The Art and Craft of Preaching is a workshop offered by the Diocese of New Westminster, the Episcopal Preaching Foundation and the Vancouver School of Theology.  

 

                   

Leadership Team (left to right):The Right Revd Melissa Skelton, The Revd Nathan Kirkpatrick, and Ms Christine Parton-Burkett.  

Bishop Melissa has made preaching a major priority in her pastoral leadership her entire career.  Nathan and Christine have taught preaching workshops throughout North America for churches of all denominations from sizes large to small for more than a decade.

This three-day workshop will bring preachers together as a company of artists to consider how we might be better proclaimers of the Good News of God's love in Jesus Christ.  We assume that everyone can grow in our preaching ability whether we're just beginning or if we've been at it for decades.  And we assume there is immense wisdom in the company of preachers for us to learn from one another; we just have to access it.  So, together, we will ask why preaching matters. We will wonder at God's presence in the upcoming lectionary texts and in our liturgy.  You will come away refreshed, with new perspectives on the craft we share, with a heap of practical suggestions to improve your preaching right away and over the years to come.

The Revd Nathan Kirkpatrick is the managing director of Alban at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.  In this role, Nathan designs educational programs, facilitates leadership development opportunities for clergy, denominational and institutional leaders, works with publisher Rowman and Littlefield to publish Alban books, and consults with senior church leaders around the United States and abroad.  He has degrees from Wake Forest University and Duke University Divinity School and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Durham in Durham, U.K., studying trends and patterns in clergy formation.  He is canonically resident in the Diocese of North Carolina.

Christine Parton-Burkett has worked with preachers at Duke Divinity School since 1991.  She holds degrees in theatre and speech-language pathology and describes herself as a "professional pew-sitter".  An experienced preaching coach, she is skilled at assessing the sermon and the preacher to encourage strengths and identify potential growth.  She lectures and facilitates retreats, workshops and conferences for clergy across denominations.  She is particularly interested in the preacher's voice and public proclamation of scripture as the seminal act of preaching.  She arranges scripture as reader's theatre, choric reading, and biblical storytelling.  Areas of particular study include the embodied sermon, cutting the "chaff" that clouds the message, and using fresh language to craft the ancient message.

Conference Schedule:

Thursday, 28 September

12:00 pm, Registration and Fellowship (no lunch provided)

1:00 pm, Mid-day Prayer

1:30 pm to 5:00 pm, Workshop Sessions

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Dinner (provided)

6:00 pm to 7:30 pm, Workshop Sessions

7:30 pm, Evening Prayer

8:00 pm, Day ends

Friday, 29 September

9:00 am, Morning Prayer

9:30 am to 12:00 pm, Workshop Sessions

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Lunch (provided)

1:00 pm to 4:30 pm, Workshop Sessions

4:30 pm Evening Prayer

5:00 pm, Day ends 

Saturday, 30 September

9:00 am, Morning Prayer

9:30 am to 12:00 pm, Workshop Sessions

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Lunch (provided)

1:00 pm, Conference ends

Fees:

The conference registration fee is $95.00.  This includes three meals (Dinner Thursday, Lunch Friday, Lunch Saturday).

This fee must be paid using Pay Pal and a credit card.

Click on the "Register Now!" button below to register.

Accommodation Information:

You are responsible for making your own accommodation arrangements.  

Here are some nearby suggestions:

The Park Inn, 898 Broadway, Vancouver

http://www.parkinn.com/vancouverca

Holiday Inn Vancouver Centre, 711 Broadway, Vancouver

hivancouvercentre.com

Hycroft Suites (not a hotel, but a suite rental), 1248 West 15th Avenue, Vancouver

http://www.hycroft.com/

Granville Bed and Breakfast, 5050 Granville Street, Vancouver

http://www.granvillebb.com/

For more information

Please contact The Revd Jessica Schaap with your questions about the conference programme, schedule, and local arrangments.  She can be reached at jessicaschaap@hotmail.com

 

Register Now!