Date: May 2, 2025
The purpose of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation is to “raise the standard of preaching in the Episcopal Church.” To this end, the EPF offers various programs for ordained and lay preachers at all stages of their preaching ministry. One of their most popular and long-standing programs is the Preaching Excellence Program, a 5-day conference for Episcopal seminarians. The purpose of the conference is to “deepen students’ commitment to becoming the next generation of great preachers,” according to the EPF.
The PEP conference includes presentations from notable scholars and practitioners of preaching, and small peer groups in which participants preach and respond to each other’s preaching, guided by an experienced mentor. Participants in the conference have found that the experience strengthens their ministry of proclamation and provides a welcome opportunity to get to know students from other seminaries and local formation programs.
Each year, VTS is invited to nominate 6-8 middlers who have demonstrated outstanding preaching ability. The nominees are chosen by the homiletics faculty based on the quality of their work in VTS’s introductory preaching course. This year’s participants in the conference include: Jeremy Adams, Santana Bartoldus, Kristin Blackerby, James Holcomb, Joshua House, Kate Mumey, and Ellen Singer. Please congratulate these students!
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary