Lawrence

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July, 2000 - Vol. XXIX No. 2
Continuing Education: Some Ways and Some Means

"Metro-East Convocation School of Ministry Lay Preaching Program"
by The Rev. Deacon Marla McGarry-Lawrence

The idea for a regional formation program grew out of reading the book Celtic Gifts. This book laid the foundation for the idea that a variety of gifts shared among a variety of people, both lay and ordained, could be developed on a convocation rather than parish or diocesan level. At one of our monthly Metro East Convocation clergy lunches, we discussed the idea that within our convocation we have the gifts we need for the formation of a variety of ministries that could be shared among all of our churches. John Nesbitt, Jean McAfee, and Marla McGarry-Lawrence agreed to study and propose various programs for study based on ministry needs identified within the convocation.

Our initial list of possible programs that could be developed included the formation of preachers, pastoral care providers, and youth group leaders. The idea was presented at one of the quarterly convocation meetings and was enthusiastically received. It was also endorsed by the Department (now Ministry) of Congregational Development as a model for local ministry development.

We decided to begin with a lay preaching program. Our goal was to provide for the formation of competent, capable licensed lay preachers. We felt preachers-in-training needed ample time to develop their ministries. The program we developed is 18 months in length, broken up into five 10-week sessions, and covers all the areas required by diocesan canon for licensing as a lay preacher. The class meets every other Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The first half of each session is devoted to either scripture (Scripture Overview, Hebrew Scriptures, Christian Scriptures) or tradition (Church History, Theology) and the second half is devoted to homiletics, including use of voice and the development of various types of sermons. Each sermon prepared for class is carefully critiqued for content and delivery. The class time concludes with Noonday Prayers led by a student who also provides a brief homily, followed by lunch.

Our teaching staff includes the Rev. Dr. Lawrence Falkowski, rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Portland, the Rev. Dr. James Belt, retired Presbyterian pastor with experience in the formation of lay preachers, Ms. Claire Meyer, M.Ed., Director of Christian Education at St. Phillip Neri Roman Catholic Church, and Mr. Robert Weber-Kearney, B.Th, Director of Adult Education at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Gresham. The Rev. John Nesbitt serves as dean and all classes are held at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Portland.

Licensed Lay Preachers may preach in any parish to which they are invited. Our students will be preaching primarily in their home parishes but would certainly welcome invitations to preach in other parishes or in other settings upon completion of the program. Those persons in non-traditional tracks for ordained ministry could also utilize this program to strengthen their preaching skills.

With the Lay Preaching Program up and running, we now face the challenge of developing additional formation programs within the convocation. This type of mutual ministry formation offers an alternative to both stand-alone parish formation programs and large-scale diocesan education.

Marla is deacon at St. Michael and All Angels, Portland, and active in Hispanic Ministry as well as her parish’s English as a Second Language program. Contact her at DcnMarla@aol.com