Significant grant will enable the Presbyterian Historical Society to greatly expand its exhibit program
by Presbyterian News Service
Thanks to a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., Presbyterian Historical Society staff designed and displayed an exhibit of photos by Religious News Service on the civil rights movement. (Photo courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society)
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, the principal corporate entity of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), has received a $2,431,641 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. The grant will serve to support and augment the Presbyterian Historical Society’s (PHS) exhibit program.
Organized in 1852, PHS is the oldest denominational archives in the United States and serves as the national archives for the PC(USA) and its predecessor denominations
A planning grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in 2024 allowed PHS to create a protype traveling exhibit titled “Faith & Justice in the 1960s: Religious News Service Covers Civil Rights.” The new funding will enable PHS during the first two years of the grant cycle to develop and circulate innovative traveling exhibits nationwide. Like the prototype, the new traveling exhibits will feature stories and images from PHS’s Religious News Service collection, a key resource for understanding how religion and the media shaped the world in the mid-20th century.
During the final three years of the grant, PHS will continue to support the RNS traveling exhibits while developing two additional exhibits: one focused on the historical impact of ecumenical and interfaith groups on U.S. politics, policy, and culture in the 20th century; and the other drawing out the complex story of Presbyterian mission work to Native Americans, examining the legacy of Presbyterian Indian schools for all involved.
“The grant from Lilly Endowment will enable PHS to greatly expand its exhibit program,” said PHS Executive Director Nancy Taylor. “With the traveling and web exhibits, Presbyterians and others will be able to learn about historical figures, ideas, and movements in new and immediate ways. That immersive experience will also greet visitors and researchers at the Presbyterian Historical Society building in Philadelphia where we will have the capacity to incorporate interactive elements in our onsite exhibits for the first time.”
The Presbyterian Historical Society, through Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, is one of 33 organizations from across the United States receiving grants through the latest round of the Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. Its aim is to support museums and other cultural organizations as they strengthen their capacity to provide fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the role religion has played and continues to play in the United States and around the world.
“The United States is widely considered to be one of the most religiously diverse nations today,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “Many individuals and families trust museums and other cultural institutions and visit them to learn about their communities and the world. We are excited to support these organizations as they embark on projects to help visitors understand and appreciate the diverse religious beliefs, practices and perspectives of their neighbors and others in communities around the globe.”
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based 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. Although the gifts of stock remain a 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. Although the Endowment maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana, it also funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. While the primary aim of its religion grantmaking focuses on strengthening the leadership and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States, the Endowment also seeks to foster public understanding about religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the contributions that people of all faiths and diverse religious communities make to our greater civic well-being.
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