Upcoming & Annual Events
Opening Retreat
Each spring, our program year will begin with an opening retreat on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary, where participants will worship together, share meals, and engage in plenary and workshop sessions on a variety of topics related to preaching. Participants in the 2024 pilot cohort of Expanding the Pulpit gathered under the worship leadership of Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner, who also presented on her work in the area of trauma-responsive and trauma-informed preaching. Other sessions, organized by Presbytery leaders, included Collaborative Preaching Practices, The Telos of Preaching, and discussions on local, denominational, and global contexts for preaching. The retreat wrapped up with worship at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton followed by a talkback session with Rev. Dr. Dave Davis, senior pastor.
Enriching Workshops
Over the course of the year, participants in both the clergy and elder tracks of Expanding the Pulpit will meet to engage in workshops presented by outstanding church leaders and homileticians from within and outside of the Presbyterian tradition. Clergy preachers will engage around topics such as “Preaching, Tech, and AI” and “Preaching Across Political Divides,” while elders will gather to explore topics like Biblical Exegesis, Preaching in the Reformed Tradition, and Storytelling for the Pulpit.
Peer Groups
Cohort members in each track will be grouped into small groups of 4-5 peers who will come together via Zoom periodically throughout the program year. These groups, led by Rev. Colwill and Rev. Winderweedle, will read homiletical literature together, talk about best practices, and engage one another’s preaching.
Coaching
Each participant will have the opportunity to work with a preaching coach through five one-on-one sessions over the course of the year. Clergy participants will work with leading scholar-coaches in the field of homiletics, and elders will be matched with exceptional preachers from within the Presbytery of Philadelphia.
Expanding the Pulpit Preaching Symposium
Each fall, Expanding the Pulpit and the Presbytery of Philadelphia will sponsor a day-long preaching symposium, a continuing education event for preachers across the presbytery and beyond. Through inspired preaching, lectures, and hands-on workshop sessions, symposium attendees will receive a taste of the experience that Expanding the Pulpit cohort members take part in throughout the year.
Preaching Conferences
At the close of the program year, Expanding the Pulpit elder track participants will gather together for a closing retreat to reflect on their learnings. Participants in the clergy track will have the opportunity to attend a major preaching conference of their choosing, such as the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, the Festival of Homiletics, or the Engle Institute of Preaching.