Young Adult and Campus Ministry Grants 2024

Beca 2024 para los Ministerios de Jóvenes Adultos y Universitarios

The Episcopal Church invites applications for grants to assist with Young Adult and Campus Ministries throughout the church. This is a three-step process which includes discernment and planning, writing the application, and online submission. This process is designed to help you discern where and how God is calling your community to serve young adults and whether now is the right time to apply for a grant. We hope this process is an invitation for you and your community to consider how The Episcopal Church can minister with young adults on and off college campuses (including community colleges and tribal college campuses, non-traditional degree programs), in the military, and those who are not in college. 

A team of people including the Provincial Coordinators for Campus Ministry, leaders in the area of ministry with young adults, staff, and an Executive Council Member read all the applications. They scored and commented on each grant application based on the criteria and preferences outlined above. We also took into account Resolution 2022-D006 as we discerned. Each application was read by at least four people. We gathered in person and over Zoom to discern which grants should be funded. The team worked incredibly hard and faithfully to discern each application and I am thankful for their dedication and hard work. 

There were 30 Grant Applications. 10 of which were Development Grants, 10 Campus Ministry Grants, 4 Project Grants, and 6 Young Adult Ministry Grants. They total $389,501.80. We have 280,000 to grant this biennium. We are recommending the following 19 grants for funding with a total of $140,000. 

Campus Ministry Program Grants

Campus Ministry for the Episcopal Church in Colorado                                      $6840
Diocese of Colorado

The Finals Care Package for College Students Program is a new ministry that will pour love into our young people without expecting anything in return. Our young people away at college will receive care packages during both fall and spring finals. These packages will contain fun and useful items, but the true gift is the emotional and spiritual support that knowing someone cares enough about you to send you something brings. These packages will be filled and sent by the individual churches in Colorado. Our churches will invest their time and support, and the Finals Care Package Program will match that support by subsidizing the shipping cost of each package. We hope to remind our churches that any church can participate in college ministry; you don’t have to live right by a college campus. After all, the vast majority of churches are connected to students, be it through familial ties, friendship, or graduated youth group members. Our young people are worthy of God’s love and community support, even if they can’t reciprocate, even if they never enter the church or a campus ministry. Congregations will take ownership of the program, which will help grow relationships and raise awareness for an often-neglected demographic in the wider church.

Episcopal At Penn State                                                                                           $8000
Diocese of Central PA
Episcopal At Penn State Choral Scholars

This grant application seeks funding to establish a Choral Scholars program as part of Episcopal at Penn State, the newly reconstituted campus ministry at Pennsylvania State University. The goal is to establish a fund to support the hiring of 8 singers who are students at Pennsylvania State University in the choral program and are interested particularly in developing skills requisite to the Anglican choral tradition. These students will form the Choral Scholars of Episcopal at Penn State, leading six on-campus services of Choral Evensong throughout the 2024-2025 academic year. In addition to liturgical participation, these singers will be part of the student organization Episcopal at Penn State, provide important on-campus visibility for the group, and participate in leadership and visioning for the group. The over-arching goal is to bring our beautiful liturgical tradition – particularly the Anglican choral tradition – to campus, intersecting the pastoral and missional goals of TEC and Episcopal At Penn State, the pedagogical goals of an outstanding choral program, and the very real need of students to be supported and funded.

Episcopal Student Association/All Saints Episcopal Church                              $8000
Diocese of Minnesota
Raising Leaders: Four Pillars of Campus Ministry

All Saints Church, a small college-town parish with generations of campus ministry history is replanting its student outreach after the pandemic reset. Building on past successes with student-driven programming and our well-established Music Leader Fellowship, we are centering student leadership even more intentionally through the creation of the All Saints Ministry Fellowship, which raises up and equips students to serve as peer ministers on behalf of the parish. To better innovate and evaluate, we are restructuring our program under four pillars: Social, Worship, Formation, and Integration, and are seeking resources to build up our outreach in each of these areas.

