Chalice receives $1.25 million Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Family Faith Every Day, a new initiative by Chalice Media Group that will help parents and caregivers of young children incorporate faith practices into everyday family life, has received a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. 

The five-year grant, which Lilly Endowment made through its Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative, will support the creation of a teaching network, new curriculum resources, and academic research.

The initiative is the next step of Chalice’s bestselling Faithful Families series by author Rev. Traci Smith. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Rev. Smith will serve as the new program’s director. Research will be led by Rev. Dr. David Csinos of Atlantic School of Theology.

"We know that faith formation begins at home and that forming good habits starts well before kindergarten,” Rev. Smith says. “It is a joy to have the opportunity to focus full-time on helping ministry leaders empower parents to help their children practice their faith through simple, daily practice. This initiative is a dream come true, and I am so grateful to Chalice Press and the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for making it possible.” 

The program’s primary emphasis will work in depth with a core group of congregations that will receive financial support, expert coaching, and a new workbook, subsidized in part by the grant. The workbook will be available for purchase in 2025. 

Family Faith Every Day has a strong research component undergirded by Dr. Csinos, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and founder of Faith Forward. Through the Family Faith Every Day program, he will conduct research focused on identifying the effectiveness of particular faith practices in families with children from birth to age five.

“As a researcher of children’s spirituality and as a parent, I know what a difference that an early foundation in faith practices can make in the lives of families,” Csinos said. “I’m overjoyed to partner with Chalice Media Group and with Rev. Smith on this program.”

Smith and Csinos bring real-life experience to the project. Smith and her husband, Elias Cabarcas, are the parents of three young children. Csinos and his wife, Lydia Hood, are the parents of two young children with a third arriving soon.

Family Faith Every Day is an extension of Chalice Media’s mission to create a world in which families can grow in their faith and their love through daily faith practices and experiences across generations.

Initially published by Chalice Press in 2014 under a different title, the expanded edition of Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home was published in 2017. Two additional books, Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas and Faithful Families for Lent, Easter, and Resurrection, have been added to the line. The original book was created in partnership with Young Clergy Women International. 

Chalice Media Group is one of 125 organizations that have received grants through the Christian Parenting initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in Black church, Hispanic and Asian Christian traditions.

“We’ve heard from many parents who are seeking to nurture the spiritual lives of their children, especially in their daily activities, and looking to churches and other faith-based organizations for support,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. 

“These thoughtful, creative and collaborative organizations embrace the important role that families have in shaping the religious development of children and are launching programs to assist parents and caregivers with this task.” 

Lilly Endowment launched the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting efforts to help individuals and families from diverse Christian communities draw more fully on the wisdom of Christian practices to live out their faith fully and well passing on a vibrant faith to a new generation.  

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 diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe. 

About Chalice Media Group

A St. Louis, Missouri-based ministry incorporated in 1911, Chalice is the publishing house of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our legal name is the Christian Board of Publication, Chalice creates print and digital resources that support a faith community that is vibrant and energizing, a worldwide force for justice, peace, love, and multifaith cooperation. Chalice is supported by income generated by the sales of our books, summer camp curriculum, and congregational resources; a sliver of our income is provided by small donations from our website customers or individual donors. Chalice receives virtually no denominational funding. Learn more about our work at ChaliceMedia.org.