Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music aims to increase the number of capable, experienced musicians equipped to serve worshiping communities, by offering subsidized apprenticeship opportunities to amateur and developing musicians.
IILM is an ecumenical non-profit initiative, established to fund and recruit interns. Interns are hosted by local churches and work directly for and with parish clergy and staff.
About
As churches are getting smaller in this generation, it’s uncommon for a congregation to need—or be able to support—a full-time musician. The Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music provides a model for training church musicians that is more like trade school than conservatory, allowing developing musicians to spend a year assisting a local church musician at two different churches, while receiving one-on-one instruction and mentorship in all aspects of the craft and ministry of being a church musician.
We’re proud to announce that through a parish grant from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, our 2026-2027 internship is 100% funded. We are on track to hire a part-time Director of Operations by the end of 2026. Your tax-deductible gifts will help us:
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reach our goal of becoming an independent 501(c)(3) organization in 2027
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fund future internships
This musical evening will feature songs of all kinds, from a traditional spiritual and a contemporary art song to classic and contemporary Broadway tunes—and even some Italian opera! With more than a couple show-stoppers on the program, and a featured performance by guest ensemble Coro Latinamericano, it’s going to be a night to remember!
Thanks to a significant legacy gift, IILM is nearing our goal of funding a part-time Director of Operations. In addition, a generous donor is offering a $10,000 matching gift for this special night. Please help us spread the word, and join us on August 20 so we can raise another $10,000!
Donate
Gifts to Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music are tax-deductible through our partnership with the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA. Bethlehem Lutheran Church is an ELCA congregation. (Choose "Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music" in the dropdown menu.)
If you wish to donate to the music ministry budgets of one of our host churches, you can use the links below.
About our Fiscal Sponsor
“A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit organization that provides fiduciary oversight, financial management, and other administrative services to help build the capacity of charitable projects.
Using a fiscal sponsorship arrangement offers a way for a cause to attract donors even when it is not yet recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). In essence the fiscal sponsor serves as the administrative "home" of the cause.”
About the Director
Susan Powell is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Mary Catholic Church and Precentor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. She studied organ, voice, composition, and conducting at St. Olaf College and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She is passionate about her vocation as a leader of congregational song and brings years of experience to her work as a teacher.
Testimonials
"With an awareness of the breadth and diversity of potential constituents and supporters, and a tone and language that conveys hope and joy even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, Susan is undertaking an extraordinarily visionary mission from the platform of part-time church work, something I've tried and failed to accomplish at two metropolitan cathedrals and from within the academy. Susan's initiative is just getting started, but there is a clarity of purpose and rightness of scale here by which I think this program will succeed. I've tried to turn ocean liners with one oar in the water, but she seems to have an easy hand on the rudder of an agile sailboat. She seems to intuitively understand the advice "THINK BIG and be small!"
—Kevin Vogt, Director of Worship and the Arts, St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish, Leawood, KS
The Indianapolis Internship in Liturgical Music has been one of the best learning experiences I've had. Susan is patient, encouraging, and knows how to help you improve while giving you the confidence to keep growing. This internship helped me become much more confident as a church musician and gave me practical experience that I couldn't have gained anywhere else. If you are willing to work hard, ask questions, and learn from experienced musicians, you will gain so much from this program.
—Yang Xu, Spring 2026 intern