Virginia Theological Seminary receives largest grant in its history
$5 million will fund five-year storytelling initiative
Virginia Theological Seminary has received a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to collect and share personal narratives about Christian faith, the seminary announced Monday.
The Alexandria seminary is one of 48 organizations nationwide to receive funding through the endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life, which announced grants totaling more than $232 million on Nov. 24.
The grant, the largest in VTS’ history, will fund Stories of Hope and Renewal, a five-year collaboration between the seminary’s Lifelong Learning department, Future of Faith and denominational leaders from The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The project aims to help Christians present authentic witness and counter public narratives that portray Christianity as dying or irrelevant, according to the seminary.
“Stories change us. They help us see ourselves reflected in someone else’s struggles, hopes, and encounters with grace,” said the Rev. Kyle Oliver, project director for Stories of Hope and Renewal, in a statement. “Now is an ideal time for the Church to focus on how ordinary people and communities describe their encounters with God in Christ.”
The initiative will collect narratives about how people have come to know God through local faith communities. Those stories will be shared at local festivals and through an online repository, a book, social media and a podcast developed for a spiritually open audience, the seminary said.
VTS will also create resources to help institutional leaders use storytelling for public witness and Christian formation.
Josh Packard, co-founder of Future of Faith, said the project will bring visibility to stories that have remained hidden.
“These stories have stayed hidden for too long, even though they strengthen neighbors’ bonds, encourage curiosity about faith, and reveal the vitality inside local communities,” Packard said.
Lilly Endowment is a private philanthropic foundation based in Indianapolis, 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. The endowment is a separate entity from the company. A principal aim of its religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States by supporting efforts that enhance congregational vitality and strengthen pastoral and lay leadership.
“Christian leaders from many communities have shared with the Endowment powerful stories about how faith helps people find meaning and hope and connects them with one another,” said Christopher L. Coble, the endowment’s vice president for religion. “Through the Storytelling Initiative, the Endowment hopes that the funded organizations will shine a light on these stories and make more visible the vitality that many Christians experience through their faith.”
Grants in the initiative ranged from roughly $2.9 million to $5 million. The endowment launched the initiative in early 2024 and announced grants to 12 organizations in an invitational round in December 2024.
Virginia Theological Seminary was founded in 1823 and provides more than 25 percent of the clergy of The Episcopal Church.