Page 4 - Presbyterian Connection Newspaper

4 fall 2017
presbyterian
Preaching Grace
Continues to Draw an Unexpected Audience
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Proclaiming the love
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The Presbyterian Church in Canada presbyterian.ca
By Tyler Williams, Communications Coordinator, Grace Presbyterian Church, Calgary, Alta.
Preaching Grace is a weekend event that began in 2016 as an oppor- tunity to celebrate great preaching and gather clergy from Presbyterian, Lutheran, United, Anglican and other denominations together to connect, learn and compare notes. However, when Grace Presbyterian Church— an urban congregation in Calgary’s Beltline community—opened the doors to that inaugural Preaching Grace event last year, they were sur- prised to find not clergy, but the pub- lic walking through the doors.
Preaching Grace is a three-day event that invites a renowned preach- er to come to Grace Presbyterian Church and share something of their work and experience with attendees. The speaker that first year was the Rev. Dr. Thomas Long, who gave a presentation entitled: The Churches at the Four Corners, a Discussion about the Similarities and Differ- ences in the Four Gospels. A day- long workshop followed the lecture, offering a more hands-on approach to the presentation content and giv- ing some practical tools for a differ- ent way to approach preaching the Gospels. Dr. Long also preached the sermon on Sunday morning.
“With a topic like this, we expected to draw mostly preachers and theol- ogy students,” says the Rev. Dr. Jean Morris, Associate Minister of Pasto- ral Care at Grace Presbyterian, “and we anticipated difficulty convincing the public to attend.”
Grace worked hard to spread the word that the weekend was not just
for preachers and that the public was very welcome—and they were surprised by how people responded. That first year, the public made up most of the attendees. The second Preaching Grace weekend, held in May 2017 with the Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence, drew a similar au- dience proving the public’s interest was not a one-time thing. Of the at- tendees in 2017, 80% had no experi- ence or history as preachers.
Fittingly, Dr. Carter Florence’s lec- ture and workshop addressed the need to engage the whole community in reading and discerning scripture— that it was not just the responsibil- ity of the minister. Her time at Grace focussed on how groups could read the verbs and use practices found in poetry and theatre to lead to encoun- ters of personal stories and shared experiences in passages of scripture. The workshop then provided par- ticipants with a framework to share what they discovered.
“There’s hunger to know how to read, discern and talk about scrip- ture,” says Dr. Morris. “Whether people are looking to strengthen their ability to articulate their faith or seek- ing to bolster their confidence, they are asking for the tools to help them wade deeper into, and understand, the Bible.”
That need was well met during the weekend, and participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive:
“Great insights! [This] will change the way I read the Word.”
“Rich opportunity to learn and talk with others.”
“Very engaging, stimulating and experiential.”
“Thank you for this event/growth
experience!”
“Love hearing alternative views.
Excellent, enjoyable, and informa- tive.”
The Preaching Grace weekend is still an opportunity to celebrate great teaching, but it has also become an opportunity for the public to pull back the curtain on preaching. The event allows people to see how preachers read, interpret and share scripture, and learn tools and strategies they can take home and apply to their reading.
“Our unexpected challenge is to encourage members of the clergy to join in the weekend, as well,” says Dr. Morris. “Not only is it an oppor- tunity to learn from one of the day’s influential teachers, but it is encour- aging to see the public’s interest in Scripture and to hear the connec- tions they make and the stories they tell when they read the Word. There is something about sitting beside them not as their preacher, but as a fellow learner; I was delighted by the insight and depth of reflection they shared.”
Planning is already underway for Preaching Grace 2018 when Grace Presbyterian will welcome the Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee. The inaugural holder of the Butler Chair in Homi- letics and Biblical Hermeneutics at Vancouver School of Theology, Dr. Byassee’s primary vocation is to reinvigorate today’s church with the best of ancient and contemporary wisdom for creatively faithful living.
To stay informed about Grace Calgary events, visit the Facebook page at facebook.com/ calgarygrace, or the website at gracechurchcalgary.com