Presbyterian College Secures $1.25 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative to Support ‘The Ecology of Calling Initiative’ 

Presbyterian College will launch a new church leadership initiative this year, largely thanks to a generous $1.25 million gift from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The initiative aims to encourage congregations to flourish by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world.

With this funding, PC is establishing “The Ecology of Calling Initiative,” an ambitious project aimed at creating a learning community of congregations through three interconnected programs in a metaphorical church-related “ecosystem.”

“Headwaters” is a youth discernment program with an annual conference for high school students, church workshops, and a summer youth ministry experience. “Brackish Water” programming will strengthen PC’s existing Celtic Cross church leadership program – now in its 30th year – by providing robust mentorship relationships with partner churches, an annual contextual exploration retreat, formational travel experiences, and other leadership opportunities during the transitional time of college.

“Deep Waters” is a congregational leadership training program for clergy and lay leaders. The program will provide congregational training events and an annual “Thriving in Ministry” conference on campus, establish clergy peer groups and a video curriculum.

The Rev. Dr. Buz Wilcoxon, PC’s Marianne and E.G. Lassiter Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life, said the Ecology of Calling Initiative will provide critical and creative tools for congregations to clarify their missions and serve in new ways. It will also offer vocational discernment and formation work to shape the next generation of church leaders.

“Amid the rapidly changing landscape of cultural divisions and generational transitions, congregational ministry has been hit hard by a well-documented leadership crisis,” Wilcoxon said. “Presbyterian College feels a compelling call to address this situation by nurturing thriving leaders for the church. We are uniquely poised to approach the matter holistically by supporting the entire ‘ecosystem’ of discernment and formation that shapes the kind of leaders that the church and the world desperately need. Through the Ecology of Calling Initiative, we are doing so in ways that are authentic to our Presbyterian roots and liberal arts tradition.”

College president Dr. Anita Gustafson thanked the Lilly Endowment for supporting PC’s mission as a premier church-related liberal arts institution.

“We are enormously grateful for Lilly Endowment’s generosity and support for this exciting initiative,” she said. “From its founding in 1880, PC has played a powerful role in helping young people discover their God-given talents to serve in churches and in the world. I can’t wait to see the many ways in which this program will have an impact on our students, our youth, and our church leaders.”

Ruth Roper, chair of the PC Board of Trustees, hailed the initiative for strengthening the college’s ties to the church in a meaningful and personal way.

“I can’t think of a better way to cement PC’s legacy as a church-related college than establishing a generational approach to equipping lay and clergy leaders with new and creative ways to serve in God’s church,” she said. “PC’s trustees have made church relations a significant part of the college’s strategic plan, and I’m pleased to see that plan come to fruition thanks to support from Lilly Endowment.”

Presbyterian College is one of 247 organizations that have received grants through a competitive round of the Thriving Congregations Initiative. The organizations represent mainline and evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist, and Pentecostal faith communities, reflecting a wide variety of Christian traditions.

“Congregations play an essential role in deepening the faith of individuals and contributing to the vitality of communities,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We hope that these programs will nurture the vibrancy and spark the creativity of congregations, helping them imagine new ways to share God’s love in their communities and across the globe.”

About Lilly Endowment Inc.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.

About Presbyterian College

Inspired by the motto, “While We Live, We Serve,” Presbyterian College celebrates an enduring culture of academic rigor, honor, and service.

PC is a nationally-ranked liberal arts college that provides students of all faiths, identities, and backgrounds with a transformative education to equip them for impactful careers and empower them to serve as powerful forces for positive change. PC’s distinctive approach uses innovative service as a tool of self-discovery, an amplifier of problem-solving skills, and a catalyst of curiosity epitomized by the newly-developed Center for Inquiry, Research, and Scholarship (CIRAS).

PC was founded in 1880 by the Rev. William Plumer Jacobs in the historic city of Clinton in the foothills of South Carolina. The college offers a wide variety of undergraduate majors and has established three graduate programs in occupational therapy, physician assistant, and pharmacy that firmly place the college as a hub for science in higher education. PC student-athletes — the Blue Hose — participate in 19 sports at the Division I level.