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Cathedral College of Preachers:
2008 Core Curriculum Categories WL - Worship and Liturgy |
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June 2–6, 2008 CANCELLED |
Mary Among the Women of Israel (BE) We regret that this conference has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Should you have any questions please call (202) 537-6381, or e-mail jroberts@cathedral.org. | |
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June 7–12, 2008 REGISTRATION FULL |
The City of God for American Cities: Reinventing the Urban Church Cities are the context for crisis and encouragement, division and healing isolation and community. At the center of the city is the urban church, an anchor of hope for the shaping of the “City of God.” Many city churches of all denominations are in search of inspiration and renewed mission. This conference will be a learning laboratory for building up the urban body of Christ. Participants will share a compelling vocation for urban clergy and urban congregations. The conference will include nationally known keynote speakers, Biblical reflection, pilgrimages to several of Washington’s imaginative ministries, and practical proposals for servant/social justice ministry in urban congregations. Past conference faculty have included Barbara Lundblad, Walter Brueggemann, Joanna Adams, James A. Forbes, Jr., Barbara Brown Taylor, and Marian Wright Edelman.
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June 22–27, 2008 |
A Writing Workshop This conference runs from Sunday evening through Friday lunch. This conference is designed for religious writers (fiction and non-fiction) who desire to improve their writing process and skills, embrace their identities as writers, and cultivate their curiosity about all of life, while not stifling their creativity through self-censoring. Each participant will bring his or her own work in progress for sharing and developing. The days will be divided into quiet time for writing, small group feedback, lecture/discussions, and worship. Our conference leaders bring their own faith and commitment to the Church, wisdom and wit, as well as their obvious delight in working together. To apply (deadline is February 1, 2008), send a 1–2 page writing sample to the Rev. Dean McDonald at dmcdonald@cathedral.org or mail to Cathedral College, 3510 Woodley Road NW, Washington, DC 20016-5031.
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August 5–9, 2008 |
The Young Clergywomen’s Join us for the second Young Clergywomen’s Conference held at the Cathedral College, for women preachers under 40. Ruthanna Hooke of the Homiletics Faculty of Virginia Theological Seminary will lead this week of learning, renewal and energized time with colleagues. A variety of activities are in the planning stages for this residential conference including lectures, preaching groups and affinity groups. This conference filled up early last year and all are encouraged to make their reservations soon, as one participant from last year’s conference said, “I can't wait for future gatherings like this to occur. What a joy it was to be with my preaching sisters from across the nation if even just for a week!” Please continue to check this web page for conference updates. The depths of Scripture call for preachers to meet it from their own depths. This meeting of deep and deep occurs not only in the writing of the sermon, but also in the speaking of it as a living, breathing event of one human being expressed to another. This course focuses on developing the skills needed to be fully present for this speaking event. We will work toward developing this availability by drawing on techniques of actor training that aim to enhance the freedom of the body, the breath, and the voice. It is a process that will help us discover how we may more fully bring our bodies, as well as our minds and souls, to the preaching event. We will also examine what this profound experience demands of us spiritually and emotionally and we will focus on the particular challenges for women in claiming their voice, not only metaphorically but literally, in the pulpit.
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September 7–19, 2008 |
The Flight of the Dove: A Pilgrimage to Iona His name was Columba, or “the Dove.” In Gaelic they were more explicit. They called him Colmcille; the dove of the Church The name was ironic, even sarcastic. He was tough, abrasive, and even violent. In the end he felt he had to leave Ireland forever. They sailed north and east across the most dangerous waters in the world, until they found an island. As they beached their currach one of the companions said, “It is so small, “ to which Columba turned and replied “it will one day be great.” The name of the island was Iona. The year was 563 AD. Great Iona became, spiritually and in its mission, and it is to Iona we will go. We will visit other places too, but we will stay longest on Iona. This is your invitation to come with us. —Herbert O’Driscoll The trip package includes shared accommodations, breakfast and dinner daily, all entrance fees to sites, transportation during the trip and airport pick up and departure. Airfare and travel insurance is additional. Contact Joan Roberts at jroberts@cathedral.org or (202) 537-6381 for further details about schedule and price.
