Lexington Theological Seminary has been selected to receive a Thriving in Ministry Affinity Cohort Grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
“The Affinity Cohort Grant Program at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity is an important opportunity for organizations in the Thriving in Ministry Initiative,” said Wanda White, Associate Director for the Thriving in Ministry Coordination Program at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. “[It allows them] to engage one another in focused conversations that strengthen the capacities and networks that support pastoral leaders. These affinity-based cohorts have brought together unique and diverse conversation partners that we hope will catalyze new imagination and collaborations for the good of Christ’s church.”
LTS applied for this opportunity to engage other recipients of Lilly Endowment, Inc.’s Thriving in Ministry grant by creating a project titled “Supporting Participation in Peer Groups for ALL.” The Seminary teamed with four other ecumenical partners to develop the application – Catawba College’s Catawba Clergy Network in Salisbury, NC; the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina; the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, WA; and Philander Smith University in Little Rock, AR – and will work with them through the grant period. Rev. Dr. Katherine Alexander, Director of Alumni and Church Relations for LTS, will coordinate this affinity cohort group that will span from November 2025 through December 2026.
The group will focus their 14-month time together on the theme of improving community building for clergy, especially those most often not served sufficiently in current models (such as bivocational clergy). They will function as a peer group and test various ways of engaging and forming community, partially informed by working with organizational coach Rev. Dr. Teresa Angle-Young. Rev. Angle-Young is a Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation and a board-certified Health and Wellness Coach. With over 15 years of experience coaching clergy, denominational leaders, and nonprofit executives, she specializes in building emotionally intelligent teams, designing transformative peer learning environments, and coaching systems into greater relational and spiritual health. She is the co-owner of Clergy Coaching Network and a seasoned group facilitator with deep familiarity with Lilly Endowment’s Thriving in Ministry initiative. Rev. Angle-Young will lead a workshop for the group on building community for clergy and will also work with each group individually for a six-month period. At the end of the grant period, the affinity cohort will gather in person to process their learnings.
Dr. Alexander describes the group’s hopes for their time together, saying, “New tools and methods for supporting community amongst the pastors we desire to serve are necessary. Through this opportunity, we hope we will be able to listen more deeply to their needs and bring tools to other communities as well. The relationships we build with each other will help us expand our imaginative capacities towards God’s beloved community, and we will be invigorated for our own ministry, increasing our ability to invigorate those we serve in a deep, meaningful way.”
Leadership Education aims to create lasting change in U.S. congregations by supporting Christian leaders and the institutions they serve. It designs educational services, develops intellectual resources, and facilitates networks of institutions that cultivate a coherent vision of Christian institutional leadership and form Christian leaders. Leadership Education is a non-degree-granting initiative of Duke Divinity School, funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc. and based in Durham, N.C.