Author

Laura Stern

Senior Pastor, Apex United Methodist Church

The Rev. Laura Stern is the senior pastor of Apex United Methodist Church in Apex, North Carolina. She has served in a variety of congregations, urban and suburban, small and large, in both the North Carolina and North Georgia Conferences, including Ocracoke UMC on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. She is an elder in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

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Apply for a Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant 

Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship are designed for worshiping communities. These grants allow a wide range of Christian worshiping communities to focus on projects that connect public worship with Christian discipleship and faith formation. Funding awards range from $8,000 to $25,000. 

The grants support year-long projects that show promise in fostering renewed or strengthened worship practices within worshiping communities in the United States or Canada. Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants for teacher-scholars are also available. Applications for the October 15 deadline will open on July 15, 2026.

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