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September 8–12, 2008 |
Get on Your Mark: Get “on your Mark” by participating in a five-day residential preaching conference on Mark’s Gospel with biblical scholar John R. Donahue, S.J. and homiletics professor James A. Wallace, C.S.R., at the Cathedral College, on the beautiful grounds of Washington National Cathedral. Begin your preparation for preaching the upcoming “B” cycle of Sunday readings. Explore ways of listening to, praying with, studying into and around the proclamation of the Gospel of Mark. Facilitators will offer biblical, liturgical, and homiletic input to encourage dialogue amongst participants and provide various exercises to facilitate the goal of effective preaching. Daily worship, abundant meals, and time set aside for Sabbath renewal will round out this experience. Ray Kemp of Woodstock Theological Center’s Preaching the Just Word, and Dean McDonald of the Cathedral College of Preachers will also serve as conference and small group facilitators.
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October 6–10, 2008 |
Desire (SG/TH) It is always important for all Christians to enter ever more deeply into the intellectual and existential meaning of their faith. In our own time, Christianity is challenged by secularization, fundamentalism, and a spiritual market-place, all of which make the reality and healing power of Christianity less self-evident. Many people within Christianity as well as those who have become exiled from the faith of their youth find the language of Christianity irrelevant to their daily needs and their deepest sufferings and yearning. An ancient and modern theme of Christianity is the divine desire that calls us into existence and sustains humanity through all that befalls us. This week we will use music, silence, and conversation to explore the theme of desire as device for meditating on root Christian symbols. Each session will begin by listening to a traditional folk song, followed by a brief silence. Out of this music and silence, we will consider how desire might help us deepen our understanding of one aspect of the Christian vision. We hope that, by engaging in these practices together, we will come away with a refreshed sense of the power of Christianity’s deep symbols to mediate to us a sense of the divine nearness.
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October 13–16, 2008 |
The Deacon as Prophetic Preacher (TH) According to the Book of Common Prayer, deacons are “to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.” The conference will encourage and coach deacons as they preach toward this end. Each participant is asked to bring a recent sermon with a social justice theme to deliver in small listening groups. Among comments received from recent attendees: “This conference fully met my expectations. Bob and Joel were excellent teachers and facilitators, and the setting was conducive to learning and the opportunity to worship in the Cathedral was awesome” and “I was very nervous going into my preaching group, but it was a safe and comfortable place to learn and to gain confidence.”
This conference runs from 1 pm on Monday through Thursday lunch. | |
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October 21–23, 2008 |
Stories of a Controversial Jesus: Parables, teachings, and miracle stories fill the Synoptic Gospels and are the subjects of many sermons. But often overlooked are the nearly sixty Conflict-Pronouncement Stories, all of which are shaped in the same way. These tough passages are in our lectionary, yet because they are especially difficult, preachers tend to avoid them. In this conference, led by one of the leading homileticians of our time, participants will learn their form, and gain tools on how to preach them with power.
This shorter conference runs from 10 am on Tuesday through Thursday lunch.
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November 3–7, 2008 |
The Art of the Homily (PE) Preaching a homily of substance and integrity calls for discipline and skill. In an exploration of the creative dynamics of sermon preparation and embodiment, participants will develop and exercise their preaching skills with a superb teacher and master preacher as their guide. This will be the last preaching conference offered by Herbert O’Discoll at the Cathedral College of Preachers. We are grateful for his years of teaching.
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Cathedral College Home | Washington National Cathedral | Directions Cathedral College, 3510 Woodley Road, NW, Washington, DC 20016 |
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The Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, Founder/President of Center for
Urban Ministry, Inc. at Wake Forest Divinity School, provides leadership
for urban ministry’s twin realities of “soul justice” and social
justice. At the Divinity School, he teaches courses like “Radical
Jesus, Radical Justice”, “Urban Ministry by Immersion”, and serves as
advisor for Episcopal students. Bailey is former Rector of Calvary
Episcopal Church, Kempis, renowned for its many nonprofit social justice
ministries. With over 25 years in urban ministry, he is consultant for
ecumenical city congregations and leads workshops/conferences.
The Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann is William McPheeters Professor
Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur,
Georgia. He is the worlds’ leading interpreter of the Old Testament,
particularly in the field of social justice. Ordained in the United
Church of Christ, Brueggemann’s ministry is legendary whether in
classroom or conference, at prayer or prophetic preaching, with written
words or loving witness. A prolific author, among his many books is the
award winning Theology of the Old Testament; Prophetic Imagination and
Mandate to Difference: An Invitation To The Contemporary Church. 
