Participants of the FAITH Endowment’s Executive Training Program Identify Solutions to Meet Parish and Community Needs
Participants of the FAITH Endowment’s Executive Training Program Identify Solutions to Meet Parish and Community Needs
07 June, 2021—From outfitting parishes with solar panels to developing youth and young adult mentorship programs for the Greek Orthodox community, 25 clergy and laity from the Metropolis of Boston gathered in late May to identify solutions to meet their communities’ most pressing needs as part of the FAITH Endowment’s “Executive Education Program in Strategic Leadership and Transformative Action (SLTA).”
In partnership with The Fletcher School at Tufts University, the FAITH Endowment: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism, launched the SLTA program in 2020 to equip clergy and laity with a foundational set of technical, intellectual and spiritual tools and ideas for strategic management and leadership that can produce transformative action within the Greek Orthodox community. Following the success and ongoing impact of the 2020 pilot class from the Metropolis of Chicago, the FAITH Endowment was pleased to once again offer this premiere executive training program—the first of its kind in the Greek Orthodox community—to participants from the Metropolis of Boston May 24-28, 2021.
Over the course of the five day program, participants engaged in a series of virtual seminars, workshops and customized lectures on topics such as financial planning, leadership strategy, communication and conflict resolution developed and led by Professor Elizabeth Prodromou, the Faculty Director of Fletcher’s Initiative on Religion, Law, and Diplomacy. Guided by a cohort of Fletcher’s faculty and leading experts in non-profit and faith-based organizations, participants discussed best practices, challenges and opportunities for growth in service within their parishes and communities.
“The SLTA Program works from the assumption that faith-based leadership is crucial to meeting the existential challenges— such as pandemics, climate change, ,poverty, —that confront our community and humanity worldwide. The second year of the SLTA Program convened a diverse cohort of talented individuals from across the Metropolis of Boston, working in diverse professional sectors and practitioner space,” Professor Elizabeth Prodromou explains. “The impact projects reflected the fullness of Orthodox teachings and practices; when designed and purposed with the practical skills and specialized expertise shared with The Fletcher School’s world class faculty, the impact projects will allow the Greek Orthodox community to make meaningful, measurable step in transforming the world around us. I am excited to be working with FAITH in maximizing the synergies between FAITH’s mission and the unique design of the SLTA Program at Fletcher, and I appreciate and congratulate FAITH for their vision and support.“
As part of the application process, each participant was asked to present an impact project to be developed and implemented in their communities upon completion of the program, employing the practices and tools they learned while refining the projects during the program. The 2021 Metropolis of Boston cohort projects developed and presented included the Thriving Parishes initiative, providing a year of “Philoxenia” hospitality, support programs for the opioid crisis within the Greek community through faith-based educational initiatives and resources, expanding the Orthodox Volunteer Corps, developing a young adult mentorship program and a youth Byzantine choir school, several green/eco-friendly initiatives, equipping parishes and clergy with the tools to support those facing mental health struggles and many other programs.
Impact projects developed by the 2020 SLTA Metropolis of Chicago cohort have sustained far-reaching growth since their implementation. Project HOPE, which supports children, families and local networks achieve food security, has provided meals to over 50,000 people in the Chicago area within its first year of operation. Strengthen Stewardship Now supports over 14 parishes with resources and tools to increase greater stewardship participation and decrease reliance on episodic fundraising events, and the Order of the Myrrhbearing Women partners with 12 other parish leaders to recognize and promote the individual and collective voices of women and women's organizations in the Church by empowering them to create and sustain new ministries.
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Founded in 2004 by a group of ten visionary Greek American leaders and philanthropists, the FAITH Endowment: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that supports the development of innovative educational, cultural, and scholarship programs that promote Hellenism, an understanding of the Greek Orthodox faith, and the relationship of the two to America’s history and multicultural landscape for young people.
Since its inception with additional support from its members, the FAITH Endowment has proudly awarded over 1,650 grants and scholarships to the best and brightest young leaders of the Hellenic-American and Greek Orthodox community through its prestigious FAITH Scholarships for Academic Excellence, FAITH-STEM scholarships, Fulbright-FAITH Scholarship collaboration, and more. Last year, the FAITH Endowment launched the Strategic Leadership for Transformative Action (SLTA), an executive education certificate course in non-profit management to cultivate clergy and lay leaders of the community in partnership with The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
