The Council of Bishops provides leadership for the ecumenical and interreligious ministries of The United Methodist Church. To that end they are offering 3 grants, each in the amount of $1,000 to groups within United Methodist Annual Conferences for special projects designed to strengthen ecumenical and/or interreligious relationships. The application deadline is the 10th of November 2023. Recipients will be chosen and the initial $500 will be granted by the 31st of December 2023. The projects must be completed between January and July 2024. The second $500 will be granted once a summary report is filed. Preference will be given to groups within annual and central conferences elected to lead in Christian unity and interreligious relationships. Please note these grants are specifically for projects that are ecumenical and/or interreligious in both scope (who is included) and focus (the goal is visible unity).
If you are chosen to receive a grant and accept it, then you are agreeing to:
1. Keep account of how the money is used and send that report to the COB office within 2 weeks of the end of the event, no later than the 16th of August 2024.
2. Write a 1-page reflection to be used by the COB, include at least 2 photos, and mail it to Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst at jhawxhurst@umc-cob.org within 2 weeks of the end of the event.
3. Agree to be highlighted in Council of Bishops publications and news releases.
Date of Application Submission: ___________________________________________________
Name of Group Requesting Grant: _________________________________________________
Annual Conference: _____________________________________________________________
Central Conference or Jurisdiction: _________________________________________________
Name of Resident Bishop: ________________________________________________________
Name of Contact Person for Project: ________________________________________________
Email Address: _________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address: ________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Country: ______________________________________________________________________
Phone number (with country code): ________________________________________________
Payee name (cannot be an individual): ______________________________________________
PLEASE ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN 250 TO 400 WORDS:
Who is your group? (Describe your mission, your membership, and your connection to your annual conference.)
What is your project? (Describe in detail your goal, your timeline and how it is ecumenical and/or interreligious both in terms of scope and focus.)
How will your project further the witness of The UMC in ecumenical and/or interreligious relationships?
Outline your budget. (What are all anticipated revenue sources for this project? What will be the revenue from each source? What is the total project budget?)
CERTIFICATION:
Signature of conference representative (DS or Bishop) in support of this project:
_________________________ ______________________ ____________
Print name Signature Date
Signature of project contact person with fiduciary responsibility for agreements of the acceptance of this grant:
_________________________ ______________________ ____________
Print name Signature Date
