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Episcopal Church awards 2022-23 Young Adult and Campus Ministry grants

February 24, 2022
Office of Public Affairs

The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church has awarded 13 grants, totaling $160,000, to young adult and campus ministries from dioceses across the U.S. and Cuba. The recommended grant applications were approved during the council’s January 2022 meeting.

Young Adult and Campus Ministry grants provide funding for dioceses, congregations, and community colleges, tribal colleges, and university campuses that engage or seek to engage with young adults on and off campus.

This year’s recipients include “Young Resurrection,” a project in the Episcopal Diocese of Cuba designed to strengthen lay and clergy ministry and the role of young people in creation care, as well as evangelism leadership; Christian Athlete Circles, a progressive, LGBTQ+-affirming student-athlete outreach in the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina that seeks to provide training, coaching, curriculum, and spiritual mentorship to those wanting to start a circle on their campus; “Building the Relational Community,” a pilot program designed to help develop a narrative approach to campus ministry fundraising and development that will start in Province V and then move churchwide; and the Black Excellence Spiritual Collective in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, an effort by the University Episcopal Community to respond to needs of Black college students following the murder of George Floyd.

“The Young Adult and Campus Ministry grants serve a vital role in building up, sustaining, and breathing new life into young adult communities throughout the church,” said the Rev. Shannon Kelly, director for the Department of Faith Formation and officer for Young Adult and Campus Ministries. “Ministry with young adults is at a critical moment right now as we continue to respond to and minister in these ever changing times.”

Eighteen total grant applications were received for 2022-23. The grant review team included provincial coordinators for young adult and campus ministry, leaders in the area of young adult ministry, staff, and a member of Executive Council. The team scored and commented on the applications, with each application read by at least three people. Reviewers gathered to discern which grants should be recommended for funding.

Grant recipients, listed by category, are as follows:

Campus ministry grants, which provide seed money to help in the startup of new, innovative campus ministries or to enhance an existing ministry:

  • Trailhead: Episcopal Campus Ministry, Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee, $6,000
  • Western Carolina University Episcopal Campus Ministry, Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, $2,000
  • The Canterbury Club, Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, $2,258
  • Trinity Episcopal Church, Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, $3,000

Development grants, which establish new, restore dormant, or reenergize existing campus ministries:

  • Building the Relational Community: A Narrative Approach to Campus Ministry Fundraising and Ministry Development, Province V, $24,137.33
  • Christian Athlete Circles, Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, $14,327.33
  • Trinity Episcopal Service Corps, Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, $16,000
  • University Episcopal Community/Black Excellence Spiritual Collective, Episcopal Church in Minnesota, $30,000
  • Programs Manager for Summer Staff Training and Anti-Racism Work, Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers, $22,000
  • Young Adult Ministry Network in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, $28,277.34

Project grants, which provide money for a one-time project to enhance and positively impact a campus or young adult ministry:

  • Barth House Episcopal Center and Barth House College Chaplaincy, Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee, $2,000
  • Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist (ELM) Campus Ministry at Washington State University, Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, $2,000

Young adult ministry grants, which provide seed money to help in the startup of new, innovative young adult ministries or enhance existing ministries:

  • Jovenes Episcopales De Cuba, Episcopal Diocese of Cuba, $8,000

For more information, contact the Rev. Shannon Kelly. Learn more about Young Adult and Campus Ministry grants and other Episcopal Church grant and scholarship opportunities.