Broom Tree Ministry Center
(Plan Development Phase)
Presbytery: New York City
$18,000

After divesting from traditional buildings to embrace a non-traditional engagement with space, Astoria First Presbyterian Church has discovered that gathering space is a social justice issue in their urban community. They are in the midst of developing a scalable model for urban ministry spaces with greater reach and a smaller environmental footprint. Astoria FPC plans to document the entire project process and develop curriculum to assist other communities in exploring similar opportunities.

Building Community Through Shared Resources
Presbytery: Northern New York
$18,000

In a small, rural town in northern New York, the Hammond Presbyterian Church recognizes its unique function as a facilitator and host of community engagement. With the close of the sole restaurant in town and the decline of another local gathering place, the members of HPC are rising to the call to expand their ministries of community gathering and hospitality.
 

Camp at the Eastward & Sparrows Nest
Presbytery: Northern New England
$10,000

These two ministries provide hope in an impoverished rural community in Maine by gathering people for community, friendship, worship, and adventure in an environment of acceptance and love, and by gathering and celebrating God's people in theater productions that inspire awe and dedication while opening people to deep community experiences, practicing the walk of faith, and accepting the grace of God.
 

Confirmation Connection
Presbytery: Boston
$14,500

Seeking new ways to connect congregations, support meaningful Confirmation experiences, and partner with the work of common cathedral, the Presbytery of Boston is developing a year-long, presbytery-wide opportunity to engage Confirmation students and their congregations around the social and theological issues of homelessness in their community. Curriculum and experiential encounters are being co-developed with common cathedral, an outdoor church for the houseless population of Boston, whose current executive director is the presbytery’s first Commissioned Ruling Elder.
 

Cory Johnson Program for Post-Traumatic Healing (Expansion/Replication)
Presbytery: Boston
$20,000

After the tragic death (and unsolved murder) of a bright young member of the Roxbury Presbyterian church by gun-violence in 2010, the congregation established the Cory Johnson Program for Post-Traumatic Healing in his honor. Seeking to break the cycles of violence and trauma such all-too-frequent events have on the individuals, families, and communities in their neighborhoods, the program provides a unique faith- and community-based approach to addressing and healing trauma. The program has had a profound impact on the Roxbury community, and the congregation is now seeking (both of its own desire and at the request of others) to develop processes and curriculum by which to expand its ministry and establish similar programs in other communities.
 

Digital Communication & Social Media Ministry Network
Presbytery: Elizabeth, Monmouth, & New Brunswick
$3,000

This network is comprised of members from three presbyteries in New Jersey whose work assists their presbyteries and congregations to improve their strategies around social media use. It is hoped that these strategies might also enable congregations to reimagine who they serve, how they connect, and in what ways they might touch the lives of those not currently served by gospel communities. Initial funding will be used to provide expert staff-support to help inform, inspire, and train teams on a variety of levels.
 

Firebird Spirit
Presbytery: Genesee Valley
$14,000

Firebird Spirit is a coordinating and equipping ministry of the South Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY which seeks to provide leadership development and resource sharing among the congregation's 16 community action ministry groups.
 

Fourth Church Youth Theater: Re-knitting the Neighborhood
Presbytery: Boston
$15,000

In the midst of neighborhood changes in South Boston, Fourth Presbyterian Church is building on a legacy of connection with the community and a strong children's theater program to develop a more robust theater program for youth. The program will connect youth across racial and economic differences to re-knit deeper relationships within the emerging community.
 

Glenwood Life Center
Presbytery: Long Island
$18,000

Glenwood Life Center is a partnership between the Presbytery of Long Island and United Adult Ministries to create a community space in the former Glenwood Presbyterian Church building where people can gather to cultivate shared spirituality, understanding, wellness, and the arts.
 

Hudson Church Without Walls
Presbytery: Albany
$18,000

In the midst of structural issues which prevent them from gathering in their building, the First Presbyterian Church of Hudson is embracing the opportunity to ask itself and its community "Where is God?" By experimenting with field trips, public liturgies, mission that is not place-based, trying new forms of worship in unconventional spaces, the congregation is exploring new things that might help them discover a new way of being together and in the community.
 

