Wheat Ridge Ministries of Itasca, Ill., announced in late April that it is providing seed grants totaling $357,000 to 12 new projects — four with ties to LCMS congregations.
The other eight projects are either pan-Lutheran or affiliated with church bodies other than the Synod.
Receiving a total of $122,000 in Wheat Ridge grants, the four LCMS-related projects are as follows:
- Finding Health and Healing Through Christian Mentoring ($40,000). This will be a Christian mentoring program through which Detroit (Mich.) Urban Lutheran School in the inner-city involves all its students in an educational mentoring process to promote healthy lifestyle choices and provide support and healing for students and their families who have experienced loss.
- Gloria Dei Cottages, Sauk Rapids, Minn. ($22,000). Good Shepherd Lutheran Home and Good Shepherd Foundation will establish a senior and adult foster-care home using a parsonage, in partnership with the local congregation. Providing comprehensive care and service to residents, the effort will be a pilot for similar partnerships with other congregations in Minnesota.
- Health Matters: Wellness for Pastors and Partners in PLI, Santa Ana, Calif. ($25,000). The Pastoral Leadership Institute plans to incorporate personal wellness, assessment, and counseling as a regular component of the PLI training process for pastors and their wives.
- Liberian Refugee Assistance Program, Houston ($35,000). The Lutheran Inter-City Network Coalition of Houston will assist Liberian refugees in the area by creating a new ministry to help address refugee-transition issues and enable Liberian leaders to build their own support network.
Posted May 27, 2005
