The Hicksville United Methodist Church has received a $60,000 grant to enable its minister, Rev. Iwy Patel-Yatri, to participate in the 2025 National Clergy Renewal Program.
The program allows Christian congregations to support their pastors by funding extended time away from their ministerial duties and responsibilities. Ministers whose congregations are awarded the grants use their time away from the demands of daily ministry to pursue renewal and revitalization, according to the program.
“They recognize that being a pastor is such a burnout position with so many stresses,” Patel-Yatri said.
She said she began working in Hicksville 2 1/2 years ago and has served as a pastor for over two decades.
Rev. Patel-Yatri said she and her family will be visiting friends and relatives in India beginning in January, before returning around Eastertime. She said she will then travel again to the Holy Land until August, pursuing other hobbies and passions.
“The goal is to renew and be revitalized for ministry when I come back,” Patel-Yatri said.
Rae Schopp, the church’s staff parish relations chair, said the community is pleased to have its pastor and that she serves a diverse congregation.
“God was watching over and made this plan happen and we’re just thrilled for her,” Schopp said.
A third of the grant funds will be used to help the church hire an interim pastor while Patel-Yatri is on the retreat.
The Hicksville United Methodist Church is one of 200 congregations across the United States, and the only one on Long Island that was selected to participate in the grant program, which is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.
Over 4,500 congregations throughout the nation have participated in the program since the inception of the National Clergy Renewal Program and the Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations.
Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion, said he hopes the grants help congregations honor their pastors for their service.
“Pastors play such important roles in nurturing the spiritual lives of individuals and families and guiding the ministries of congregations, yet the demands of ministry can seem relentless,” he said.
Robert Saler, the director of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs at Christian Theological Seminary, said there has been a growth in applicants.
“Our goal is that these programs supply congregations with the means to express appreciation for their leaders and actively invest in what reenergizes their pastors for long-term ministry,” he said.
