Constable Fund Grants
Resolution text
Resolved, That the following Constable Fund grants, recommended by the Constable Fund Grant Review Committee, having been reviewed and recommended by the Joint Standing Committee on Mission Within the Episcopal Church, are approved and authorized for payment from available Constable Fund grant funds in the total amount of $209,000.00, as follows:
Department of Faith Formation (Staff) – Support for Episcopal Service Corps, $35,000.00
[Episcopal Service Corps: For more than 10 years, ESC has been an important formation ministry of The Episcopal Church, offering young adults ages 21-32 with opportunities to live the Way of Love for a full year by serving others in solidarity with the surrounding community, promoting justice for all of God's creation, deepening their spiritual formation, and discerning their vocational call, all while living simply in intentional community. With the passage of B017 at the 2018 General Convention, coordination of the Episcopal Service Corps network was incorporated into the work of the Department of Faith Formation but with no funding allocation from PB&F. Funds requested in this Constable Grant application would be used to more fully incorporate the functions of ESC into the work of the Formation Department and support the ongoing work of the ESC network while continuing to grow and foster this transformative ministry.]
Standing Commission on World Mission – Holy Land Study Program, $60,000.00
[The Holy Land Study Program (HLSP) is a video-based religious education program supported by online resources and materials that will address the many General Convention resolutions that call us (1) to deepen our understanding of the significance of the Holy Land to the Abrahamic faiths, (2) to raise awareness of the inspiring and powerful Christian witness demonstrated by a small community of Palestinian Episcopalians in the region, and (3) to show people the conditions on the ground that necessitate the humanitarian response of serving their neighbors. Since 1988, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church has called for dioceses and parishes to take steps to learn about the Holy Land no fewer than seven times, as recently as B003 passed in 2018. To date no religious education curriculum or adaptable study program has been developed for broad use across the church. Nor has funding been provided in the current triennial budget of the DFMS for such work. The Standing Commission on World Mission with its primary partners, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (DoJ) and American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ), propose to develop a video-based
study program and additional resources to provide congregations of all sizes and Episcopalians of all ages with an up-close-and-personal learning experience that connects them to Jesus's life and teaching and to the current-day ministries at work in the Diocese of Jerusalem. The program will educate
Episcopalians about the opportunities we have to learn from our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land and join with them in ministry. The HLSP will provide a virtual pilgrimage to transform hearts and minds by offering a window into God's living presence at work in the Holy Land.]
Task Force on Dialogue with South Sudanese Anglican Diaspora (D088) – Pilgrims on the Road to Emmaus (a conference), $58,000.00
[Pilgrims on the Road to Emmaus - The Episcopal Church & the South Sudanese Anglican Diaspora in the U.S.A. The task force was appointed to establish an official conversation for the purpose of developing a statement of understanding of the relationship with the South Sudanese Anglican diaspora living in this country and The Episcopal Church, passed by Resolution at the 79th General Convention.The task force hopes this project will deepen the relationship between our Church and the South Sudanese Anglican diaspora through prayer, dialogue and the building of trust. Our hope is that through this particular engagement of South Sudanese clergy our task force and DFMS staff, we will begin to overcome the cultural and social obstacles that exist between our two entities. This involves an intentional time of listening to one another, breaking bread together, asking honest questions and being prepared for the challenges and hope that come from deeper engagement. Setting aside time to cultivate friendships in Christ, and offering a ministry of presence with one another, will hopefully lead to a shared sense of familiarity. It is with this hope that we share this project, which is many ways is a shared road to Emmaus.]
Jerusalem Peacebuilders (Province I) - Blessed are the Peacemakers: Empowering youth for interfaith peace and justice ministries, $20,000.00
[Jerusalem Peacebuilders requests support from the Constable Fund to underwrite the design and teaching of all Christian instruction and workshops for its 2020 Blessed Are the Peacemakers interfaith initiative for teenage American, Israeli and Palestinian youth.Blessed Are the Peacemakers aims to advance peace, interfaith citizenship, and leadership through four experiential institutes in Connecticut, Texas and Vermont. Including instruction by Episcopalian, Jewish and Muslim clergy, JPB's curricula centers on exploring our universal interpersonal challenges, building the skills to overcome them and fostering the notion that securing a better future is our communal responsibility. JPB's peacebuilding modules of our curricula are framed around models of who our Lord Jesus Christ calls us all to be: resilient healers and peacemakers.]
Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations (Staff) - “Abraham: Out of One, Many,” $36,000.
["ABRAHAM: Out of One, Many." A timely educational interreligious artistic initiative on living harmoniously, inspired by Abraham, the common ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims - a creative response to the rise of prejudice and stereotyping in the United States. This proposal focuses on assisting Episcopalians around the country to most effectively embody the "Way of Love," as demonstrated to us by Christ, amidst the alarming rise of antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment. This educational artistic initiative specifically focuses on the Episcopal "Way of Love" Practices of Learn, Bless, Go and Turn, and on "becoming the beloved community."
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Today's climate of increasing prejudice and stereotyping, which has resulted in a rise of tribalism, populist nationalism, racist ideologies, hate crimes, including an increase in antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment, needs to be counteracted by creative educational initiatives that are based on what we all hold in common. It is in this context that Abraham, a spiritual figure of distinct significance within the three primary monotheistic faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, has much to teach us about understanding and embracing the "other." In these three religious traditions, whose followers are referred to as "children of Abraham," the figure of Abraham is seen as a model of hospitality - of welcoming the "stranger." Under the umbrella of the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, and in partnership with CARAVAN, a peacebuilding ministry affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and with cathedrals around the country, this timely educational exhibition titled "ABRAHAM: Out of One, Many" (playing off of the US' traditional Latin motto, "E pluribus unum" / "Out of many, one"), focuses on what we can learn from Abraham's story about living together more harmoniously in the midst of the increasing diversity of our country. For this exhibition, three globally acclaimed contemporary visual artists from the faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have been commissioned to produce artwork that interprets Abraham's life for us today, serving as a guide toward creating cultures of peace, harmony, justice and healing - all as descendants of a shared heritage, regardless of religious, ethnic or cultural backgrounds. The question this strategic contemporary art exhibition answers is, "What can we learn today from Abraham, the common ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims, about freeing our world from sectarian or ethnic strife?" This timely educational exhibition comes directly out of an expressed need by Episcopal cathedrals and their communities around the country that have recognized the effectiveness of art as an interreligious educational bridge, and who have requested such an exhibition to benefit their communities to enhance understanding about the "other," and also to help them build new relationships with local Jewish and Muslim communities. The exhibition will tour around the country for 22 months, between Fall 2019 and mid-2021, to 13 cities in 12 states. Held primarily in Episcopal cathedrals, the exhibition serves as a strategic catalyst for each host venue for the development of a variety of educationally related programs tailored to the specific needs of their community, toward enhancing understanding of Judaism and Islam, and to stimulate dialogue and friendship with our Jewish and Muslim sisters and brothers. In short, it is about how we might most effectively, as Christians, demonstrate the "Way of Love" amidst the alarming rise of antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment today. In this regard, we are respectfully submitting a grant proposal to The Constable Fund for this strategic educational interreligious artistic initiative for $39,000, 28% of the overall exhibition tour budget of $140,900. The remaining 72% ($101,900) will be funded by Episcopal cathedrals, foundations and donors. This grant would be a strategic investment from The Constable Fund in the national Episcopal Church, assisting it to be a prophetic well-informed voice and a Christ-like example amidst the rise of prejudice, stereotyping, and what many are calling a Western "tribalism."]
Available funds for grants: $209,815.57
Total grants recommended: $209,000.00