Preaching Workshop Held in the Midwest
On June 5, St. Nersess Seminary held its second Preaching Program workshop, this time in the Midwest, at St. Gregory The Illuminator Armenian Church in Chicago. The day began with a brief presentation on homiletical creativity as an expression of humility by Fr. Sergius Halvorsen, the workshop leader. Fr. Halvorsen is the Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and serves as its director of the Doctor of Ministry Program and Compelling Preaching project.
In his presentation, he reflected on the writing of St. John Climacus and the Eastern Orthodox Lenten liturgical text, The Canon of St. Andrew. Through reflection on these texts, along with texts from contemporary authors, Fr. Halvorsen proposed that humble creativity in preaching is appropriate to the liturgical context, supports the spiritual life of the preacher, and is engaging and inspiring for the hearers. His presentation was followed by rich and insightful conversation.
For the remainder of the day, the participants presented draft sermons they had prepared, applying the methodology from Fr. Halvorsen that had been sent to the preachers in advance of the workshop. The objective of this exercise was for the preachers to prepare draft sermons that could be revised and refined based on feedback received in the workshop, and then ultimately deliver these sermons in the parish.
The discussions that followed each presentation were rich, engaging, and thoughtful, and included reflection on how people hear sermons, and how the homiletical process enriches the preacher’s Christian faith.
“This workshop was an outstanding experience! The honesty, humility and enthusiasm that each participant brought to this experience was inspiring,” shared Fr. Sergius. “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to build relationships with my brother priests, and to support one another in the challenging yet rewarding work of preaching the Gospel.”
We thank Fr. Andreas Garabedian for hosting the workshop at his parish. The module from this workshop will be added to our website soon. All clergy of the Eastern and Western Dioceses of the Armenian Church of America are welcome to register to access this material for free! Please reach out to Arpi Nakashian Bullockian, Chief Program Officer, at arpi@stnersess.edu for your code to waive the $500 fee, or if you have any questions.
