The Nourishing Vocation Projects have been born from two grants from the Lilly Endowment Inc, Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community at St. Olaf College.
The Nourishing Vocation Project for Thriving Congregations is a four-phase experience that invites individual participants and whole congregations to deepen their understanding of God’s call upon their life and work so that they might more intentionally live life on purpose and engage in ministry on purpose for the common good.
Foundational to the whole experience is the Vocare spiritual practice that invites ongoing, regular reflection upon values, openness, call, attentiveness, regrets, and experiences of God’s presence in daily life.
Vocare, which is Latin for “to call,” is the first part of the word “vocation.” Fitting, since the first part of the NVP is learning about our individual vocations! Learn more about Vocare at the link above.
The Nourishing Vocation with Children Project seeks to engage children in worship with an emphasis on the arts, creativity and movement.
The Conference on Worship, Theology and the Arts happens every other year and engages people in how they can enrich their congregations with music and the arts with a special attention this year on worshipping with children.
Community development; education; religion. These are the three pillars that Lilly Endowment was built upon. Through community development, education and religion, Lilly Endowment keeps close the impact these pillars have on individuals, families, and the communities the organizations serve. Lilly Endowment seeks to aid these organizations with their three causes in mind through “providing funding, consulting and technical assistance, research and evaluation support, and connections to other organizations with relevant aims and experience.”
St. Olaf awarded $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregation’s Initiative
St. Olaf College, residential liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) challenges students to excel in the liberal arts, examine faith and values, and explore meaningful vocation in an inclusive, globally engaged community nourished by Lutheran tradition. In the belief that theology and the practice of vocational discernment enhances both individual and collective thriving, St. Olaf College has a long standing commitment to education for vocation. The Nourishing Vocation Projects are an extension of this commitment.