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Preaching in the Era of COVID-19: Hitting the Ground Running

| Posted: October 6, 2020

The Episcopal Preaching Foundation has opened registration to practicing parish clergy for a Zoom-based Preaching Excellence Program (“PEP-II”) deep dive into preaching in the era of COVID-19.

The schedule will require three hours per day online between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday, January 11-15, 2021.

Speakers include the Rev. Judy Fentress Williams, Ph.D., professor of Old Testament, Virginia Theological Seminary; the Rev. Dr. O. Wesley Allen, Jr., professor of homiletics, Perkins School of  Theology, SMU; the Rev. Magrey deVega, senior pastor, Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Tampa, FL, and the Rev. Kim Coleman, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Arlington, VA and president of the Union of Black Episcopalians.

The conference will lift up best practices in preaching, with particular emphasis on the “New Normal” of preaching to a virtual congregation in the COVID-19 era. A central component of each day will be small, intimate preaching groups where participants will preach to constructive feedback from peers, guided by a trained moderator. A working preacher panel will explore how some leading preachers have successfully adapted to the new normal. Plenary sessions begin at 11 a.m. Eastern, and the formal program concludes each day at 4 p.m. Eastern. Participants are also encouraged but not required to attend the conference’s Morning and Evening Prayer each day. Participants are expected to have a robust connection, plus camera and audio capability. Conference logistics will be provided by EPF technology partner, Bexley Seabury.

Registration is limited to 50 Episcopal parish clergy. Diocesan sponsorship is invited but not required.

Register directly at the EPF website, www.preachingfoundation.org. The registration fee is $300 before December 15, 2020. The first 50 registrants before that date will receive a hard copy conference packet with conference program, worship bulletin, a devotional candle, conference bandana, and a copy of Dr. Wesley Allen’s preaching handbook Determining the Form.

The mission of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation is to support and encourage excellence in preaching in the Episcopal Church. With preaching documented by leading survey organizations Gallup and the Pew Research Center, to be the main driver of church attendance and selection of a place of worship, the EPF strongly believes in the foundational role of preaching to energize and build church membership and to help people make a connection between church and their daily lives.