First Ever Virtual Festival of Homiletics – May 18-22, 2020
This year, in light of COVID-19, the Festival of Homiletics is moving online. And because the world needs good preaching as we grapple with a global pandemic, we’re making access to absolutely FREE. Get FREE Access to This Year’s Online Festival NOTE: The free version includes access to pre-recorded sessions, streamed live online May 18-22, […]
Shop til’ you drop – vendor thank you!
Every year at the festival we gather together a collection of vendors to share their wide variety of goods and services. They add color and vibrancy to our conference; and from the number of happy shoppers we think the participants really love the resource fair as well! Because we had to cancel the in-person event […]
Five Ways to Make the Festival of Homiletics Greener
In light of the headlines, the changing weather patterns and signs that our earth is in distress, you may ask: What can a preacher do to tackle the problem of climate change? First and foremost, we do not need to take on this challenge alone. Environmental organizations, faith groups, communities within schools, businesses and cities […]
Advent 3A: Strength for the Journey
When wintertime is hard on bodies, we reflect on the strength in Isaiah, which imagines wilderness being transformed from death and dryness to blossoms and abundance.
Advent 1A: Pilgrims Walk in the Light
The prophet Isaiah imagined people from all nations coming to the holy mountain of the God of Jacob. What does it mean to walk in the light of the Lord today?
Register for 2020 Festival
Registration is open for #Homiletics2020! Join us May 18-22 in Atlanta on the theme “Preaching a New Earth: Climate and Creation.” Register today for early-bird deals!
We Have Not Lost Each Other: Closing Worship with Amy Butler
Drawn into worship with yearning for God’s continued presence in hearts and lives, Brad Froslee called Festival participants into their last service together at #Homiletics2019 with centering prayer and song repeating the refrain; Oh God, we call, from deep inside we yearn for you. Moving into a prayer of Remembrance for Rachel Held Evans, beloved author […]
Anna Carter Florence, Ready to Climb
On Thursday, surrounded by eager listeners in the Westminster sanctuary, Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence returned to her roots. This was the church where she was first ordained, where she preached in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre, where she navigated despair from presiding over yet another lonely funeral of man who died in […]
Visual Feast: Check out photos from #Homiletics2019
Our amazing photographers Keith Spencer and Stephanie Luedtke have been working hard this week. See more #Homiletics2019 photos on SmugMug.
Will Willimon Points Out Some Pitfalls
In Rev. Will Willimon’s estimation, self-righteousness is a major pitfall to preachers’ efforts to be prophetic. When religious leaders internalize expectations of saintly perfection, we can be too afraid of saying the wrong thing to risk saying anything meaningful at all. When the idea of “prophets” gets confused with “fortune-tellers,” we feel pressured to speak from a place of all-knowing […]
Thursday Social Media Highlights from #Homiletics2019
Another powerhouse day of #Homiletics2019! Here are some social media highlights from Thursday.
Workshop Handouts: Barber, Ciavarri, Lundblad
2019 Festival of Homiletics handouts include: William Barber II: Call to action and letter introducing Moral Witness Wednesday, June 12, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Sarah Ciavarri: The Heart of Daring Leadership Barbara Lundblad: Taking Resistance Seriously, and Moving Through It Each of these handouts is also posted on the Festival app under Maps & Docs
Wednesday Social Media Highlights from #Homiletics2019
What a beautiful third day of #Homiletics2019! Here are some social media highlights from the day.
The Holy Spirit: Source of Moral Imagination
Brought back to the present with beautiful music from Peter Mayer in the midst of a busy week, workshop participants were centered for the start of William H. Lamar IV’s workshop, “The Holy Spirit: Source of Moral Imagination.” Lamar IV made clear from the very beginning, “For me, there is no imagination without the Spirit.” […]
Otis Moss III Delivers the Spice of Love
Getting into the game, Rev. Otis Moss III opened his first sermon with a sports analogy, explaining how following sermons from James Forbes Jr. and William Barber II made him feel like James Jones, NBA player and three-time champion. Never heard of him? Rev. Moss joked that James Jones got all his championship rings from […]