Boston University is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support the creation of the New Wineskins Network, a five-year initiative designed to strengthen partnerships among local congregations, clergy, and seminary leaders for the sake of ministry formation. Led by the Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) Office of Contextual Education, the program will address contemporary challenges facing pastors and seminarians while developing new models of collaborative ministry formation.
The New Wineskins Network is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which is intended to help theological schools across the United States and Canada strengthen their educational and financial capacities to prepare and support pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both immediately and into the future.
Through the New Wineskins Network, BUSTH will build a sustainable infrastructure that supports both existing and upcoming clergy in developing relationships and practical skills for effective ministry in a changing religious landscape. The program will connect seminary students early in their programs with seasoned clergy mentors, host regular “Learning Labs” for congregational partners, offer seed grants for ecumenical ministry partnerships around emerging local needs, and create paid ministry residencies for upper-level seminarians seeking deeper pastoral experience prior to graduation.
Rev. Dr. Anastasia Kidd (’04,’18), Director of Contextual Education and Lecturer, and Dr. Chad D. Moore (’16, GRS’23), Director of Enrollment, will serve as the project’s principal investigators. “As we prepared for this grant proposal, we were guided by Jesus’ parable in Mark 2:22 warning about new wine bursting old wineskins, which we felt was a fitting metaphor for this moment of institutional strain on both the church and theological education,” said Kidd. “Many historic programs of seminary ministerial formation assume things about the church, students, and world that are no longer true. Today’s students are coming to us seeking formation that prepares them to address the realities of ministry today. The New Wineskins Network will allow us to deepen our relationships with area churches and come alongside them to innovate new models of ministry. It will allow us to support these churches in their work and find fertile training grounds for the next generation of imaginative, relational, forward-thinking religious leaders. I couldn’t be more grateful to the Lilly Endowment Inc. for seeding this vision.”
Boston University School of Theology is one of 163 theological schools that have been supported with grants since 2021 through the Pathways initiative. Together, the schools serve a broad spectrum of Christian traditions in the US and Canada. They are affiliated with evangelical, mainline Protestant, nondenominational, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic, Black church, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous and historic peace church traditions.
“Theological schools have long played a central role for most denominations and church networks in preparing and supporting pastoral leaders who guide congregations,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These schools are paying close attention to the challenges churches are facing today and will face in the foreseeable future. The grants will help these schools engage in wide-ranging, innovative efforts to adapt their educational programs and build their financial capacities so they can better prepare pastors and lay ministers to effectively lead the congregations they will serve in the future.”
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About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private 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. A 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 religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United State and around the globe.
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