By Amanda Wells
Parishes participating in the new internship scheme for ministry training will receive significant funding from Presbyterian Savings & Development Society.
Each of the three interns who start their training in 2008 will receive $8,000 support next year, once their host parish has applied to PSDS for this funding.
PSDS promotions and development manager Barbara Jones says that PSDS has had several particularly good years, which have increased both its reserves and the amount available for grants.
Any surplus that PSDS makes, along with any gifts or bequests received, is given to Presbyterian parish or national projects. Kids Friendly is the other national project to have benefi ted from PSDS funding.
Barbara says PSDS has to reassess its level of grants each year but its intention is to provide long-term support for the internship programme.
“We recognise that it’s quite a challenge for a parish to take on an intern for two years.”
She says PSDS hopes that the funding will encourage more parishes to consider participating.
Barbara says it’s important to remember that the grants are possible only because people choose to invest their money with PSDS. “We couldn’t do this without our depositors; those people who’ve been faithful to us for many years and invest knowing they’re helping the wider Church.”
School of Ministry principal Graham Redding says the news is very welcome. “We’re delighted with the generosity of PSDS but also with their ability to understand the nature of the internships and the needs of parishes supporting them, and their commitment to leadership development and ministry formation.”
Having this extra funding available will encourage parishes “who can’t see how the numbers will work at the moment” to come on board, he says. “It’s a very signifi cant development in that regard.”
From the start of next year, the School of Ministry will be known as the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership.