The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment has announced grants totaling nearly $6.5 million through National Clergy Renewal program.

One hundred and forty-seven congregations will receive up to $50,000 to enable their pastor to take a three- to four-month sabbatical to gain fresh perspective and renewed energy for the ministry. Up to $15,000 of the grant may be used for the congregation to pay for interim pastoral leadership, as well as for renewal activities within the congregation. Pastors are encouraged to include their families in renewal activities, which may include regaining spiritual vitality through the ancient Christian practice of walking as pilgrims in several countries: the path of Jesus in Israel, the path of the Exodus, some or all of the five hundred-mile Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) in Spain, and the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul in Greece, Turkey, and Italy.

This year's cohort brings to 1,745 the number of groups that have participated in the program since it was introduced in 2000.

"Time and time again we hear that these renewal experiences are transformative for pastors, their families and their congregations," said N. Clay Robbins, the Lilly Endowment's president and CEO. "We intend for this program to enable pastors to live for a while at a different pace and in a new environment, in sabbath time and space. Many pastors and their families return with a rich store of shared memories, having had large blocks of unbroken time together, uninterrupted by the twenty-four-hour-a-day routine of the ministry."

For a complete list of 2012 grant recipients, visit the Lilly Endowment Web site.