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Creative Ministry Grant Letter of Explanation 

Grant Application

Sample Grant

Trinity Presbyterian (Springfield) Uses Creative Ministry Grant Funds to Start an Online Ministry: The Common Table Podcast

    The Common Table Podcast was born out of a simple conviction: each of us has a story, and each of those stories are worth sharing.  During seminary I spent a summer working as a hospital chaplain.  My supervisor, Jack, would often remind us that there are no boring people — if someone seems boring it is almost always for an interesting reason.  We just had to be patient and caring enough to allow the real story to rise to the surface.
     Over the summer of 2020, as the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to become clear, I began to reflect again on Jack’s advice.  How might we embrace the conviction that everyone’s story is worth sharing; that there are no boring stories?  And could we use these stories as a way to build community when being together in the same physical space simply wasn’t safe?  I began to envision a podcast devoted to telling each of our stories; where every story is worth sharing.
     Thanks to the generosity of John Calvin Presbytery and the Creative Ministry Grant, Trinity has been empowered to try a new thing in launching The Common Table.  The CMG funds, paired with support from our congregation, allowed Trinity to acquire the tools necessary to record interviews safely and share them with the world.  We launched in December, and to-date we have 10 episodes with more on the way.
     If you’d like to visit The Common Table, might I suggest my interview with our very own Malinda Spencer?  You can find her episode here:                         
                                                              https://commontablepodcast.com/episodes/malinda-spencer
     You can also listen to The Common Table on your favorite podcast app, including Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Google Podcasts.
Thank you, John Calvin Presbytery, for your support of this new ministry!
Rev. Chris Miller
Pastor, Trinity Presbyterian
Springfield, Missouri

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