The St. Joseph’s Preachers Program
Support your Preacher: Help him to help you encounter God
Lay People Want Homilies to Help them Encounter the Living God
But too often they are spiritually underfed by preaching that leaves them feeling empty, confused or left out.
The Preaching for Encounter program provides personal preaching coaching, retreats, peer-learning support and many other resources for effective preaching.
In order to connect the pulpit and the pew, preachers need feedback. But “good feedback is hard to get,” says Bishop Ken Untener in his book Preaching Better. So, we are forming homiletically-trained lay people to learn how to open the conversation. We call these lay supporters the “St. Joseph’s Preachers.”
Gather monthly to pray for your preacher and grow spiritually.
In the first year, learn insights into what effective preaching looks like, how to give feedback to your preacher, and how to listen to the presence of God in the liturgy and in scripture.
In the second year, meet with your preacher to study, pray and share with him how you’re encountering God in ordinary life.
How Can You Get Involved with St. Joseph’s Preachers?
When a priest, deacon, or bishop enrolls in the Preaching for Encounter Program, he selects a coordinator from his parish to form his lay support group. The coordinator invites lay people of different ages, genders and ethnicities to join the St. Joseph’s Preachers group for a two-year commitment.
Get in Touch
Are you a lay person interested in the St. Joseph’s Preachers Program? Would you like to be a coordinator and support one of your Preachers in your Diocese? Ask your Diocese if your preacher is participating in the next cohort? Share this with your pastor. We are here to answer your questions.