Loading...In May, Br. Jimmy Haney, CFC and I were honored to attend the Preaching Excellence Program (PEP), a weeklong conference sponsored by the Episcopal Preaching Foundation, an experience our mentors there only half-jokingly referred to as “preach-away camp.” Part retreat and part bootcamp, PEP offers a rare chance to step back from everyday demands of work and study, connect with fellow preachers, and dive deeply into the art and craft of preaching.
This invitation-only program welcomes participants nominated by homiletics professors or formation deans and selected through an application process that includes a CV and preaching demo. Each year, the lush and peaceful Roslyn Retreat Center, a ministry of the Diocese of Virginia, hosts PEP and welcomes seminarians and local formation students from across the Episcopal Church.
I attended as a rising senior in our diocesan School of Ordained Ministry, a local formation program that is part of the IONA Collaborative at Seminary of the Southwest. Jimmy is a rising senior at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. Together, we were proud to represent the Diocese of Northwest Texas alongside participants from across the United States and Canada.
Workshops, plenaries, worship, and preaching practice filled the week. Among the most formative moments for me were those spent with my preaching cohort, —a small group of six seminarians mentored by the Rev. Susan Ironsides, Rector of Grace Church, Madison, NJ. In this supportive setting, we preached, received thoughtful feedback, and learned from one another’s distinct styles and experiences.
In our full-group sessions, the Rev. Dr. Nandra Perry, Director of the IONA Collaborative at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, led a powerful plenary and group discussion on the history and growing significance of local formation in the Episcopal Church. The Rev. Dr. Micah T.J. Jackson challenged and motivated us with his dynamic lecture on Movement Toward Conversational Preaching. We heard from the Rev. Kim Jackson of Atlanta, who inspired us to “Engage the Congregation,” drawing deeply from her ministry with the Church of the Common Ground and her public service as a Georgia state senator.
Among the many rich offerings, I was able to attend two workshops which affected me significantly with their depth and resonance: The Rev. Nikki Mathis of St. Gregory the Great in Athens, GA, led a multi-day session on Trauma-Informed Preaching, and Sister Miriam Elizabeth, OSH, offered a profound and rich invitation to Sabbath Keeping Practices. The hardest part was choosing which workshops to go to—there was far more wisdom on offer than one person could absorb in a single week!
Equally enriching were the conversations around the dining tables. We met colleagues from California to Massachusetts, from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest, and everywhere in between. Over great food and shared laughter, we told our stories of call and discernment, exchanged insights about what’s working in our home dioceses, and we celebrated the many paths that lead to ordained ministry. It was a powerful reminder that in the Episcopal Church, our diversity is one of our greatest strengths.
I am sincerely grateful to Bishop J. Scott Mayer; the Rev. Jim Haney, Dean of the NWTX School of Ordained Ministry; the Rev. Jared Houze, Rector of my sponsoring parish, St. Andrew’s in Amarillo; and to my SOM classmates the Rev. Joe Biles, Jack Dupy, Bikole Mulanda, Denise Sanders, Heather Watson, and the Rev. Dr. Dann Wigner, for their encouragement and support.
The Preaching Excellence Program was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that deepened my sense of call and rooted me more firmly in the joyful, Spirit-filled work of preaching.
Diocese of NW TX PEP folk!
Me with my preaching group mentor, the Rev. Susan Ironside.
Jimmy Haney with his preaching group mentor, The Rev. Dr. Carolyn J. Sharp, Professor of Homiletics at Yale Divinity School.
My Preaching Group: front row, left to right, Heather Caulfield-Mills, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Diocese of Vermont; the group's mentor, Susan Ironside; Monica Hart, School of Ordained Ministry, Diocese of Northwest Texas; Brenda Marshall, Mercer School of Theology, Diocese of Long Island. Back row, left to right: Jewels Wolf, Seminary of the Southwest, Diocese of the Rio Grande; Jeremy Armstrong, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Diocese of Spokane; Nicholas Kohlmann, Duke Theological Seminary, Diocese of East Carolina.
The 2025 Cohort: Seminarians and Mentors!
The beautiful Rosyln Chapel.
