January 3, 2024 - The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) has received a $1.2 M grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to expand the reach and resources of the Everyday Faith Project, which will be available through UMPH’s Cokesbury retail channel and Amplify Media streaming video platform.
The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative. The initiative aims to help parents and caregivers share their faith and values with their children.
As worship and Sunday school attendance continue to decline steeply due to multiple social changes and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of parents and other adults taking the lead in sharing and teaching how to follow Jesus is ever more critical in Christian formation. An authentic Christian life is characterized by distinct beliefs and practices, and family venues are crucial settings for teaching and learning to claim those beliefs and live those practices.
The Everyday Faith Project includes new digital resources for children and their parents/caregivers to discover together answers to questions about faith and discipleship. The project also supports congregational leaders in helping caregivers gain confidence in and learn approaches for nurturing their children in personal and social holiness.
“Our commitments and experience compel us to invest all the insights and tools we can assemble to inspire children and their primary caregivers to step into the adventure of experiencing saving grace and forming habits and passion for daily love of God and neighbor,” said Reverend Brian K. Milford, Publisher of The United Methodist Church. “We are eagerly investing time, talent, and imagination to develop and deliver helps that resonate with families in various configurations and equip them to know and love God and choose to serve God and neighbors.”
The United Methodist Publishing House is one of 125 organizations that have received grants through the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in Black, Hispanic, and Asian Christian traditions.
“We’ve heard from many parents who are seeking to nurture the spiritual lives of their children, especially in their daily activities, and looking to churches and other faith-based organizations for support,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These thoughtful, creative, and collaborative organizations embrace the important role that families have in shaping the religious development of children and are launching programs to assist parents and caregivers with this task.”
Lilly Endowment launched the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting efforts to help individuals and families from diverse Christian communities draw more fully on the wisdom of Christian practices to live out their faith fully and well, passing on a vibrant faith to a new generation.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
About The United Methodist Publishing House
Founded in 1789 as the Methodist Book Concern, The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) is a publisher and distributor of Christian resources for congregations, clergy, and lay leaders, with primary attention given to the needs of The United Methodist Church. UMPH is a fully self-supporting general agency of The United Methodist Church and receives no general church funds. Its primary publishing imprint is Abingdon Press (abingdonpress.com), and the retail and distribution operations are known as Cokesbury (cokesbury.com).