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Sermons and Comments from the 2009 Preaching Excellence Program, edited by Tim Mulder and Fred Rossi is complete in book form. Copies may be requested through the EPF office.
by the EPF Executive Director to persons holding leadership positions with commissions on ministry in various dioceses around the country have focused on addressing local needs. There appears to be a genuine renewal of interest in preaching the Good News as Episcopalians, and EPF hopes to make significant and constructive contributions by partnering with others in a number of forthcoming conferences. This will hopefully lead to “improving the quality of preaching in the Episcopal Church” over the next few years. In fact, that is the ongoing mandate found at the core of the EPF Mission Statement.
about effectively proclaiming God’s Word have been confirmed, and a number of initial findings have been sustained. Men and women do indeed seem to preach differently. Laity are increasingly being empowered to preach, yet are not fully authorized to do so in some quarters. Time for sermon preparation seems to have decreased as other demands on clergy have increased; and that problem remains an ongoing one. An “Opinion” piece on this subject appeared in Episcopal-Life Online, October 23, 2009. Click here for full article.
will be held April 15, 2010. The Rev. Winnie Varghese, Priest-in-Charge at St. Mark’s in the Bowery, NYC, and former Episcopal Chaplain at Columbia University, has been selected as the featured conference keynoter. She has been working with a design team as consultant, and hopes to emphasize the prophetic claim of “justice” as found in the teachings of Jesus in her presentations and preaching. The conference theme is tentatively entitled “Engaging the world with the hope and justice of Jesus” which is a key phrase derived from the newly adopted Diocese of Newark Mission Statement.
is in the first phase of developing a clergy preaching conference, tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2010. There is a possibility it may be held at the Cathedral in Trenton with the support of the Diocesan Bishop. Over seven clergy throughout the diocese have already been contacted, and they have enthusiastically agreed to help with planning and design.
met in Washington DC from December 3-5, 2009 for its Annual Conference. The conference theme was– “Preaching and the News.” Speakers included journalists E.J. Dionne, Mike McMurry, Julia C. Duin, and William F. Fore. Several preachers from different denominations participated in a variety of worship services. Board member William Brosend was in attendance, as was the EPF Executive Director, Michael Morgan. Dr. Thomas Troeger, 2009 PEP headliner, was a participant, and the local conference organizer was Episcopal priest, the Rev. Lucy Hogan, Professor of Homiletics at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington DC.
A new organization with a focus on “young preachers” is being developed. The Academy describes its work as “a fresh initiative, underwritten by the Lilly Endowment, designed to identify, network, inspire, and support young people who sense a call to Christian preaching.” EPF has been asked to help identify young Episcopalians who might be interested in participating in the Academy’s activities and offerings, including the Festival of Young Preachers taking place in January 2010.
Perhaps the most ambitious new initiative for the Episcopal Preaching Foundation will occur April 19-22, 2010 at the Episcopal Conference Center, Kanuga, in Hendersonville, NC. Billed as the first National Episcopal Preaching Conference, the gathering will be an opportunity for the wider church to experience the programmatic successes that have been at the heart of PEP conferences. Provisional planning has already begun, advertising will appear in national religious media, and notices have been distributed throughout the wider church with the following information.
The Episcopal Preaching Foundation is joining with the Kanuga Conference Center to sponsor the first National Episcopal Preaching Conference in April 2010. Through a mix of lectures, preaching groups, worship, and fellowship, participants will focus on “Preaching Jesus.” Confirmed speakers include The Rev. Dr. William Brosend (School of Theology, Sewanee, and a Director of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation), The Rev. Dr. Thomas Long (Candler School of Theology), The Rev. Dr. William Willimon (Bishop of the North Alabama Conference, United Methodist Church) and Lauren Winner, Ph.D. (Duke Divinity School). The former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, The Rt. Rev. Frank Griswold, will serve as chaplain. And the current Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts-Schori, a PEP grad herself, will also be in attendance. In addition to enjoying lectures and sermons by the speakers, each registrant will participate in a small preaching group. Led by faculty of the Foundation’s annual Preaching Excellence Program, the groups will allow participants to offer sermons of their own for feedback and critique. An attendance of 200 Episcopal preachers is expected.
Revised Common Lectionary:
Commentaries have been posted weekly on the EPF website with contributors representing several different seminaries writing from all over the country. Commentaries are scheduled through the end of Year B, and a new schedule is developing for Year “C.” If any are interested in contributing to this helpful initiative, please contact the Executive Director at execdir@tepf.net
(compiled by E. F. Michael Morgan, EPF Executive Director)
Summer 2009
Fall 2009
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