The Kindling Collective
Presbytery: Boston
$15,000

The Kindling Collective (formerly known as the Arts, Spirituality, & Justice Campus Ministry) is a ministry of the Church of the Covenant to artists and art students, particularly those connected to one of the nearby art schools. The ministry explores ways that art and spirituality can be integrated and woven together.
 

Lawrenceville Job Training Partnership
Presbytery: New Brunswick
$20,000

Aware of their own relative privilege, concerned about the growing problem of mass incarceration, and wanting to find ways to serve and empower individuals & communities for lasting change, the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville has established a diverse array of partners to facilitate a job-training program for newly-released formerly incarcerated persons. Knowing their county has a critical shortage of foodservice workers, the program’s specialized training is focused on the culinary profession, though it takes a comprehensive approach to job-readiness. Moreover, the program is designed not only to equip & empower the trainees, but also to draw local business owners, community members, educators, social service partners, and of course the congregation, in addition to the trainees themselves, into community & mutual action together.
 

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church
Presbytery: Southern New England
$20,000

A revitalization/restart of a historic Black congregation in Springfield, MA. After surviving for many years without regular pastoral leadership or support from the presbytery, having recently established a new partnership with the presbytery under new leadership, this community is embarking on a journey to explore the possibilities that lie under the surface for new vitality, new life, and new opportunities for service in the community.

Moving Forward Together
Presbytery: Northern New York
$12,000

Committed to pursuing revitalization and increasing health for both the presbytery and its member congregations, the Presbytery of Northern New York is developing resourcing and processes that will help each participating body better understand its life, recognize its strengths, and gain clarity around its purpose and mission.

Parents' Night Out
Presbytery: Northern New England
$1,500

In a small, rural town in northern Vermont, the Presbyterian Church of Barnet was seeking a way of blessing their neighbors and connecting with the children and youth of their community. After assessing the needs and interests of the families in their area, they discovered that an evening of free child-care would be a welcome gift, allowing parents the opportunity to refresh themselves and strengthen their relationships. The church has responded, hosting an evening each month of games and fellowship for children and youth, allowing their parents a night off.
 

The Pastoral Sabbath
Presbytery: Hudson River
$6,000

A monthly 24-hour retreat ministry that provides space, time, & leadership for pastors (Teaching Elders & Commissioned Ruling Elders) to engage in & cultivate practices of Sabbath. Sabbath practices promote physically mindful, emotionally aware, mentally attentive, & spiritually healthy individuals, who in turn are able to provide better leadership to their communities. Besides helping pastors develop these practices, the Pastoral Sabbath intends to help communities of faith to learn (again) that Sabbath keeping (for all) is not merely a “day off,” but a time to be in, and return to, right relationship with God.
 

The Plainfield Afterschool Arts Institute
Presbytery: Elizabeth
$10,000

The Plainfield Afterschool Arts Institute is a partnership between the United Presbyterian Church in Plainfield, NJ and the Institute of Music For Children, which nurtures artistic expression and appreciation of community youth by providing economically accessible, high-quality arts training for underserved children and youth. The program broadens participation though tuition assistance, bilingual staff and marketing, and urban outreach initiatives. In addition to increasing arts education among young people less likely to have access, the program will also serve as a catalyst for United PC's expansion of family outreach and youth worship programs.
 

Project Connect: Incarcerated Women Visitation & Re-entry
Presbytery: New York City
$15,000

The Church of Gethsemane, formed in 1986 for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons, has recognized the need to develop a ministry that addresses the particular needs of women as they navigate incarceration and release. The church already has a strong program for men and are seeking to adapt it to better address the unique experiences of women.
 

ROC SALT Mission Center (Service and Learning Together)
Presbytery: Genesee Valley
$15,000

The Roc SALT Mission Center is a ministry of the Genesee Valley Presbytery that engages diverse groups in service and learning experiences. These innovative and immersive experiences combine mission partnerships, spiritual reflection, and education while meeting critical and basic needs of neighbors. Roc SALT links spiritual reflection and hands-on mission by connecting groups to urban neighbors in the City of Rochester, NY and surrounding communities around issues of poverty and justice.
 

Sabbath House
Presbytery: Monmouth
$10,000

Sabbath House is a center for sacred activism and spiritual companionship. Activities are centered around hospitality -- offering retreats, workshops, hosting meetings and overnight guests, and worship -- and a community garden, cultivated in partnership with Plumsted Township.
 