New Episcopal Campus Ministry at NMU: Sacred Space                                    $4000
Diocese of Northern Michigan
New Episcopal Campus Ministry at NMU: Sacred Space 

This is a simple grant request. We need grocery money to cook dinners with students who attend a combined campus ministry at Northern Michigan University. The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan does not have a presence or a ministry established yet at Northern Michigan University. In Houghton, two hours away, at Michigan Tech, there is a trust-supported campus ministry at Canterbury House, staffed by Rick Stanitis, long-time campus minister. NMU does not yet have an established Episcopal presence. We are closer, though, with our invitation into a combined campus ministry group comprised of Methodists, Lutherans, and now Episcopalians. Because of these affiliations, it is time to get serious about establishing Episcopal Campus Ministry at NMU. Getting serious means contributing to an existing combined ministry budget which is managed by Wesley Campus Ministry while visioning and laying a foundation for Episcopal Campus Ministry to exist.  The reality is this: we need help keeping some plates spinning financially until we can spin the plates ourself. We are building the plane while flying. There is much to learn. We need funds so that we don’t crash before we even get off the ground.   

The Citadel Episcopal Fellowship                                                                          $8000
Diocese of South Carolina
‘Remember Thy Creator in the Days of Thy Youth’

These words are inscribed above the Summerall Chapel, the ecumenical campus chapel at the Citadel (The Military College of South Carolina). We aim to secure funds that will allow us to continue expanding the reach of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina’s campus ministry at the Citadel. We are currently seeing an average of over one hundred cadets at our weekly gatherings. In 2018, we counted it a good week if ten cadets participated. Drawing from a large pool of volunteers from across the diocese, we provide a welcoming environment where cadets can get a delicious meal and explore their faith in a community of peers. Through worship, study of scripture, and inviting the cadets to share their own stories, the Citadel Episcopal Fellowship’s aim is to help the cadets engage their faith so that they will “remember their creator in the days of their youth.”

Development Grants

Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara                                                               $30000

Diocese of Los Angeles
Watershed: Young Adult Ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara

A watershed is the place a smaller river or creek joins a larger body of water. For us locally, it is where the creeks meet the sea. Young adults are at a watershed moment in their life, where their smaller individual creeks are about to join the larger sea. We aim to meet our young adults at this juncture, this watershed — the threshold place where a smaller ecosystem joins a much larger one — a threshold that requires companionship, faith development, and a safe place to take risks in community. Over the past year+, Trinity has experienced a large influx of new parishioners in the 18-30 age range. These young adults have found at Trinity – a theologically progressive and socially active parish – a place where they can worship, serve, and be an active part of a congregation. We are grateful to be bucking the trend of mainline church demographics, but we need the help of this development grant to take us to the next level: we need funding, primarily for staff, to be intentional in nurturing these folks who are seeking deep, meaningful spiritual connection in a community where they can be fully themselves.

Young Adult Ministry Diocese of Southeast Florida                                             $20000
Diocese of Southeast Florida
Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida Young Adult Ministry 

In this comprehensive project, our goal is to unite young adults from various parishes within the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida. We aim to create a sense of community among this diverse group by organizing fellowship events and activities that promote participation, personal growth, and a deeper connection with their faith. While some congregations already had an active young adult ministry prior to 2019, many are now working to rebuild their membership. By revitalizing the diocesan ministry, we aim to provide a support system for leaders and members alike, host leadership training, and facilitate connections and spiritual growth beyond individual congregations.

Project Grants

Music Ministry                                                                                                          $2000

Diocese of Los Angeles
The Great Basilicas of Italy: Transforming Lives Through the Power of Music

The music ministry at St. Paul’s has had a recent influx of young singers over the last few years. These singers are a vitally important part of the ministry (half of the choir), and we seek to help them grow in their spiritual journey, leadership, and musicianship. We want to help them build skills and confidence that will serve them throughout their lives and allow them to shine as the light of Christ in the world. We have the opportunity to take part in a music festival in Italy, and to sing mass at the Vatican. These events, as well as the preparation for them, could go a long way towards achieving our goals for these wonderful young singers. 

