Berkeley at Yale receives $50,000 grant from Lilly Foundation to create virtual curacy
Berkeley Divinity School at Yale is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $50,000 Assessment and Planning Grant from the Lilly Foundation’s Pathways for Tomorrow Program. This generous grant will support planning for the creation and development of a “Virtual Curacy” through Berkeley’s Transforming Leaders program.
The Virtual Curacy will address the critical shortage of traditional curacy and apprenticeship opportunities for newly ordained Episcopal clergy. Several bishops have been involved as thought partners and will continue to partner with Berkeley in the creation of this program, which seeks to envision what clergy formation can and must entail in the 21stcentury.
Berkeley Divinity School is committed to forming compassionate servant-leaders for the Church and the world who are generous, wise, and equipped to lead in new in a rapidly changing world. The Virtual Curacy, a hallmark of this commitment, will be a two-year program that provides newly ordained priests—from any seminary or local formation program—with substantial mentoring, fellowship, and practical learning. The innovative curriculum is tailored for those who find themselves as priests-in-charge immediately after ordination due to the dearth of traditional curacies.
Berkeley seeks to partner with dioceses across The Episcopal Church to ensure that new clergy receive the necessary support and training they need in the “fourth trimester” after seminary. Participants will learn practical ministry skills from practitioner-scholars in an online, cohort setting. They will also receive one-on-one support from seasoned clergy mentors, who they can call with ministry questions that come up so regularly in the first years of ministry. The program will emphasize small group learning, in-person retreats, and one-on-one mentorship-apprenticeships, ensuring that graduates emerge as effective leaders capable of supporting, innovating upon, and creating vibrant Christian communities. The curriculum is designed around four key learning objectives:
- Developing Practical Ministry Skills: Curates will gain the apprenticeship-type knowledge and skills most often associated with a curacy. New clergy will bring their hands-on experience of their new calls as parish priests to the Virtual Curacy, where they will learn about the daily, weekly, and seasonal aspects of pastoral ministry, including rubrics, music selection, preaching, special liturgies, and digital ministry.
- Deepening Church Management Skills: Curates will develop competencies in managing church resources to ensure smooth and efficient operations within their ministries. Participants will learn about running effective meetings, management and collaboration, managing church finances, fundraising, and thinking about church real estate in the 21st
- Expanding Capacity for Visionary Leadership: Curates will learn about conflict resolution and leading through change, giving them starting places for these vital skills. They will also be prepared to navigate future challenges by transcending short-term thinking, employing adaptive leadership, and imagining fresh possibilities. They will also learn about conflict resolution.
- Cultivating a Vibrant Spiritual Life: The Virtual Curacy helps new clergy cultivate resilience and set patterns for ministry that will help them avoid burnout. Curates explore their identity as ordained servant-leaders, learn to incorporate prayer practices and balance into their lives as new priests, and discern their ongoing call through prayer and reflection.
Upon completion of the program requirements, graduates will receive a Certificate in Pastoral Leadership from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.
“We are profoundly grateful to the Lilly Foundation for this significant grant,” shared Brandon Nappi, DMin, Executive Director of Leadership Programs at Berkeley Divinity School. “The Virtual Curacy program is an extension of our longstanding commitment to nurturing the next generation of Episcopal leaders, and this funding will enable us to enhance and expand our support for new clergy at a critical time in their formation. We expect to welcome our first cohort of curates in the coming months.”
“We are eager to partner with bishops and diocesan leaders to support newly ordained clergy who increasingly serve in places without the mentoring and formation they need in their critical first few years of ministry,” added Dean Andrew McGowan.
For more information about the Virtual Curacy program, visit berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/virtual-curacy.
About Berkeley Divinity School at Yale
The mission of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale is to form and transform lay and ordained leaders for the present and future Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. A Christian community of worship, learning, and service, it shares in the ecumenical and scholarly vocations of Yale Divinity School.
Contact: berkeley.communications@yale.edu