CGPI News

This quarter, our inaugural group of CGPI participants will complete their program. All four cohorts will have in-person meetings sometime between November and January (two have already meet as I write this) as their final official time together. They will spend time reading and thinking about the preaching life as a type of pilgrimage wherein the preacher listens to the voice of God speaking both in the Scriptures and in the life of the Church and bringing what they hear back to the people to comfort and challenge them. We are working hard on adding an alumni track to the next Alma Preaching Conference (June 4-8, 2026) – stayed tuned to this newsletter and the Synod website for news in the new year.

Our second “class” of participants, who began their time in the program this past June will spend time this month considering different sermon forms. In December, they will focus on the need to exegete not only the Scriptures but also the congregation in order to determine what God is calling the preacher to say to the people. And in January, they will meet in person in their cohort groups for the first time since the Alma Conference where they will put what they are learning to the test and preach to one another.

We are also delighted to report that the Rev. Dr. Catherine Williams of Lancaster Seminary will be our keynote speaker at the 2026 Alma Preaching Conference! Her teaching and research interests focus on the relationship between preaching and sacred music, inter-cultural pedagogy as a learning strategy in both worship and in teaching preaching, and the affirmation and development of preaching and worship practices in underrepresented faith communities. Our participants will be most blessed to learn from her this June!

Additionally, the application period for CGPI mentors is now closed. We have received 12 applications and are reviewing them now. We hope to make announcements about mentors early in the new year.