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Cultivating the Gift of Preaching

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Meet Our 2026 Annual Conference Keynote Speaker

 

 

Rev. Dr, Catherine Williams

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Rev. Dr. Catherine E. Williams is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, and Director of Chapel Worship at the Lancaster, PA campus of Moravian University’s School of Theology. 

 

An ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, Dr. Williams earned her BMus. in Church Music from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, her MDiv. from Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University, and her PhD in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary.  

 

In her scholarship and teaching, Dr. Williams embraces her dual identities of musician and homiletician. Her article in the Yale Journal of Music and Religion, “Sermon and Song: A Musically Integrative Homiletic”, makes the claim for conjoined preaching and music as a homiletical method. Her chapter in  The Future Shape of Christian Proclamation: What the Global South Can Teach Us About Preaching, edited by LaRue and Nascimento, is titled “Trinidad & Tobago Preaching: The Gospel According to Calypso.” This is the first sustained homiletical analysis of this Caribbean musical genre. Catherine’s most recent book, Preaching and Music: Powerful Partners in Proclamation, sustains her ongoing claim that preaching and music is a synergistic method of proclamation in worship. Dr. Williams is a member of the Editorial Board of Homiletic, the peer-reviewed journal of the Academy of Homiletics. She also holds memberships in the Hymn Society of the US and Canada, and the American Academy of Religion.

Thank you for your interest in the CGPI program! The purpose of the Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative is to strengthen the witness of the Church to the good news of Jesus Christ, by identifying, training, and providing ongoing support to emerging preachers. Across the eleven presbyteries of the Synod, there are numerous ruling elders and other church leaders who are called and gifted to preach the good news. The aim of the Initiative is to cultivate these gifts through rigorous training in biblical interpretation, reformed theology, and sermon preparation. The Initiative aims to add 140 or more trained preachers across Synod over four 18-month training cycles, beginning in 2024 through 2028. Each Cycle will begin at the June annual conference.

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