sabbatical Grant
for Pastoral Leaders shall take this sabbatical between March 1, 2009 and
August 31, 2010. Applicants who wish to take sabbatical after August
31, 2010
should apply in 2009.
Who Is Eligible?
The program is open to Christian clergy, church staff members,
denominational staff, and others employed in recognized positions of
pastoral leadership, ordained and lay. Seminary administrators and faculty
members are not eligible for this grant program. In past years, most
successful applicants have at least five years of pastoral experience, and
anticipate five or more years of active ministry after the sabbatical.
A note to Doctor of Ministry degree and
other degree candidates ? While those engaged in a particular degree program
are welcome to apply, provided they meet the criteria listed above, the fact
that you are working toward a degree will neither add to nor detract from
your chance to receive a Sabbatical Grant for Pastoral Leaders. Because
grants are awarded for pastoral leaders to take sabbaticals, any degree
program is incidental to the application.
The program is open to pastoral leaders
in the United States and Canada. Past recipients of Louisville
Institute sabbatical, study, and research awards for
pastoral leaders are not eligible. Applicants may not submit applications to more than one
Louisville Institute grant program within the same grant year (June 1-May
31).
Applicants may not submit applications to more than one
Louisville Institute grant program within the same grant year (June 1-May
31).
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