St. John’s Episcopal Church of Minneapolis has received a prestigious award of $58,511 to enable our Rector, Lisa Wiens Heinsohn, to participate in the 2025 National Clergy Renewal Program. St. John’s is one of 200 congregations across the United States selected to participate in this competitive grant program, which is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. (“The Endowment”) and administered by Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Established by the Endowment in 2000, the program’s grants allow Christian congregations to support their pastors with the gift of extended time away from their ministerial duties and responsibilities.
Ministers whose congregations are awarded Endowment grants use their time away from the demands of daily ministry to pursue renewal and revitalization. The approach respects the “Sabbath time” concept, offering ministers a carefully considered respite that may include travel, study, rest, prayer and immersive arts and cultural experiences.
Through the National Clergy Renewal Program, congregations apply for grants of up to $60,000 to support renewal programs for their pastors. Collaborative in nature and implementation, the program allows congregations to partner with their ministers in developing experiences that address their unique renewal needs and aspirations. Recognizing that ministers’ families are subject to the stress and demands placed on pastoral leaders, the program encourages pastors to involve their families in renewal activities. Congregational needs during the minister’s renewal experience are also considered. Up to $20,000 of the grant may be used to support interim pastoral leadership during the pastor’s retreat, as well as renewal activities within the congregation.
Since the inception of the National Clergy Renewal Program and the Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations, more than 4,526 congregations throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico have participated in the program, including the 200 congregations receiving grants in 2025.
Our Rector Lisa will be on Sabbatical from mid-June to mid-October, 2026 as a time for reflection, travel and activities that embody the theme of her Sabbatical “Deepening Relationship with God’s First Book of Revelation, the Sacred Earth.” This is a joyful reflection of Lisa’s lifelong love of God’s creation. Lisa’s time will be spent exploring the natural beauty of Iceland, Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters, solo and with her family. She will rest, learn from, and reflect upon nature in these settings and is to learn about earth-based Celtic Spirituality in the United Kingdom in solitude, potentially including a “Brigid’s Way” walking pilgrimage like the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Throughout Lisa will journal, pray, and listen to God and nature. She is going to invigorate her love of running and will run races in beautiful natural settings (in remote Ely, MN, and the Twin Cities urban wilderness). Finally, she will conclude with time at the Episcopal House of Prayer in the woods of central Minnesota, praying and reflecting upon the totality of this renewal time. Lisa will bring to our St. John’s community the wisdom of having “sabbatical time” in our lives as accentuated by the spirituality of nature,
“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 that these grants help congregations honor their pastors for their extraordinary service and support them with the time and other resources to step away for rest and renewal so they can return to their congregations reenergized.”
Dr. Robert Saler, Director of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs at Christian Theological Seminary, noted that interest in the grant programs has grown significantly in recent years, with higher numbers of applications leading to increased competitiveness.
“In these challenging and exciting times, we are watching the applicants and awardees of these programs expand the definition of what sabbatical can mean. Some pastors are stepping away to rest, while others are stepping away to devote themselves to other aspects of their ministry and their being. Our goal is that these programs supply congregations with the means to express appreciation for their leaders and actively invest in what reenergizes their pastors for long-term ministry,” Saler said.
Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis also directs the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations through its Center for Pastoral Excellence.