SUNY New Paltz Episcopal Campus Ministry                                                      $2000
Diocese of New York
“To Buy the Sun”

This application seeks to bring “To Buy the Sun,” a 3 person play about Pauli Murray commissioned by the Pauli Murray Center in Durham, North Carolina, to colleges in the Diocese of New York. The story of her/their life as worker for the Works Progress Administration, activist, lawyer, poet and priest, someone with significant questions about her/their gender identity before there were terms available, addresses most of the important developmental and vocational tasks of college students and young adults. The shows will include opportunities for talk-backs with the author, conversations with classes, and presentations around the play itself. At SUNY New Paltz,Black Lives Matter at School and the Black Studies Department, the LGBTQ+ Program Manager, the Theater Department and the Women and Gender Studies departments are eager to connect this play to their courses. Each campus will develop their own interdisciplinary team to build program around the play.

The Belfry                                                                                                                  $2000
Diocese of Northern California
Permanent Community Whiteboard

The Belfry at U.C. Davis has a great location–a house across the street from campus right near downtown. We get a lot of foot traffic from students and community members walking from campus to downtown to eat or shop. In fall 2021 when the campus re-opened after COVID, we wanted to find a fun and non-threatening way to interact with those who pass by outside, especially those who would never come to a campus ministry event. We found an old white board in the basement and hung it on a tree right near the sidewalk, with dry erase markers hung on front with Velcro. Every week we put a prompt of some sort and invite those who walk by to add their comments or finish a sentence. The board immediately proved popular. It generally fills up completely after a week or so, at which point we erase and add another prompt. It has become a place for everyone to be heard and share their ideas, whether simple, silly, and fun, or profound, emotional, and impactful. The board works well when the weather is perfect, but as soon as it is windy, it blows around; as soon as it is wet, the uncovered markers run and become unreadable. Since it is just a cheap indoor board, even regular exposure to good weather is beginning to warp it. We would love to be able to offer a place for everyone to share their notes and ideas and questions and hopes and joys and sorrows in a permanent way by installing an outdoor white board that can be used year-round. Such things are not cheap, however, so we are applying for a $2000 Campus Ministry Project Grant to purchase the board. 

United Campus Ministry La Crosse                                                                        $1000
Diocese of Eau Claire
Coffee Project

College can be one of the most challenging periods of a young adult’s life, it can also set the stage for how adults engage with their community for a lifetime. God calls us to build and sustain young adults’ personal relationships during their spiritual exploration, growth, and life discernment at college. Christ Episcopal Church of La Crosse, Wisconsin,  partners with local parishes and regional church bodies to engage and invigorate the young adult community of 18,000 undergraduate and grad students at three local colleges. These colleges are all located within a two mile radius of the United Campus Ministry building “Common Ground.” We are re-energizing this ministry following a closure during the COVID pandemic. Now we are bringing students who live in the dorms and neighborhoods back inside as we provide opportunities to learn, lead, and train students to actively engage back outside in the community by responding to basic human needs. This grant will enable us to offer refreshments and a welcoming atmosphere in and around our building to help them grow into the unique, loved, and talented individuals God created them to be. This building is fully paid for, with five rented apartments which fund the annual operation and maintenance requirements of the building. Common Ground building is in a key location with superb infrastructure. This grant will help us support students as we develop ways students and faith partners can serve an economically diverse community which includes students experiencing food and clothing insecurity.  Inviting students to be an active part of local ministry engages them to leverage their gifts to meet the needs of others. Refreshments and meals are part of expanding our mission to the students. Improvements to our sacred gathering space will help us nurture each other, create lasting friendships, and experience God’s power, presence, and peace to heal a broken world. Intergenerational mentors will listen and support students as they candidly wrestle with faith, hopes, and doubts as they are fed both physically and spiritually. 

Young Adult Program Grants

20’s & 30’s Ministry                                                                                                  $8000
Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
Ensemble: re-Energize the 20s & 30s Ministry at the American Cathedral in Paris Post Covid

Through a series of precise events, activities and social actions, we plan to ensure the continuity and stability of the Young Adult ministry in Paris. Our goal is that every activity is properly funded, that our parishioners are able to be part of it, regardless of their financial capacity, and that the funds will launch a long term plan to make the community organically grow and develop. Thanks to an influx of resources, it will help this currently unfunded ministry to continue to be actively participative with other ministries in the Cathedral and set it on a path towards sustainable growth and demonstrable impact. We would like to be able to be more hospitable and reachable to young adults across Paris, and our episcopal siblings across Europe.

