What's Happening with Cultivating the Gift of Preaching?

Mary Llyod-Seals shares her experiences in CGPI

The Synod Assembly was held at the end of October and, as part of the CGPI report to the Synod commissioners, we invited two of our participants – Mary Lloyd-Seals (Moderator of the Presbytery of Detroit and member of Grosse Pointe Memorial in Detroit) and Sean Eaton (member of Westminster Presbyterian in Ann Arbor). Mary and Sean shared their experiences in the CGPI to the delight and encouragement to the Synod commissioners and staff. The bittersweet news is that their time in the program is coming to a close. The inaugural group of participants, who began the program in June of 2024, will complete their training at the end of November or in early December when they have their final in-person cohort gatherings. We plan to recognize participants in their presbyteries in the New Year, so please stay tuned for news about that!

Sean Eaton shares his experiences in CGPI

We are also busy planning for the new round of participants to join the CGPI program this spring. We already have several participant applications and nearly a dozen mentor applications! Please keep them coming!

But the big news is that we can now share our keynote speaker for the 2026 Alma Preaching Conference: the Rev. Dr. Catherine Williams of Lancaster Theological Seminary!

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Williams

The Rev. Dr. Williams earned her Ph.D. in Preaching from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2017. Her teaching and research interests include the symbiotic relationship between preaching and sacred music, particularly in worshiping communities of color; deconstructing the colonialist hegemony of European and North American approaches to preaching and worship; intentional, inter-cultural pedagogy as a learning strategy in worship and preaching classrooms; theorizing and affirming the preaching and worship practices of underrepresented communities of faith. Our participants will be most blessed to learn from her this June!

Please continue to pray for the CGPI program as we continue to recruit new participants, make decisions about mentors for the 2026-2027 program year, and plan the 2026 conference. And, if you know of anyone who is called to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ, please tell them about CGPI and send us their contact information.

Grace and peace to you all!

Grace and peace,

Matt

Matt Aragon Bruce, Ph.D.

Director, Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative

matt@synodofthecovenant.org

609-712-4258