Date: January 8, 2026
This month the Dean’s commentary will feature text by VTS & GTS faculty members writing about what they are currently teaching, reading, or writing about.
One of many grants from the Lilly Endowment that VTS sponsors supports the Preaching Congregation Initiative (PCi), which is a program of renewal and formation for preachers and congregations. PCi aims to make preaching a communal endeavor, in which the whole congregation participates in proclamation. The themes of embodiment, spirituality, community, cross-cultural preaching, and preaching and the arts guide the program, with the goal of nourishing preachers holistically.
Each cohort in the program consists of three constituents: preachers, their congregations, and a small group of congregation members who are “sermon co-creators.” Preachers in the program meet monthly for one year with a peer group of 5-8 preachers to preach and give feedback to each other. Each preacher also fosters a sermon listening process in their congregation, hosting monthly gatherings at which listeners respond to the preacher’s sermons. In addition, each preacher gathers and meets regularly with the “sermon co-creators,” working with this group to develop communal forms of proclamation that are incorporated into the congregation’s worship.
I am blessed to work closely on PCi with the Rev. Rich Nelson, Assistant Program Director, and Project Manager Kim Arakawa. Later this week we will travel to Hawai’i to conclude one cohort and to Arizona to launch another one. It has been exciting to see how participants in the program have grown as preachers and in their understanding of the crucial role of the community in proclamation.
The Rev. Ruthanna Hooke, Ph.D.
Program Director, Preaching Congregations Initiative
Professor of Homiletics
Virginia Theological Seminary