The Forum for Theological Exploration Discernment Lab Grant permission
Resolution text
Resolved, that Executive Council, meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina, April 18-20th, 2024, hereby grants permission for the Officer for Young Adult and Campus Ministry, to apply to The Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) for a $12,000 Discernment Lab Grant to create a young adult discernment curriculum to be used by people working with young adults; and be it further
Resolved, that the appropriate officers and other officials of DFMS are authorized to take all additional actions to accomplish the purposes of this resolution.
Explanation
The Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) Discernment Lab Grant creates a pathway for designing this important resource for The Episcopal Church. This will be a collaborative effort between the offices that work directly with young adults and those who minister with them – Young Adult and Campus Ministry, Episcopal Service Corps, and Young Adult Service Corps. Partners in Ethnic Ministries will also collaborate on how this curriculum could assist in the Why Serve program. By collaborating across these various ministries, the grant team will have a wide swath of experience, passion, commitment, and understanding from their work with young adults and those who minister with them. By gathering all and working together to invite writers and collaborators, the team will have a broad foundation upon which to build.
Creating a free, online curriculum for The Episcopal Church to use across the church and in a variety of settings would be a gift to young adults, congregations, service corps participants, and those who do ministry with them. This tool can give ministries, congregations, and dioceses an avenue to new, different, or expanded ministry opportunities with young adults. This is a need heard across the church, on how to engage with questioning young adults and how best to do that. This program could be one of many ways of engagement. Created specifically for the resource was created with our church structure in mind, Episcopal ministries in mind, and with support from staff and leaders. This curriculum would also come with further resources and would point to ways of engaging with the wider church as well.
This grant implementation would be from June 2024 to June 2025, guided by the FTE process.