Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a grant to Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary of $4,999,770 to support the work of The Louisville Institute through 2009. Generously supported since 1990 by the Endowment, the Louisville Institute seeks to enrich the religious life of American Christians and to encourage the revitalization of their institutions, by bringing together those who lead religious institutions with those who study them so that the work of each might inform and strengthen the work of the other.

News of the grant was announced by Dr. Dean K. Thompson, President of Louisville Seminary, and Dr. James Lewis, Executive Director of The Louisville Institute.

Since 1990, the Louisville Institute has made nearly 1,300 grants totaling over $22.5 million. The current grant will enable the Louisville Institute to extend its grantmaking and convening work with pastoral leaders and scholar-educators in religion and theology for the good of the church and North American society. The grant also enables the Louisville Institute to launch a new research grant program focusing specifically on pastoral leadership.

“The Louisville Institute supports scholar-teachers who care deeply about the well-being of the church and puts them in face-to-face contact with some of the country’s best pastors,” said Craig Dykstra, Endowment senior vice president for religion. “The combined efforts of these talented people represent a promising resource for the renewal of America’s churches.”

According to President Thompson, “The Louisville Institute has made significant progress in bringing pastors and academics together. But much remains to be done for the good of the churches, the academy, and the wider society. We are grateful for the support of Lilly Endowment that will enable us to sustain and advance this outstanding work in the next three years.”

The Louisville Institute offers funding through seven competitive grant programs in addition to a small General Grant program.

The new Pastoral Leadership Grant Program supports research projects by academics and pastors on the nature and challenge of contemporary pastoral leadership, with special attention to the conditions of contemporary Christian ministry and the character of pastoral excellence.

The Christian Faith and Life Grant Program supports research projects by academics and pastors designed to make more accessible to religious believers the themes of Christian faith in relation to the realities of their contemporary lives.

The Religious Institutions Grant Program supports research projects by academics and pastors designed to encourage reflection on the theological, historical, and sociological nature of and challenges to religious organizations and institutions in the contemporary world.

The Sabbatical Grants for Pastoral Leaders Program provides pastors and other religious leaders with sabbatical periods of eight or twelve weeks for prayer, study, renewal, and reflection on their vocations and ministries.

The Dissertation Fellowship Program supports the final year of dissertation writing for Ph.D. or Th.D. students engaged in research on projects of importance to American religious life, especially those having to do with Christian faith and life, pastoral leadership, and religious institutions.

The First Book Grant Program for Minority Scholars assists junior, non-tenured religion scholars of color to complete a major research project on an issue in American Christianity, especially those having to do with Louisville Institute priorities.

The Summer Stipend Program offers grants to academics and pastors engaged in summer research projects pertaining to American Christianity, especially those pertaining to Christian faith and life, pastoral leadership, and religious institutions.

The Louisville Institute also offers a small General Grant Program that occasionally supports a limited number of individual or collaborative projects by academics, pastors, or other religious leaders on current program priorities of the Louisville Institute: Christian faith and life, religious institutions, and pastoral leadership.

To receive further information about The Louisville Institute, please contact the Institute at the address below.

The Louisville Institute
1044 Alta Vista Road
Louisville, KY 40205
Telephone: 502-992-5432 Fax: 502-894-2286
E-mail: info@louisville-institute.org
Web site: www.louisville-institute.org