Today we announce a major expansion of the Clergy Critical Needs guidelines to support clergy wellness.
The most important thing we do is to care for each other because it reflects God’s abundant love for every one of us. Care for our deacons and priests will always be a central intention because their ministries support our common life together. The Clergy Critical Needs Funds was established forty years ago with a grant from Trinity Church Wall Street to support basic clergy pastoral needs.
It provides grants for medical support, financial emergencies, as well as education support for clergy children. The Fund can offer up to $178,000 annually. Deacons & priests serving in the Diocese of New York can apply for Wellness Grants up to $500 annually for practices and experiences that support their wellness. Postulants & candidates for ordination are eligible, too.
Now, through accumulated proceeds, CCN is launching an additional focus on clergy wellness. Wellness Grants will offer an opportunity to help individual clergy support their overall mental, spiritual, and emotional health. You can see current guidelines here.
Guidelines are meant to be broad to allow clergy to determine the most useful practice for them. Proposals will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
These new grants will not reduce current support for medical care, financial emergencies, or education support for clergy children. In June, diocesan Council identified clergy support as a priority for the 2026 budget alongside property support and fund development. In the coming weeks, we will share the proposed initiatives that will complement CCN’s pastoral focus.
Thanks to Clergy Critical Needs Co-Chairs Michelle Meech & Ben Nnaji for their leadership is bringing together this new initiative.
You can click here to learn more about the grants and to apply: Learn More
As clergy, along with the joys and celebrations of those in our flock, we regularly attend to loss, despair, scarcity, uncertainty, schisms, and fear. While such challenges are local to us in our communities, we also are exposed to these realities in our national and global context with an unrelenting frequency.
Jesus models a way of wholeness amidst continuous need and challenge:
Rest
Prayer
Shared meals
Celebration
Silence
Curiosity
Truth telling
Our Clergy Wellness Initiative offers funding to facilitate the practices and experiences that support your wholeness, as you minister in these times.
— The Rev. Kristen Miles, Clergy Critical Needs Committee