On the Hill

Saint Meinrad has received a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for a project called the “Children’s Revival of Participation at Sunday Mass.” The Children’s Revival project is an initial five-year effort supported through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer Initiative.

The project aims to increase the capacity of parishes to incorporate children’s leadership and children’s ways of worship into their regular Sunday Masses, with help from experts in liturgy, catechesis, and child development.

To pilot concrete efforts, Saint Meinrad will seek 10 to 15 partner parishes eager to make their Sunday Eucharist the source and summit of all activities that nurture the faith of children. Parishes will plan and implement their first Children’s Revival efforts in 2024, just as the National Eucharistic Revival is moving from its Year of Parish Revival to a Year of Mission.

According to project supervisor Dr. Nathaniel Marx, the parishes will work to increase children’s participation in five areas: preparing the environment for worship, singing and moving, proclaiming the Word and hearing it explained, leading and listening to spoken prayers, and going forth from worship to witness.

“Intergenerational parishes thrive and our eucharistic faith shines forth when children are seen, heard, and valued in the Church’s central act of corporate worship,” says Marx, a faculty member at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.

During the first year of the project, Marx is convening a study group to discuss research, identify the best resources, and generate recommendations that will become the foundation of specific parish plans during the next phase. The group also will draft a Handbook for Children’s Participation in Sunday Mass.

For more information or to inquire about becoming a partner parish in the Children’s Revival project, contact Marx at nmarx@saintmeinrad.edu.

Saint Meinrad is one of 26 organizations taking part in the Nurturing Children Initiative, which Lilly Endowment launched in 2022 as part of its commitment to support efforts that strengthen the religious education and formation of children and enhance the vitality of Christian congregations.