Whitworth University has been awarded $400,000 from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to build an internship program within the university’s new Office of Church Engagement. The office will use the grant to hire 15 students to work full time over the summer at partner church organizations. Five additional stipends will be issued to interns working internationally, according to a press release.
“We really want to deepen and strengthen Whitworth’s relationship with churches and our mission partners internationally. Sending our students to be directly involved in thriving ministries is a great way to do this,” said Director of the Office of Church Engagement Terry McGonigal in a press release.
McGonigal explained that the grant will help the internship program reach its three objectives: to develop the necessary infrastructure by hiring a half-time program director; to develop an internship program that encourages and prepares students for Christian ministry; and to assist alumni with job placements by networking with church organizations.
Interns will be selected from the student body, including but not exclusively those students involved with Whitworth’s Certification in Ministry Program. Students selected as interns will take a one-credit internship preparation class during the spring semester and a two-credit debriefing class following their placement; the debriefing class will also serve as a method of program evaluation and vocational discernment.
In December 2013, Whitworth was awarded a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to fund a new comprehensive church-engagement initiative called The Ekklesia Project; the grant was written by McGonigal, Whitworth President Beck A. Taylor, and Professor of Theology Jerry Sittser. Administered by the Office of Church Engagement, The Ekklesia Project aims to help Whitworth meet the needs of churches and congregations throughout the western U.S.
The Ekklesia Project, the Whitworth Office of Church Engagement, and the new grant-funded internship program are consistent with the University’s Whitworth 2021 strategic plan, which calls for deepening Whitworth’s position as a valued resource to the church and society.
The M.J. Murdock Trust’s mission is to enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest by providing grants and enrichment programs to organizations seeking to strengthen the region’s educational, spiritual and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. In addition to a special interest in education and scientific research, the trust partners with a wide variety of organizations that serve the arts, public affairs, health and medicine, human services, leadership development, and persons with disabilities.
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of 3,000 students, offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
I can’t imagine what we could do with 1 million dollars or $400,000 dollars here in East Central. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around these numbers. Where are these donors? I’ve got a list of projects, people and opportunities for any investor! We need to open a neighborhood medical clinic, there is need for a East Central youth program like Riverfront Farms/Jobs Not Jails too connect with our church’s expanding community garden projects. We need renovations and/or new church space with commercial kitchen, so we can once again resume our neighborhood community dinners. Our three congregations (2 refugee and one english) need new meeting space for our growing worship community. We need more financial support for our program director of our Community Resource Center. Help us buy up some of these foreclosure homes to house our church members, men and women coming out of UGM that need Christian discipleship and transitional housing. Help us fund our mission extensions into Sudan, Thailand and Uganda or our partnership in mission to Veterans through Pointman Ministries right here in Spokane, which fed over 300 people this last Memorial Day at the MD BBQ at Liberty Park.