The Synod is part of the Matthew 25 movement, with its emphasis on building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty. Our grants and scholarships share these goals.
Matthew 25 Grants
These grants are available to Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations, institutions, and organizations within the geographic bounds of the Synod. The focus of the grants is to support ministries to build congregational vitality, dismantle structural racism, and/or eradicate systemic poverty. These goals stem from the denomination’s Matthew 25 movement, but applicants need not to have formally joined that movement to receive funding. Preference will be given to applicants which are primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and/or which focus on the ministry’s local neighborhoods.
Complete applications are due by September 30, 2021. Winners will be notified and announced no later than November 15, 2021.
The Synod of the Covenant Announces Higher Education Scholarships for Christian Leaders Award Winners
The Synod of the Covenant is delighted to announce that it has awarded almost $40,000 in scholarships to 56 students from 10 presbyteries and 29 churches. These awards, ranging from $500 to $1,000, go to the winners of the Higher Education Scholarships for Christian Leaders.
These scholarships include 45 bachelor’s degrees, 4 associate degrees, and 7 theology scholarships. Of the 56 scholarships, 27 were given to people self-identified as Black, Korean, Asian, and African.
This year, in addition to articulating their career goals, applicants also reflected on how they work toward building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and/or eradicating systemic poverty. These areas of ministry characterize the Matthew 25 movement within the Presbyterian Church (USA), of which the Synod of the Covenant is a part.
These scholarships are funded in part by per capita payments from the almost 700 Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations and more than 100,000 members, mostly in the states of Ohio and Michigan, throughout the Synod of the Covenant.
The Grants Committee includes Lisa Allgood (Cincinnati Presbytery), Betty Angelini, chair (Eastminster Presbytery), Amy Duiker (Miami Valley Presbytery), Jackie Humphries (Detroit Presbytery), Skip Jackson (Scioto Valley Presbytery), Fran Lane-Lawrence (Lake Michigan Presbytery), Georgia McCall (Lake Huron Presbytery), and Brady Radford (Administrative Commission, Synod of the Covenant.
This team will also administer and award the Matthew 25 Grants for churches and ministries; the application for these awards will be available on www.synodofthecovenant.org by August 1, 2021, and applications will be due by September 30, 2021.
Let us focus together on the words of Colossians 1:9-10 as we thank God and pray for our scholarship winners:
Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works.
2021-22 Higher Education Scholarship for Christian Leaders Winners
Cincinnati Presbytery
Bond Hill Presbyterian Church
Kathryn Bronsink
Detroit Presbytery
Calvary Presbyterian Church of Detroit
Chase Reynolds
Mason Martin
Sakinah Wilson
Westminster Presbyterian Church of Detroit
Billa Ndeh Zama
Andrew Palmer
University Presbyterian Church
Hannah Jacobs
Starr Presbyterian Church
Lon Kuehn
St. Thomas Presbyterian Church
Paige Coleman
The Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church
Grace Phillips
First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak
Norman Dell
Lake Huron Presbytery
First Presbyterian Church of Alma
Adam Dixon
Daniel Dixon
First Presbyterian Church of Fenton
Heidi Ritchie
First Presbyterian Church Mt. Pleasant
Anna Clare Miller
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
Lily Brown
Lake Michigan Presbytery
Brooklyn Presbyterian Church
Logan Recob
Richard Recob
First Presbyterian Church Grand Haven
Annika Houser-Brydon
First Presbyterian Church of Holt
Emerson Miller
Westminster Presbyterian Church Grand Rapids
Emily Anderson
Mackinac Presbytery
First Presbyterian Church Escanaba
Madison Ide
Brooke Landis
Daren Landis
Maumee Valley Presbytery
First Presbyterian Church of Maumee
Isaac Tolbert
Taylor Snyder
First Presbyterian Church Tiffin
Kaia Treadway
Hanmi Covenant Presbyterian Church
Hae In An
Doyun Kim
Isaac Kim
Daniel Lee
Junguen Lee
Yullie Yun
Miami Valley Presbytery
College Hill Presbyterian Church
Aniya Drake
First United Church Bellefontaine
Caroline Eader
Southminster Presbyterian Church
Joshua Sweeney
Sugar Creek Presbyterian Church
Abigail Schultz
Fairmont Presbyterian Church
Rachel Boden
Muskingum Valley Presbytery
First Presbyterian Church Marietta
Justin Warner
Scioto Valley Presbytery
Ramseyer Presbyterian Church
Shanelle Abbiw
Nana Adwoa Brefo
Fredricka Agyekum
Bernice Agyepong
Daizy Asante
Isaiah Boateng
Ben Danso
Akosua Ofosuhene
Emmanuel Amoako Okyere
Priscilla Oppong
Wendy Oppong-Amoh
Ronald Yeboah
Ruth Yeboah
Akua B. Agyen
Second Presbyterian Church Newark
Amanda Waser
Worthington Presbyterian Church
Peter Okyere
Presbytery of the Western Reserve
John Knox Presbyterian Church
Colin MacMillan
2020 Grant Winners
In 2020, two types of scholarships and two types of grants were awarded. Students were eligible to receive either Higher Education Scholarships or COVID Emergency Need Grants for Higher Education Students. Churches, Institutions, and Organizations were eligible to receive Racial Ethnic Grants and New Covenant Grants. See the lists of winners by clicking on the buttons below.