Sand Hills Community Wellness Center
$18,000
Presbytery: New Brunswick

Innovation Funding supported Grace Presbyterian Church’s mission of this center to provide programs that enhance the growth of mind, body and spirit.

Spirit Talk
Presbytery: Hudson River
$15,000

Spirit Talk is an emerging gospel community gathered around an alternative and interactive worship experience designed for young adults and others not drawn to traditionally organized religious experiences in Peekskill, NY.
 

Transitioning Mission at the Eastward (MATE) to the 21st Century
Presbytery: Northern New England
$15,000

Mission at the Eastward is a dynamic, forward-looking family of Presbyterian churches and service ministries located in West Central Maine, inspired by Christ to worship and work, "reaching the last house on the last road" with God's gifts and graces so that they are exemplified, multiplied, and shared with others for the good of all.
 

Trinity Summer Youth Academy
Presbytery: Newark
$5,000

This ministry of the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montclair, NJ provides fun and educational programming for at-risk youth, intended to assist them in overcoming social injustice, as well as food insecurity during the summer months when students do not have access to subsidized lunch programs. While attending to the physical, social, and economic needs of these youth, the ministry also strives to care for their spiritual wellbeing by cultivating a community of welcome where they can experience the love and care of God.
 

Valley Stream Community Gospel Choir
Presbytery: Long Island
$15,000

This community partnership ministry of the Valley Stream Presbyterian Church brings youth from three area high schools and surrounding communities together around music. The program aims to address teen violence by promoting unity through shared experience and creativity, as well as equipping young people of color, especially young men, with stronger senses of self-esteem and belonging.
 

Walking Together & Walking with Me
Presbytery: Northern New England
$10,000

The Londonderry Presbyterian Church in Londonderry, NH recognized a need for stronger grief-support programs in their community. Where many local bereavement support groups are designed for a series of several weeks, LPC acknowledged that grief and the need for support is a much longer journey. In response, they have started two programs: Walking Together, which is designed for those grieving a spouse, and Walking with Me, for those grieving any other loved one.
 

Watertown Multi-Ethnic Community
Presbytery: Northern New York
$20,000

The Watertown Multi-Ethnic Community is an emerging gospel community in Watertown, NY that gathers people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to explore and celebrate Christian faith.
 

Westminster REACH (Relate, Explore, Act, Care, and Help)
Presbytery: Cayuga-Syracuse
$10,000

A historically activist congregation in a historically activist community, the Westminster Presbyterian Church seeks to embrace its legacy to meet the new and emerging needs in its neighborhoods and region. Seeking to provide radical welcome to the diverse population of children, youth, and families in their area, the congregation is establishing multi-sensory, multi-modal, co-developed, and socially engaged opportunities to encounter meaningful community and spiritual formation.

Albany

Russell Sage College (and RPI)
Troy Area United Ministries
$3,000

Union College
Campus Protestant Ministry
$3,000

University of Albany
Protestant Campus Ministry in Albany
$3,000
 

Genesee Valley

Nazareth College
Nazareth College Protestant Worship Community
$2,500

University of Rochester
Genesee Area Campus Ministries
$15,000
 

Long Island

Long Island University - Post Campus
Protestant Campus Ministry at LIU Post
$3,000

Stony Brook University
Protestant Campus Ministry
$3,000
 

New Brunswick

Rutgers University
Rutgers Protestant Campus Ministries: RUSpiritual
$10,000

Princeton University
Princeton Presbyterians of the Westminster Foundation
$10,000
 

Northern New England

University of Maine
The Wilson Center / Maine Christian Association Inc.
$1,000

Plymouth State University
United Campus Ministry at PSU 
$1,000

University of New Hampshire
United Campus Ministry to the UofNH
$1,000

University of Vermont
Cooperative Christian Ministry at UVM
$1,000
 

Susquehanna Valley

Cornell University
Protestant Cooperative Ministry at CU
$3,000

SUNY Cortland
Campus Ministry at SUNY Cortland
$3,000

SUNY Delhi
Delhi Campus Ministry
$3,000

Ithaca College
IC Protestant Campus Ministry
$3,000
 

Western New York

SUNY Buffalo
Campus Church Coalition (legally Campus Church ConneXion)
$10,000