Bexley Seabury Seminary receives Lilly Endowment grant to help establish Indigenous Theological Circle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: December 10, 2025
Contact:
Vicki Bohlsen
The Bohlsen Group
(317) 513-8039
vbohlsen@bohlsengroup.com
Bexley Seabury Seminary, in collaboration with NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community, has received a grant of $10 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish an Indigenous Theological Circle (ITC). Featuring collaboration with an ecumenical and intertribal network of mainline denominational and parachurch partners, this new initiative will strengthen and sponsor access to Indigenous theological education and support the flourishing of Indigenous congregations across North America.
The Indigenous Theological Circle is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. This initiative is designed to help theological schools across the United States and Canada as they prioritize and respond to the most pressing challenges they face as they prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future. The grant to Bexley Seabury Seminary is one of 45 that was approved in this competitive round of funding to support theological schools as they lead large-scale collaborations with other seminaries, colleges and universities, and other church-related organizations.
Of the $10 million, $5 million will support the launch of an Indigenous Theological Circle, while the remaining $5 million is contingent upon Bexley Seabury, through the ITC, raising matching funds for two endowed professorships. One endowed professor in Indigenous Theological Studies will be shared between NAIITS and the ITC, and a second endowed professor in Indigenous Congregational Studies will serve Bexley Seabury and the ITC.
“For many years, Bexley Seabury has been committed to making theological education accessible, contextual, and responsive to the diverse communities we serve. Now, through the Indigenous Theological Circle, we are committing ourselves to a long-term, Indigenous-led, relational approach to theological education,” said The Rev. Dr. Mark Lee, President-elect of Bexley Seabury Seminary. “This grant from Lilly Endowment allows us to walk alongside Indigenous leaders and communities, not just with courses and degrees, but with networks of support, shared resources, and a sustainable endowment that will serve generations to come.”
Key initiatives of the Indigenous Theological Circle will include:
To provide sponsorship and support for master’s and doctoral students and faculty across theological institutions committed to Indigenous scholarship and ministries.
An annual gathering offering continuing education, workshops, and practical resourcing for ministers and lay-leaders serving Indigenous congregations.
Contextualized curriculum and resource development for Bexley Seabury and collaborating mainline denominational institutions in the United States.
“The relationships we have been developing with Indigenous communities and leaders, including our partnership with the Episcopal Church’s Office of Indigenous Ministries, have been incredibly meaningful,” said Dr. Julie Lytle, Director of Distributive and Lifelong Learning Initiatives and Professor of Educational Leadership, “and they have reinforced for us this truth: that formation is most transformative when it meets people where they are and honors the wisdom already present in their communities. I am profoundly hopeful about what this collaboration will make possible through centering Indigenous values, stories, and ways of knowing and being.”
“The Indigenous Theological Circle is about gathering people around the fire—sharing stories, wisdom, and responsibility for the flourishing of Indigenous congregations,” said Dr. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe, NAIITS Director of Graduate Studies. “By weaving together the gifts of NAIITS, Bexley Seabury, and our ecumenical partners, we are creating new pathways for Indigenous leaders to integrate their faith, culture, and call to ministry.”
Lilly Endowment launched the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative in 2021. Since then, it has provided grants totaling more than $700 million to support 163 theological schools in efforts to strengthen their own educational and financial capacities and to assist 61 schools in developing large-scale collaborative endeavors.
About Bexley Seabury Seminary
Bexley Seabury Seminary is the “Seminary Beyond Walls,” a multi-order seminary serving bishops, priests, deacons, and lay leaders across the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican and ecumenical community. Through distributed, contextual theological education grounded in the rich Anglican spiritual and intellectual tradition, Bexley Seabury equips Christian leaders to serve God’s people in diverse contexts throughout North America and beyond. With offices based in Chicago, Illinois, and accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools, Bexley Seabury serves a nationwide community of students, faculty, and staff.
About NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community
NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community is the first Indigenous designed, developed, delivered, and governed theological institute accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. NAIITS offers trauma-responsive, asset-based Indigenous theological education at the master’s and doctoral levels, serving students from across Canada and the United States.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of about religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United State and around the globe traditions in the United States and across the globe.