The Rev. Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad is Associate Professor of
Homiletics at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. For 16 years
she served as Pastor of an urban Lutheran congregation in NYC, and has
also served as a Lutheran campus pastor. Widely recognized as one of
America’s outstanding preachers, she is also a noted author. Her books
include Transforming the Stone: Preaching Through Resistance to Change
and Marking Time: Preaching Biblical Stories in Present Times. For 15
years she has been an acclaimed preaching voice on radio’s The
Protestant Hour and is always in great demand for conferences and
lecture series. 
Nora Gallagher is the author of two memoirs Things Seen and Unseen: A
Year Lived in Faith and Practicing Resurrection both published by Knopf
and Vintage Books. Her most recent book is a novel, Changing Light,
published by Pantheon Books. Her essays, book reviews and journalism
have appeared in many publications including The New York Times
Magazine, DoubleTake, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times
Magazine, Utne Reader, The Village Voice, Mother Jones, and The Los
Angeles Times.
An Episcopal priest since 1984, Barbara Brown Taylor now teaches
religion at Piedmont College in rural northeast Georgia, where she holds
the Harry R. Butman Chair in Religion and Philosophy. She also serves as
adjunct professor of Christian spirituality at Columbia Theological
Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Before becoming a full time teacher,
Taylor spent fifteen years in parish ministry, first at All Saints'
Church in Atlanta and then at Grace-Calvary Church in Clarkesville,
Georgia. In recent years, she has lectured on preaching at Yale,
Princeton and Duke Universities, and has preached at churches across the
country. A columnist for The Christian Century and sometime commentator
on Georgia Public Radio, she is the author of eleven books, including
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, When God is Silent, and Home By
Another Way.
Lauren F. Winner, the former book editor for Beliefnet, is the author
of three books, Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and, most recently,
Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity. She has appeared on PBSֺs
“Religion & Ethics Newsweekly” and has written for The New York Times
Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, and
Christianity Today. Her essays have been included in The Best Christian
Writing 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Winner has degrees from Columbia and
Cambridge universities and is currently at work on her doctorate in the
history of American religion.
The Rev. Dr. Ruthanna Hooke is Assistant Professor of Homiletics at
Virginia Theological Seminary. She has a background in performing arts,
and is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher, a method of vocal training
for actors that she has taught to actors and preachers. She holds a
doctorate in theology from Yale University, where she studied theologies
of preaching, focusing on the relationship between divine and human
activity in the preaching event. She serves as adjunct clergy on the
staff of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Washington, DC.
Herbert O’Driscoll, a popular writer on
spirituality, pilgrimage leader, and preacher, is a former Warden of the
College of Preachers who has served Anglican churches in Canada. He is a
native of Ireland.
John Donahue, S.J. taught biblical studies at the Jesuit
School of Theology at Berkeley from 1980-2001, and served as a
consultant to the Bishop’s letter, “Economic Justice for All.” From
2001-04 he was the Raymond E. Brown Distinguished Professor of New
Testament Studies at St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore. He resides and
teaches at Loyola College in Baltimore. His commentary, The Gospel of
Mark (Sacra Pagina), is highly acclaimed.
James A. Wallace, CSsR, is on the faculty of the Washington
Theological Union and is currently is involved in several projects for
the improvement of preaching in the United States. He served as
president of the Academy of Homiletics (2005), and of the Catholic
Association of Teachers of Homiletics (1992). He is in popular demand as a
workshop leader and lecturer nationwide. Recent publications include
All Your Waves Swept over Me; Looking for God in Natural Disasters,
Lift Up Your Hearts, Homilies and Reflections, Cycle A, B and C, and
Lift Up your Hearts; The Homily on the Feasts and in the Rites.
Wendy Farley is Professor of Religion at Emory University. Her
teaching interests include religious dialogue, classical texts, and
contemporary ethical issues. In 2005, she published The Wounding and
Healing of Desire: Weaving Heaven and Earth, which combines attention to
contemplative practices, folk traditions, and inter-religious
conversation to reflect on suffering and transformation. She is a
feminist.
Robert Ihloff is retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
and a leader in the development and training of deacons. Joel Hill is an
educator who serves as a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont.
David G. Buttrick is Drucilla Moore Buffington Professor of
Homiletics and Liturgics Emeritus at Vanderbilt Divinity School. His
1987 opus, Homiletic: Moves and Structures, has been described as
“the major book on the theory and construction of sermons for the
20th century.” His most recent book, Speaking Conflict: Stories of
a Controversial Jesus, provides the basis for this conference.