The Rev. Mark Havel of Cross of Grace Lutheran Church visited Stonehenge in 2014 with his wife, Christa, and their sons, Jackson and Max. It was one piece of the travels made possible by a clergy renewal grant.
GREENFIELD — For two local pastors, this will be a summer of exploration.
The Rev. Aaron Jenkins and the Rev. Mark Havel have each received a grant through Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations. The program, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary, awards grants of up to $50,000 to Indiana congregations to fund a sabbatical for clergy and help cover the cost of interim pastoral leadership while they’re gone.
Jenkins is pastor of St. Michael Catholic Church in Greenfield and St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Fortville. Havel is senior pastor of Cross of Grace Lutheran Church in New Palestine.
“The Lilly Endowment grant for clergy renewal is a gift that honors the vocation of pastoral ministry and lifts up the significance of congregational work, too,” Havel wrote in an email. “The ability to step away from the daily demands of work in the local church for the sake of rest, continued learning, time with family, and travel is a boon for a pastor’s perspective, sense of call, and balance in ways many of us wouldn’t otherwise experience.”
Havel’s focus and reflection will revolve around race and racial justice. He and his family will visit museums and historic sites related to Black history in several southern cities, including Memphis and Birmingham.
Jenkins plans to truck camp and fly fish in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. He’ll spend some of the time creating two-dimensional art such as photography or works from watercolor ink — “We’ll see what I can fit into my truck,” he quipped.
He’ll share slides, reflections on outdoor life and faith, and perhaps art with people of both parishes at a fish fry at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 in the Parish Life Center at St. Michael.
The grant also allows him to fly his parents and his sister out to visit to Glacier and Yellowstone national parks to celebrate his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary together. But in addition to their milestone falling this year, the timing of the trip feels appropriate to Jenkins himself, who was ordained in 2008.
“I’m not quite halfway through my years of service,” he said. “It’s a good time to use this as a bookend … for the early part of priesthood.”
Since coming to St. Michael in 2015, Jenkins has led the parish through a capital campaign to expand and renovate its church building. He celebrated Masses in the parish gym during COVID, both amid construction and social distancing. The renovation culminated in a dedication service in January 2021.
Then last year, he was assigned to also serve as priest for St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Fortville, after the Rev. Robert Hankee was sent to a parish whose priest had retired. Jenkins will celebrate his last pre-trip Mass at St. Thomas on June 1 and his last at St. Michael on June 2.
“It felt like a good time to get away — reconnect, refocus … refresh myself,” he said.
That’s just what the grant’s providers hope to accomplish.
“We seek to honor pastors for their extraordinary service and enable them to engage in a brief period of rest and renewal,” Christopher L. Coble, the Endowment’s vice president of religion, said in a press release. “We have learned that such experiences invigorate the leadership of pastors and bring new vitality to their congregations as well.”
Several Hancock County pastors have received grants in past years. Havel received a previous grant in 2013-14; he learned about transcendental meditation and traveled to Europe, Hawaii and Haiti.
Ethan Maple, lead pastor of Mt. Comfort Church, received such a grant in 2017. He focused on creation, buying a camera and photo lessons for visits to national parks and attending a Disney institute on creativity in leadership. He said the grants offer clergy a chance to be refreshed for a new season of ministry.
“They’re really able to dream about what would renew their hearts and spirits …,” he said. “Being able to take the time and the space to do that, it’s a gift.”
ABOUT THE GRANTS
The Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations was established in 1999. The Endowment established a similar program for churches around the United States the next year. The application window for the 2024 program year will open in early November. Learn more at https://lillyendowment.org/for-grantseekers/renewal-programs/pastors/.
