As part of the Endowment's Enhancing Opportunity in Indianapolis initiative, an $8.1 million grant was awarded to Eastern Star Church to help create a nearly 57,000-square-foot community center, which will offer a variety of youth resources and programming for the Arlington Woods community.

Like clergy across the globe, Father Jeffrey Romans of Cheshire learned last year how to conduct worship services by camera, lead theological classes on Zoom or Facebook, and do pastoral counseling by phone.

With support from an $11.6 million grant, the Center for Leadership Development (CLD) will expand to open satellite and in-school locations. The new locations will serve as an extension of the main CLD campus and will provide educational services and character development programming for Black youth in high-crime areas.

Clarence Crain is a longtime Indianapolis community leader and former Endowment program director in the education division.

New Direction Church is one of many organizations that has received Lilly Endowment grants to support their efforts to help people who are most deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song is an intimate four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. that explores the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America, the changing nature of worship spaces, and the men and women who shepherded them from the pulpit, the choir loft and church pews.