All.together Campus Ministry                                                                                  $2000
Diocese of Michigan
Israel/Palestine Immersion Program and Holy Lands Pilgrimage

Back in July of 2022, All.together Campus Ministry began discerning a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. By October of 2022, after conversations with board members and students, we set our sights on a pilgrimage that would take place from May 13th-22nd of 2024. As Fall Semester of 2023 began, we had 18 folks signed up and we began an initial round of fundraising which has resulted in almost $10,000 towards our goal of $35,000. Just as we were about to start our public phase of fundraising, the Hamas attacks on Israel took place and everything screeched to a halt. Now that we are a month into the Israeli siege of Gaza, it is clear that our trip in May will no longer be possible. However, this has not deterred us. If anything it has made it more clear that our goal to equip students with personal relationships and deeper understanding of the history and current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is even more crucial now. Thus we would like to develop a year long program exploring the history of this conflict, hear from experts on the subject on the current state of affairs, and prepare ever more seriously for a future Holy Lands Pilgrimage in the spring of 2025.

Beloved Community in the Hudson Valley                                                             $8000
Diocese of New York
Beloved Community in the Hudson Valley 

Our proposal is the creation of a non-residential, young adult program in the Mid-Hudson Region of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The program will run during the academic year—September-May. We envision an Christian ecumenical program, rooted in the Episcopal tradition and guided by the values of Episcopal Service Corps: community, spirituality, justice and discernment. We believe that a non-residential intentional community will attract those who may not be in a position to commit to a residential program for financial, family or other reasons. The program will be free for all participants. 

Cheyenne River Episcopal Mission                                                                         $8000
Diocese of South Dakota
Kaospe (Lakota for “horse in training,” pronounced kah-oh-spay)

The Cheyenne River Episcopal Mission respectfully requests a grant to support the Kaospe program, a vital project that seeks to establish a new ministry that will empower Lakota young adults from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. With your critical support, we will partner with Lakota agencies dedicated to Lakota youth and young adults to provide the space, resources, and opportunities for Lakota young adults to train young horses, learn from Lakota elders, immerse themselves in Lakota Horse Culture, heal from historical and intergenerational trauma, and receive job training in the equine industry as marketable horse professionals. The separation of the Lakota people from their historical and cultural ties to Mother Earth and Sunka Wakan Oyate (The Horse Nation), have left the Lakota people vulnerable to astronomical rates of addiction, abuse, poverty and suicide. The goals of the Kaospe project will have a direct impact on redirecting young adults from at-risk behaviors and repairing trust between the Church and the Lakota community, offering healing and the gift of a welcoming Beloved Community. Through your generous support, the Kaospe project aims to instill hope, cultivate skills, and foster resilience among Lakota young adults, contributing to the restoration of cultural connections and the development of a thriving, empowered community. The lasting impact of Kaospe extends beyond personal development to directly contribute to the economic empowerment and professional opportunities for the Lakota young adults, ensuring a sustained positive influence on their lives well into the future.

Paradise Point Camp                                                                                                $2660
Diocese of Idaho
Adult Camp weekend at Paradise Point Camp

Paradise Point Camp invites the National Episcopal Church to support Adult Camp as a young adult ministry in McCall, Idaho. The goal of this program is to establish a weekend retreat for young adults in Idaho to connect with each other, the Episcopal Church, and God in the beautiful location of Paradise Point Camp. With targeted recruitment at nearby colleges and universities Paradise Point Camp aims to bring young adults (aged 18-30 years old) together for spiritual growth and leadership development through faith, fellowship and fun. Camps are a perfect space to try new things (like stand-up paddleboarding, high ropes course, or archery) while providing a unique opportunity to connect spiritually in a “thin space” surrounded by God’s creation. With financial support to lower the weekend retreat cost to fit a college student’s budget and include provided transportation between the population center (Boise, Idaho) to Paradise Point Camp (McCall, Idaho) the National Episcopal Church is invited to bring more young adults in Idaho into the Episcopal Church community through camping. 

