Charitable Society home page

How to apply for a grant from the Charitable Society

Download application forms

Sabbatical grants

Other sources of funding

History of the Charitable Society

Executive Committee

Board of Trustees/Association Representatives

How to make a gift to the Charitable Society

PROJECTS FUNDED IN 2005

The Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Baptist Charitable Society continues to develop new ways to support TABCOM clergy in their ministry. On February 3, 2005, the committee voted $5,000 each for two pilot projects for training and nurturing clergy:

I. Spiritual Pilgrimaging

This grant was awarded in 2005, and the project received an additional $3,000 from the Charitable Society in 2006. It supports a Center for Career Development and Ministry project that serves 6-10 clergy. The focus of the program is on experiencing the impact of spiritual disciplines on the practice of ministry and identifying and developing sources of nurture on the spiritual path. The program includes support for personal and group spiritual practice, exploration of methods of deepening spiritual development, and identification of personal inner needs for spiritual renewal and regeneration. Content includes exploration and practice of Centering Prayer, Breath Prayer, lectio divina, Contemplative Prayer, the Christian tradition of sanctification, inter-religious spiritual disciplines, clarification of your personal spiritual pilgrimage and identification of spiritual practices that support your journey.

"Spiritual Pilgrimaging enables participants to

• Practice a wider variety of spiritual disciplines
• Participate in the support of their own and others' spiritual deepening
• Identify personal spiritual needs and issues
• Experience a safe and respectful place to identify and discuss personal spiritual inner life

Length of program: 6 months, April - November. For more information contact Dr. Stephen Ott, Executive Director of CCDM at 781-329-2100 or by e-mail at: ccdmin@aol.com.

II. John Myles Church and Leadership Development Institute

(Church Renewal, Track III)

The John Myles Church and Leadership Development Institute is the realization of a dream of the Commission of Evangelism and New Church Planting of TABCOM. The commission, aware that training of clergy and laity is central to church revitalization, laid the groundwork for the initiation of the Institute. In June 2004, the TABCOM Board of Directors approved the founding of the John Myles Church and Leadership Development Institute. The Track III program will focus on Church Renewal and will begin in Fall 2005. The Charitable Society grant will provide stipends for 4 Massachusetts ordained clergy to serve as facilitators of the training program. There will be 8 one-day Church Renewal seminars held in convenient locations throughout Massachusetts during the year. The grant will also provide scholarships for 4 Massachusetts ordained clergy who might otherwise not be able to participate in the program.

For more information contact: The Rev. Mary F. Bettencourt at 978-692-0549 or by e-mail at: betten4earthlink.net. You may also contact the Rev. Dr. Liliana DaValle at 781-320-8100 or by e-mail at: davalle@tabcom.org.

The Charitable Society is pleased to be able to offer start-up funding to these two fine programs. These projects in no way lessen the Society's ability to respond to the emergency financial needs of TABCOM clergy or to fund the other grant programs of the Society. For information about the ministry of the Charitable Society you may contact the Executive Director, The Rev. Dr. G. Jean Wright, by phone (978-448-0451), by fax (978-448-2534) or by e-mail at: revdrwright1@verizon.net.