Leadership 100 Supports National Clergy Retreat

The Leadership 100 Executive Committee unanimously agreed to underwrite the Archdiocesan Presbyters Council National Clergy Retreat in the amount of $45,000. According to Constantine G. Caras, Chairman of Leadership 100, this award is intended “to continue support of our clergy whose ministries are essential to our spiritual growth and that of our families, which has been an integral part of Leadership 100 grants since our founding.” The organization has provided more than $17 million in grants to various programs related to Greek Orthodox clergy over that period.

The National Retreat theme: “Refresh, Renew and Recharge” emphasizes “preserving the ‘wellness’ of the Archdiocesan clergy while also offering them an opportunity to gather and learn new and innovative programs within the Church, attend theological and administrative seminars, and work on self-improvement of skills,” according to Fr. Nicholas Anctil, President of the Archdiocesan Presbyters Council.  The funding allows the Presbyters Council to maintain a manageable cost of $300 per clergyman.  The Retreat, to take place in Phoenix, Arizona November 2-4, 2011, is held on off years of the Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress and is designed and scheduled to accommodate all 700 clergymen in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Leadership 100 has distributed $17,369,567 in grants to a wide variety of programs in support of clergy since its founding in 1984, representing more than half of all Leadership 100 grants, which total $31,257,836 through 2011. This includes $13,403,617 in scholarships for seminarians at Holy Cross School of Theology and $885,000 for elimination of student loans of active clergy, as well as $872,000 to increase Retired Clergy pensions, $175,000 for the Archdiocese Center for Clergy Family Critical Care and $44,250 for the Presbyters Council Benevolent Fund.