Walking Together:

A Year of Intentional Community

Serve Clergy invites you to apply for a Walking Together grant to aid in fostering collegiality and genuine connection to Christ, together with fellow Covenant colleagues. The Walking Together grant encourages our shared values for accountability and friendship, as expressed in our Covenant wisdom sayings:

• How goes your walk?
• I am the companion of all who fear God and honor God’s precepts.

$750 PER PERSON FOR FIVE TO SEVEN PEOPLE

A Walking Together grant supports five to seven friends for a year together in trustworthy community that shares Christian life in a sacred space. The grant offers up to $5,250 for one year ($750 per participant, up to seven), plus an additional $500 honorarium for the Convener. The intentional community may decide among themselves how best to utilize and distribute the funds according to the required categories outlined in this form.

Please list the names and emails of your community members below:

OUTLINE YOUR PLANS IN TWO STEPS

Step One: Please provide an introductory paragraph in which you describe the focus, purpose, and unique features of your intentional community. These might include such aspects as mixed gender, pastoral focus, denominational staff, BIPOC, multiethnic, or shared Conference. Please also identify by name the Convener of the intentional community.

Please specifically tell us about your goals and desired outcomes for your intentional community. This might be as simple as a summary sentence such as, “In one year’s time, as a result of this intentional community, we will ___________________________.” All your subsequent plans should prayerfully be designed to result in these desired outcomes.

Step Two: Write a general plan for your intentional community in three categories, all designed to meet your ultimate goals and desired outcomes:

1. Monthly Zoom or In-Person Meetings

• Describe the purpose and general plan for these monthly Zoom or in-person gatherings.
• Explain how these monthly gatherings will contribute to your desired outcomes.
• Propose one grant-supported resource for the year such as a book, video, artwork, or podcast to draw you together and focus you on your relationship with Jesus and with one another.
• Identify the point person responsible for organizing and planning the monthly meetings.

2. Connection at larger Covenant event

• Briefly sketch out how your intentional community might convene for a grant-supported meal or other grant-supported activity at a larger Covenant event, such as:
  • Conference Ashram or Annual Meeting
  • Justice Journey (ex. Sankofa)
  • ELEVA
  • Midwinter or Gather
• Explain how this connection time will contribute to your desired outcomes for your intentional community.
• Identify the point person responsible for organizing and planning a connection at a larger Covenant event.

3. In-person retreat before the halfway point in the grant-covered year

• Propose a general plan for how your intentional community might convene in person for a retreat before the halfway point of the grant-covered year.
• Identify parameters for the retreat. Please include possible geographic location, potential duration of the retreat, and general tenor. This might include the suggestion of a silent retreat, wilderness retreat, art/music-based retreat, or whether you want to include spiritual direction.
• Purposefully connect the design of the in-person retreat to the desired outcomes of your intentional community.
• Identify the point person responsible for organizing and planning the in-person retreat.

BUDGET PROPOSAL

You may either present your budget proposal in the text box below, or upload a separate document using the File Upload space. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact Marti Burger at marti.burger@covchurch.org.