Schiebel grant program supports black, inner-urban context

A teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Mobile, Ala., guides the hand of a student working on penmanship. Trinity recently received a Schiebel grant to help fund its outreach to the surrounding community. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

A new grant opportunity from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Office of National Mission (ONM) will support LCMS congregations, schools, Recognized Service Organizations, Concordia University System schools and the two LCMS seminaries in funding small, short-term projects that provide physical and spiritual support to black inner-urban residents. The Schiebel grant program is named after the Rev. Dr. William A. Schiebel, who spent the bulk of his career as a pastor serving an inner-urban, black congregation. The grant program is funded by the Rev. Dr. William A. Schiebel Endowment, established in Schiebel’s honor. The LCMS Foundation serves as custodian of the fund.

Two types of grants are available under the Schiebel grant program: project grants and scholarship grants. Project grants, with awards totaling $1,000 to $2,000, will fund projects that reach and support black inner-urban residents.

The first two project grants have already been awarded, including one to Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Mobile, Ala. The project, titled “Witnessing with Wheels,” will help fund the purchase of a handicapped-accessible van to transport children, families and seniors to the church and school for a variety of activities, including worship, Sunday school, youth activities and after-school programs. The project will also facilitate the delivery of food, clothing and other basic needs — along with Scriptural encouragement and prayer — to those in the impoverished neighborhoods Trinity serves.

The Schiebel scholarship grant is still in development, with more information to come.

Schiebel was born in Minnesota in 1905. In 1927, he enrolled at Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Ill., and began attending Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield, which was an all-black congregation. It was at Holy Trinity that his passion for serving the black community was born. In 1934, he took a call to another black congregation, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C., which was also where he served his vicarage. Schiebel would remain at Mount Olivet for the next 60 years. He died in 1997.

Deaconess Maryann Hayter, manager of grants administration for the ONM, said, “In his long-standing service to the black, inner-urban community, Dr. Schiebel was often frustrated by the shortage of immediate funds to respond to acute ministry needs and opportunities. The Schiebel grant program provides an avenue for meeting such needs and opportunities as they arise, without a lengthy grant process. We give thanks to God for Dr. Schiebel’s passion and commitment and are honored to assist in carrying on his legacy.”

Applications for a Schiebel project grant are now being accepted. Learn more and apply.

Posted March 6, 2024