Synod Grant Supports Rural & Small Town Congregations

The Upper Susquehanna Synod (USS) will receive $20,000 to cultivate deeper communities of faith in their rural contexts. The grant is through the Wartburg Theological Seminary’s The Country and Small Town Lived Ecclesiology (CaSTLE) Project, a five-year initiative to support renewal in small town and rural congregations.

The synod’s project, The Priesthood of All of USS, will further equip lay worship leaders to inspire people to live into mission beyond weekly worship time. It will equip those leaders’ mentors to support them. It will also develop additional lay leaders for alternative communities of faith.

Sue Ellen Spotts, USS Director for Evangelical Mission, says this new project will help deepen baptismal identity and cultivate thriving, Spirit-led communities of faith in rural contexts.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Wartburg Theological Seminary and The CaSTLE Project. This grant will allow us to explore more deeply how we are being called to witness beyond the walls of our congregations, equipping our lay leaders and congregation members for a future rooted in hope and purpose,” Spotts said.

One of the areas that the grant will explore is how to engage young adults in new worshipping communities.

“Young adults’ needs are different than that of their parents and grandparents. They need faith communities that speak to these needs. This grant will provide resources to meet young adults where they are and provide the spiritual community they so desperately need,” Pastor Jim Vitale, associate director of Camp Mount Luther, said.

The CaSTLE Project, funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc., is part of the Thriving Congregations Initiative and aims to renew a baptismal ecclesiology for the long-term flourishing of rural congregational life. The first cohort of grantees will gather at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA, from August 11–13, 2025, for a summer conference focused on mutual learning, community-building, and innovation.

“We are excited to walk alongside the leaders of the Upper Susquehanna Synod in this journey of renewal,” said Rev. Ramie Bakken, Director of The CaSTLE Project.

For more information about The CaSTLE Project, visit: https://www.wartburgseminary.edu/castle-project