Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis (MCCGSL) in MO, USA has received a $60K grant to enable Lead Pastor, Rev. Lauren Bennett, to participate in the 2025 National Clergy Renewal Program. MCCGSL is one of only 200 congregations across the United States selected for this highly competitive program, which is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN.
Established by Lilly Endowment, the National Clergy Renewal Program provides Christian congregations with an opportunity to support their pastors through extended time away from ministerial duties. The grants allow pastors to engage in activities that promote rest, reflection, and renewal, fostering long-term vitality in both pastoral leadership and congregational life.
In a time that can feel unmoored, MCCGSL and its Lead Pastor will consider the lessons learned in the wilderness exploring what it means to be a people on a journey. Just as Rev. Lauren engaged in one of the most famous pilgrimages in the world – the Camino de Santago after a retreat Plum Village – the congregation will bring in experts in pilgrimage to teach about how spiritual lives are replete with pilgrimages that draw us in and out of the experience of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. Summer teachers will include a labyrinth guide, guest musicians, writers, and other practitioners who teach us how to make meaning, find a voice, and seek grounding in the midst of instability, which, if we are honest, we are always in the midst of. MCCGSL hopes this can be a time of renewal not only for Rev. Lauren and MCCGSL, but for all of the communities touched by their inclusive, queer-centered church. They hope that others in need of respite will take time to learn, grow, and be in community while building liberating partnerships in a hurting world.
Through the program, congregations apply for grants of up to $60K to fund sabbatical experiences for their pastors. Up to $20K of each grant may be used to support interim leadership or congregational renewal activities while the pastor is away.
“Pastors play such important roles in nurturing the spiritual lives of individuals and families and guiding the ministries of congregations,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s Vice President for religion. “Yet the demands of ministry can seem relentless. We hope these grants help congregations honor their pastors for their extraordinary service and support them with the time and resources to step away so they can return to their congregations re-energized.”
Dr. Robert Saler, Director of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs at Christian Theological Seminary, added “In these challenging and exciting times, we’re watching awardees expand the definition of what sabbatical can mean. Some pastors are stepping away to rest, while others are exploring new aspects of their ministry and being. These programs allow congregations to express appreciation and actively invest in what reenergizes their pastors for long-term service.”
Since the inception of the Clergy Renewal Programs, more than 4.5K congregations across the United States and Puerto Rico have participated, including MCCGSL and Pastor Bennett in the 2025 cohort.
For Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis, this grant represents an opportunity to strengthen its ministry and community impact while celebrating its pastor’s faithful leadership. “This renewal grant is a gift not only to me as a pastor but to our entire congregation and extended community,” said Pastor Lauren Bennett. “We look forward to this time of renewal, reflection, and reconnection with ourselves, with each other, and with God’s ongoing call for justice and love in St. Louis.”