Lilly Endowment Inc. awards Grace Presbytery $1.25 million to help its churches transform their worship practices
‘Renewed Grace’ strives to shift the culture of worship in the Texas presbytery to better include neurodivergent children
Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Grace Presbytery a $1.25 million grant to establish Renewed Grace: Transforming Worship Practices with Neurodivergent Children.
The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer Initiative. The aim of the national initiative is to support faith-based organizations as they help children grow in faith and deepen their relationships with God.
The Renewed Grace project strives to shift the culture of worship in Grace Presbytery — comprised of 130 congregations across 54 counties in North, Northeast and Central Texas — to become more inclusive of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism, ADHD and dyslexia. Over the next five years, pastors, children’s ministry leaders, worship leaders and members of 30 congregations will learn from neurodivergent children and their families, as well as experts in disability and theology. Based on what they have learned, each congregational team will work together to design and implement changes to their local worship practices.
The Rev. Dr. Jen Bluestein serves as Grace Presbytery's Coordinator of Generational Leadership Development and will lead the project. Bluestein says that as our recognition of neurological difference and diagnoses of autism, ADHD and other disorders increase, "Church leaders are looking for support in including children with neurodevelopmental disorders in worship and church life because they recognize the importance of children's participation in our churches. This project was developed in response to that growing need from our churches."
Renewed Grace will promote the inclusion of neurodivergent children in worship, but the work done by congregations during this project will also benefit the growing number of neurodivergent teens and adults. While this project focuses on worship practices, Grace Presbytery says it also hopes that the effects of this project will be felt throughout other areas of church life, including educational and camp ministries.
Grace Presbytery is one of 170 organizations funded through three rounds of the initiative, which was launched in 2022. The grants are funding efforts to help organizations that serve congregations in a broad spectrum of Christian traditions develop new and/or enhance existing programs as they design worship services and prayer practices that more intentionally and fully engage children.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location.
In keeping with the founders' wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment's religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
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