Peregrinos                                                                                                                  $8000
Diocese of Arizona
The Marian Garden: an intergenerational, inter-communal ministry cultivated by the Peregrinos of All Saints’

Discerning a need for a new kind of sacred space, the 20s and 30s group of All Saints’ Episcopal Church (Peregrinos) is seeking to refurbish a neglected garden space into a Marian Garden with indigenous pollinator habitats and integrated labyrinth. The Peregrinos envision this space as a truly communal one, serving the needs of both our congregation and neighbors as an alternative worship and meditation space; celebrating the divine feminine, the Marian Garden brings needed balance and inclusion to the male-oriented iconography that has characterized All Saints’ since its construction in 1954. The Peregrinos’ will develop and lead an adapted, monthly Compline service with integrated contemplative walking in the hopes of serving our “spiritual but not religious” neighbors in Phoenix, AZ, while also developing lay leadership skills. Those members that are not interested in leading the Compline service have volunteered to each eco-theology and hagiography classes in the space to the congregation. Funding for this project would allow for the creation of the labyrinth and development of educational materials around creation care, eco-spirituality, and holy women of the Church, as well as marketing materials for a monthly walking meditation service for the Phoenix community.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church                                                                                 $8000
Diocese of North Dakota
Patchwork: A Young Adult Ministry of the St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Our goal is to acquire funds to establish and launch a community for young adults on the Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation; an all denominations young adult community called Patchwork. Our churches are absent young people; as grandmothers line the pews praying for their families while grandchildren, great grandchildren are living a catastrophe; these are the young adults of Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation. The project shall use the Dinner Church Model. What is a Dinner Church? It is a gathering of people of good will where al the most important things happen at the table.! Much like a nuclear family meal wherein al family members sit and eat and talk about their day, having a robust conversation and sharing. As there is heightened family dysfunction on the Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation; there are few nuclear families, there are few families that are gathering at the dinner table. Patchwork is an experiment in cultivating a community of young adults that are willing to wrestle with what church is and dare to believe in what it can be for them. With this funding, we will be able to begin this innovative mode of gathering into a full-fledged space for young adults to wrestle with their faith, doubts, fears, and longings in a community influenced by the way of Jesus, influenced by the seven sacred teachings/values of the Dakota people while providing a protective factor for al young adults on the Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation.

St. Titus’ Episcopal Church Younger Adults Group                                              $3500
Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
St. Titus’ Episcopal Church Younger Adults Group

To foster the growth and life of the church, we need to nurture and support the young people of our congregation. At St. Titus’ Episcopal Church in Durham, NC, a historically black congregation, we want to support and strengthen our Young Adult community by continuing and growing our Younger Adult Group. Started in January of 2023 by Dr. Jenifer Brown and Henry Kennelly, the goal of the Younger Adult group is to provide a space for younger members of the congregation to gather and discuss scripture and spiritual texts. In our biweekly gatherings, we share our life stories, struggles, and victories, find support in each other, and nurture close bonds with each other. To expand our mission of fostering community and developing leaders within the church, we will use our grant to support the growth of this group for the next 2 years through activities during biweekly meetings and events that engage other young Episcopalians in the surrounding Durham community.

The next grant cycle will open again in August 2024.

2023 Grant Awards

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

• AIC Interfaith Campus Ministry, Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, $3,000
• Canterbury Foundation of San Luis Obispo, Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, $5,000
• Canterbury MSU, Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, $3,000
• Church of the Good Shepherd, Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota, $7,900
• ELCM – Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry, Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, $4,000
• Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, $7,000
• Grace Village Campus Ministry, Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, $5,000

• Niner United, Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, $8,000
• UMass Dartmouth Episcopal Campus Ministry, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, $4,000

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

• Nightsong, Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, $11,750
• Province V Campus Ministry Consultant Position, Province V, $20,000
• Proyecto JEC / Jóvenes Episcopales de Cuba, Diócesis de Cuba, $27,000

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

• Ellsworth Community College / St. Matthew’s By-the-Bridge, Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, $1,500

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

• 20s/30s at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, $7,000
• Ascension School Camp & Conference Center, Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon, $3,650
• Church of the Holy Nativity, Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, $8,000
• Life Together, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, $5,000
• Living Waters, Episcopal Diocese of Central Gulf Coast, $4,000
• The Flock – San Mateo Episcopal Church, Episcopal Diocese of Texas, $2,200
• Tiospaye Wakan, Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota, $8,000

For a description of each of these grants, click here.

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