Diocese of Missouri Awarded Roanridge Grant

(May 3, 2022) The Episcopal Church has awarded the Diocese of Missouri a grant of $26,700 for our Requiem or Renaissance program.

The Roanridge Grants are given to dioceses, congregations and Episcopal Church-related organizations and institutions. The grants are specifically for the training of town and country clergy and rural Christian workers of The Episcopal Church.

Requiem or Renaissance is an 18-month discernment and skills-building program for all congregations currently receiving diocesan financial aid. The Rev. Canon Whitney Rice developed the program and is overseeing its implementation.

"The Roanridge Grant not only gives us vital resources for the work of Requiem or Renaissance, which is part of living out our diocesan Strategic Plan, but it also places us in fellowship with faith communities across the Episcopal Church doing similar work," Canon Whitney said. "We're stronger together, and the cross-pollination of our ministries can only bring more innovation and energy."

We have 18 parishes throughout the Diocese engaged in this program. Requiem or Renaissance calls for each congregation to enter a discernment process that will help them determine God's call to them: to a Requiem, a holy ending of this congregation's ministry in this location at this time, or a Renaissance, a church re-plant with a new vision. As they are discerning, they will build skills to live out the call they articulate.

The Diocese of Missouri is grateful to receive this grant. The funds will be used to purchase materials, provide hospitality, and provide stipends for program facilitators.

About the Grant:

Roanridge was a working farm in Missouri donated by the Caroline F. and Wilber A. Cochel family to The Episcopal Church to provide a unique setting in which Episcopal clergy, seminarians, and laypeople could develop an understanding of farming operations and rural community structure. Through educational programs such as conferences, seminars, and institutes, the non-profit corporation that managed Roanridge sought to help Episcopal clergy and laity better serve communities in rural and small-town America. The farm was eventually sold, and the Roanridge Trust was established.

The interest generated from the Roanridge Trust is specifically to be used for the training of town and country clergy and rural Christian workers of The Episcopal Church. Each year the Roanridge Trust generates approximately $160,000 to be distributed in grants.