$94,079 to fund theological education

Eleven grants for a total of $94,079 have been awarded through the Conant Grants from The Episcopal Church for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Conant Grant funds are provided for the improvement of seminary-based theological education. Specifically, the grants are directed for the support of research, writing and course development undertaken by faculty members at the recognized Episcopal seminaries in the United States. The funds are derived from a trust fund established by William S. and Mary M. Conant in 1953. 

Recipients have been notified that implementation of their grants must conform to any and all regulations related to COVID-19 that may exist at the time of implementation.

The 2020-2021 Conant Grants were awarded to:

• Julián Andrés González Holguín, Ph.D., M.Div., Church Divinity School of the Pacific; Racism, Visual Interpretation, and the Hebrew Bible; $14,950
• Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, Claremont School of Theology; Balancing Tradition & Innovation: A Study of Episcopal Cathedral Ministries; $5,125
• Thomas Holtzen, Ph.D., Nashotah House; The Spirituality of Minimalism: Exploring the Intersection of Spirituality and Minimalism through Apophatic Theology and Ultralight Backpacking; $13,172
• Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, Ph.D., Nashotah House; Collaborative Course on Anglican Social Justice; $8,400
• The Rev. Danielle Tumminio Hansen, Ph.D., Seminary of the Southwest; Spirituality, Systemic Oppression, and Sexual Violence; $7,775
• Sharon E. Heaney, Ph.D., Virginia Theological Seminary; Towards an Understanding of Latino/a Theological Reflection in the United States of America – Application and Implications for Ministry Course Curriculum Design and Development Book Proposal; $5,500
• The Rev. Robert Heaney, Ph.D., D.Phil., Virginia Theological Seminary; Theologizing History: Narratives and Counter-Narratives of Politics & Grace; $14,682
• The Rev. Melody Knowles, Ph.D., Virginia Theological Seminary; “Effacing Power: Ancient Damage to Three Reliefs of Ashurnasirpal”; $9,725
• The Rt. Rev. James R. Mathes, Virginia Theological Seminary; The Re-formation: Building a Model for Collaboration and Mutual Support Between Local Schools of Ministry and Episcopal Seminaries; $9,750
• Hannah Matis, Ph.D., Virginia Theological Seminary; An Introduction to a Women’s History of Christianity; $3,000
• The Rev. Bryan D. Spinks, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale; The spread of ritualism in rural north-east Essex; $2,000

The Conant Grant committee members were:  The Rt. Rev. Brian Thom, chair, Episcopal Diocese of Idaho; the Rev. Anne E. Kitch, Episcopal Diocese of Newark; Canon Dr. Steven Nishibayashi, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles; and the Rt. Rev. Dabney Smith, Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida; with the assistance of Ms. Ann Hercules, associate for Ministries Beyond The Episcopal Church.

For information contact Anne Hercules, 212-716-6321.