Grants for Congregations in Vocation C.A.R.E.

The Fund for Theological Education, through its Calling Congregations initiative, seeks to build an ecumenical community of VocationCARE practice in congregations, designed to renew the church and call the next generation of pastoral leaders.

Purpose

VocationCARE Practice Grants, for congregations residing in the United States and Canada, address the quality of vocation care in congregations and church-related organizations.

FTE awards up to five VocationCARE Practice Grants in the spring award cycle ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.

FTE awards grants to congregations in the practice of VocationCARE in two varying contexts: for VocationCARE Practice and for Pastoral Internships.

What is VocationCARE?

VocationCARE helps individuals and communities discern their call. It consists of communal practices in which all Christians grow together into a life "worthy of the call we have received" (Ephesians 4:2, NAB). These practices are unique in each church, tradition and context. And yet, there are observable disciplines that can be named as four core VocationCARE practices for any congregation or ministry context. The acronym C.A.R.E. stands for:

C - Create a space to explore Christian vocation together;

A - Ask self-awakening questions together;

R - Reflect theologically on self and community; and

E - Enact the next faith step.

When you practice VocationCARE you tap into a deep collective heart force we call leadership. Its Source is within us. The VocationCARE practices provide a framework for taking deep dives into that zone regularly as a community. This is a clarifying, unifying and fortifying experience for those engaged in discernment.

VocationCARE Practice Grants

VocationCARE Practice Grants enable congregations and other ministry contexts to undertake project initiatives, 18 months in length, that strengthen and sustain an engagement of VocationCARE as a shared practice for identifying and living out a vocation. This applies to the call of individuals, especially young people. It also applies to congregations, campus and other ministries, and denominational bodies.

Congregations and others may choose one particular VocationCARE practice among four as a point of project intention, where energies for adaptation of all the practices collect. Naming one as a reference point implies the practice of all of them.

Opportunities for adaptation are reflected by the following grantee projects. A United Methodist Conference ordination candidacy mentoring program; an Episcopal Diocese with a service and mutual mentoring practice for undergraduates; an emerging ELCA congregation in Denver strengthening its work with children and young families; and an AME Zion church in Dallas that used VocationCARE practices to revive the Wesleyan practice of weekly discipleship class meetings. With many of these, the implementation of VocationCARE practices has reached beyond their immediate project areas.

Grant Program Guidelines

Grant funds are used to foster practices that support vocational formation and the call to ministry. Grants focus on the four VocationCARE practices and the diverse ways these practices are lived out in congregations. We do not award funds to support equipment, building renovation or personnel costs.

Grants support projects that:

· Focus on young adults in a specific, local context that is intergenerational and non-isolative from the rest of the community

· Foster new efforts to explore vocation and the call to ministry, with the aim of expanding the community's capacity and commitment beyond the grant period

· Offer engagement over a significant period of time, rather than focusing on a single event

Grants typically do NOT support:

· Stipends or operating expenses beyond those specifically required by the proposed project

· Projects that depend primarily on "outside experts" (the engagement and expertise of the congregation are the desirable emphases for any proposal); and

· The costs of group travel far from home.

Congregations or organizations awarded will be required to attend a Grantees Meeting typically held in July of each year. Grantees Meetings consist of an introduction to and conversation with the FTE Calling Congregations staff and other new grantees where a community of practice is formed in caring for vocation.

Those wishing to be considered for this grant are required to submit a letter of intent, providing a project overview. The deadline for the next cycle of submission of letters of intent is February 2, 2012.

Letters of Intent will be given due consideration. However, your request for funding may be deferred to another, later awards cycle. You will be contacted about your status.

Consultation

Congregations and others seeking funding are strongly encouraged to consult with Jim Goodmann, the Director of Congregational Grants. Jim may be reached at jgoodmann@fteleaders.org or call 404 727 1415.

Letters of intent must be submitted online.

To submit your letter CLICK HERE.