ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University has received a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant of $472,174 that will allow the university to establish a Brethren Academy on campus.
AU is one of 82 schools that have received grant funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its High School Youth Theology Institutes Initiative. It encourages young people to explore theological traditions, ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.
“The purpose of the Brethren Academy project is to deepen the faith of young people by helping them think theologically, while developing the next generation of Brethren leaders from among high school students with denominational ties,” said AU’s University Chaplain Jason Barnhart. “From the perspectives of the University and our partners – Ashland Theological Seminary and the Brethren Church National Office – the Brethren Academy project holds the promise of revitalizing the denomination while strengthening ties between the Church and the University and Seminary that grew from it.”
According to Barnhart, this project’s purpose is also an extension of – and adapts and builds on – Ashland’s recent development with these same partners of a collaborative theological institute for Ashland University students. It will follow the pattern of an existing, one-week religious ministry leadership training program for undergraduates.
“This initiative will help strengthen our relationship with Brethren groups,” he noted. “By recruiting up to 100 Brethren students a summer, this initiative will help establish Ashland as a top school for Brethren students and those exploring a kingdom calling for their lives.”
The 82 schools that are participating in the initiative are located in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Although some schools are independent, many reflect the religious heritage of their founding traditions, which include Baptist, Brethren, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Presbyterian and Reformed churches, as well as Roman Catholic, non-denominational, Pentecostal and historic African-American Christian communities.
“These colleges and universities are well-positioned to reach out to high school students in this way,” said Dr. Christopher L. Coble, vice president for religion at the Lilly Endowment. “They have outstanding faculty in theology and religion who know how to help young people explore the wisdom of religious traditions and apply these insights to contemporary challenges.”
The Lilly Endowment is giving $44.5 million in grants to help a select group of private four-year colleges and universities around the nation to create the institutes. The grants are part of the Endowment’s commitment to identify and cultivate a cadre of theologically minded youth who will become leaders in church and society.
An additional grant to the Forum for Theological Exploration will establish a program that will bring together leaders of the high school youth theology institutes to foster mutual learning and support.
