[ENS] The Lilly Endowment has awarded a grant of $419,565 to the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest that will enable the Council of Deans of all Episcopal seminaries to review theological education in the church.

The project, "Theological Education in the Episcopal Church: A Renewed Vision," hopes to spark a national conversation and call the whole church into a fuller participation in the mission of providing theological education for all. It also hopes to create themes, resources, and programs for Theological Education Sundays. In addition to Lilly, the Office of Ministry Development at the Episcopal Church Center, the Episcopal seminaries, and Trinity Foundation have all committed significant resources to the project.

In the first year of the four-year project, a planning process will lay the groundwork for the production of video resources and other material, followed by a three-year cycle of Theological Education Sunday visits to over 2,000 parishes designed to share a vision of theological education for all. The project will end in 2004 with a national conference to share learnings and plan for further collaborative efforts.