Dear Fellow Preachers,

My companion website to Inwardly Digest, The Pulpiteer, will be beginning a special program next month called Preaching Companions. Preachers who wish to participate will be invited to send a video of a sermon that they have preached recently to the Pulpiteer. Sermon links or video files must be received by March 8th. The videos will then be compiled and sent out to all participants. The participants will then gather via zoom on March 19th to offer each other feed back. Please see below for further guidelines.

• Participants will select one sermon that they have given from the previous month. After the first of the month they will send us a link to a video of this sermon. At the end of the first week of the month The Pulpiteer will compose an email that consists of links to all of the videos and send this out to the group. On the last week of the month we will have a scheduled zoom call and offer each person constructive feedback on their sermon.

•  It is not necessary for each person to participate every month, however, out of consideration for everyone’s time if you submit a sermon for the group to watch, it is expected you will be present for the zoom call. If you can’t make the call at the end of the month, then please don’t submit a sermon that month.
• Sermons may come from any context (Sunday morning, midweek, weddings, funerals, major feasts, etc.) but participants in the zoom call should submit a sermon of some sort and should indicate in some way what scripture readings were offered during the service. Ordinarily, everyone who is present to offer critique should also be receiving critique. This is meant to be a group for mutual support (and mutual vulnerability) and therefore everyone participating will need to be open to giving AND receiving feedback.
• Participants should be committed to Christian orthodoxy, broadly speaking. While there is ample room for diversity and disagreement on biblical interpretations and styles of churchmanship, basic creedal Christianity is expected to be the norm. Participants are reminded that in their ordinations they affirmed their belief in the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God and committed themselves to uphold the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church. Sermons should reflect these commitments even when trying to advocate for change or reform. Clergy from other Christian denominations are welcomed to participate; however the same commitment to a broad creedal orthodoxy is expected.
• Feedback will be offered by participants both on content and style. For this reason, videos of sermons are preferred. Participants must be committed to offering critique that is constructive and to being respectful of their fellow preachers. All of us, at one time or another, have delivered a sermon that simply didn’t hit the mark. Humility and respect both in giving and receiving feedback is essential.
• Arguments about pronouns and Divine gender are to be avoided. We respect that preachers will be preaching to different congregations in different contexts. Arguing about pronouns for God is rarely helpful and does not always take into account these local contexts. Plus, there are many ways that a preacher can broaden a congregation’s understanding of God rather than simply referring to God as “she.” Simply stated let’s not spend too much time here and respect a preacher’s choice to use what works for them in their context.

Finally, preachers are encouraged to submit “hits” as well as “misses.” In other words, don’t just submit your best sermons, but also submit sermons that just didn’t go quite the way you wanted or hoped. We are all here to grow and improve and not just to congratulate each other!

Our first zoom gathering will be on Tuesday, March 19 at 11:00am.

If you are thinking of something to do for your own spiritual and professional growth this Lent, why not consider joining us? For more information and to register, please visit thepulpiteer.org