Synod Council has allocated another $300,000 to the diocese’s Cast and Learn grants program to help parishes find new ways of being church. The program provides one-time grants of between $10,000 and $40,000 to parishes willing to innovate, learn and grow.
The program started in December 2022 with $300,000 in funding. It was thought that the funding would last for two years but the program has been so popular that the funds were nearly depleted by the end of the first year, prompting Synod Council to allocate another $300,000 for it. The money will come from the diocese’s Ministry Allocation Fund — $200,000 from its “congregational growth” stream and $100,000 from its “new or innovative forms of ministry” stream.
Nine parishes received grants in the first year, ranging from $18,400 to $40,000. Projects included drama and music ministry, a multicultural children’s drop-in program, pastors for online and community ministries and the start-up of a new dinner church.
All the projects will be reviewed by the diocese’s Project Enabling and Monitoring Group at the end of their funding so that learning can be collected and shared within the diocese. The Cast and Learn grants program gets its name from Cast the Net, the diocese’s strategic visioning process that is based on John 21.
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