Author
Robin L. Owen
Pastor, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Rev. Robin L. Owen is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master of divinity at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
She advocates for safer streets and sits on the Vision Zero Advisory Committee for the Nashville Department of Transportation. Her writing interests include urbanism, environmental theology, practical theology and art. She is an oil painter and printmaker. You can find her writing on her Substack, Jesus Urbanist.
Lilly Endowment Inc. announces Exploring Christian Practices Initiative
The Exploring Christian Practices Initiative aims to multiply opportunities and increase access to settings that help individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds explore and engage in Christian practices to address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, nourish their religious lives and grow in faith.
In this open and competitive initiative, the Endowment invites charitable organizations to submit proposals for grants of up to $2.5 million each that may be used for up to a five-year period to develop new and/or enhance existing programs that present promising strategies for advancing the aim of the initiative and provide compelling and thoughtful responses to its guiding questions. The Endowment anticipates awarding approximately 60 grants and announcing grant awards in December 2026.
The Endowment will host four virtual information sessions (February 17, 19, 24, and 25) to discuss the Exploring Christian Practices guidelines for submitting a proposal. An Interest Form and Letter of Interest are due March 25, 2026. Complete proposals are due May 18, 2026.
Learn More and register for information sessions