Preaching for Encounter Program Graduates 42 Preachers
Forty-two priests and deacons, a bishop and an abbot graduated from the two-year Preaching for Encounter program at the Institute for Homiletics. The Catholic clergy participated from the dioceses of Green Bay, WI, Dallas, TX, and Victoria, TX. From the pre- and post-data collected, the preachers grew in their homiletic skills in a statistically significant way (see the Preachers’ Progress Report).
Bishop Greg Kelly, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Dallas and one of the 2022 cohort graduates, expressed thanks for the program and explained why ongoing formation is meaningful in connecting with today’s world: “Many preachers find that they are not preaching to the same world as they may have been five or ten or twenty years ago. It is hard to break old habits, but it is worth the ongoing effort. Something different is needed now to help people encounter Christ and flourish as his disciples.”
Homiletics courses in seminary and deacon formation traditionally focus on how to explain scripture and doctrine. The Preaching for Encounter program builds upon those strengths to help ordained preachers to translate the richness of our faith for those in the pew. To accomplish this, each of the preachers in the 2022 cohort had a personal coach, participated in five teaching retreats, and met monthly with a group of peers to support and critique each other in their home dioceses. In addition, each had a lay support group, the St. Joseph’s Preachers, who studied how to be homiletically trained conversation partners for their clergy.
Insights from lay people help homilies to connect with the lives of the those in the pews. Fr. Uche Aladi, of Holy Spirit parish in Duncanville, TX, said, “I feel more connected to them and can understand whether what I preached made an impact on them.” Deacon Hugo Salinas of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos in Dallas, TX, described the way that he now prepares differently: “Picturing Christ in a room with all kinds of people and hearing their heart. Then telling a story with meaning to connect to their hearts and set them on fire.” When describing what has changed in his preaching, he also says, “(I now) see them more lovingly, with more understanding and more patience. In listening more to what they are going through in their lives, that helps me be in touch and connect with them and [create a] more meaningful homily.”
One of the goals for the Preaching for Encounter program is to encourage Catholic clergy onto a lifelong path of continued growth in preaching. Abbot Peter Verhalen, O.Cist., is eager for the Dallas peer groups to stay together and continue to grow. He says, “The goal is to cultivate some of the friendships we developed over the two years and to continue the reflections on what makes a good homily.”
Touching people’s lives brings joy and meaning to preachers. It helps them to flourish. One of the participants said, “This is a strong point for me, to know that the purpose of the program is to help me inspire and transform our listeners so that they find God. I want to do that!