Participants Archive - The Lester Randall Preaching Fellowship

1. Keynote Speaker

Lennett J. Anderson

The Rev. Dr. Lennett J. Anderson is the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church (The Meeting Place) a growing, multigenerational community of worshippers from diverse geographic, ethnic, cultural, and denominational backgrounds.
Pastor Anderson is a highly sought-after communicator and is a recognized voice at events throughout the country. He is blessed with influence that extends beyond the local church. He serves on the faculty of Acadia Divinity College as Lecturer in Leadership and Racial Justice.

Pastor Anderson is a passionate advocate for community transformation and development. His passion for community is evident through his contributions as consultant for the Halifax Regional Centre for Education, a member of the Halifax Regional Municipality Chief of Police Roundtable on Diversity and Race Relations, Past Moderator of the African United Baptist Association of Nova Scotia, an Advisory Council Member, Dalhousie University African Nova Scotian Strategy, Corporation Board Member for Promise Keepers Canada, Member of the African Nova Scotian (DPAD) Decade for People of African Decent Coalition, Regional Ambassador for Teen Challenge Atlantic Men’s Centre, and as a former board member of the Nova Scotia Chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation.

A retired commissioned Officer in the Canadian Forces where he served as Unit Chaplain for HMCS Scotian, Rev. Anderson has been recognized with numerous awards including the Medal of Excellence from the Navy League of Canada, the Canadian Forces Decoration Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Citizenship, the Platinum Jubilee Community Hero Award, The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from St. Thomas Christian College.

Maclean’s magazine named Rev. Anderson as “one of five Canadian pastors who are breathing new life into their communities”. In 2016 he received the ADC Alumni Distinguished Service Award for significant contributions to ministry in his community and beyond. Rev. Anderson has worked tirelessly to promote racial justice with organizations.

Lennett is married to Dr. Késa Munroe-Anderson. They have three children and live in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia.

Workshop:

From Pulpit to People: Empowering Advocacy in Community Through Preaching

M. Craig Barnes

The Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes was raised on Long Island, New York. After graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary, he received a Ph.D. in the History of Christianity from The University of Chicago.

He served as the pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Madison, WI, until 1992 when he became the pastor of The National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. In 2002 he became a chaired professor at Pittsburgh Seminary while also serving as the pastor of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church. In 2012 he was elected president of Princeton Theological Seminary and became the president emeritus in January 2023.

He has nine published books including When God Interrupts, Pastor as Minor Poet, and most recently Diary of a Pastor’s Soul. He is the director of a new project of the Association of Theological Schools on “Theologies of Pastoral Ministry,” funded by the Lilly Endowment.

He is married to Dawne Hess Barnes who is an interior designer. They have three fabulous children, four delightful grandchildren, and a frisbee-addicted Bearded Collie.

Workshop:

Finding the Congregation in the Text

Paula Gooder

Dr. Paula Gooder is a speaker and writer on the Bible, particularly on the New Testament. She began her working life, teaching for twelve years in ministerial formation first at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford and then at the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham. Following this she spent around eight years as a speaker and writer in biblical studies travelling the country and seeking to communicate the best of biblical scholarship in as accessible a way as possible, after that she spent six years working for the Bible Society as their Theologian in Residence and then for the Birmingham Diocese as their Director of Mission Learning and Development. She is currently the Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Her engagement in wider church life led her to be a member of the General Synod of the Church of England (2005-2015) and as a part of that to be a member of the Women in Episcopacy drafting group and steering committee (2006-2014). She is passionate about ecumenism and is a current member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III, 2011-present day).

She has a strong vocation to lay ministry and is a Reader in the Church of England.

Workshop:

The Bible, Imagination and Storytelling

2. Special Guest Preacher

Paul Scott Wilson

The Rev. Dr. Paul Scott Wilson, Professor Emeritus of Homiletics at Emmanuel College in the University of Toronto, is the author of many books including The Four Pages of the Sermon. His common emphasis is putting God at the centre of preaching.

The Lester Randall Preaching Fellowship is delighted to announce that Paul Scott Wilson will preach the opening sermon at the 2024 LRPF on Monday, October 28th at 9 a.m.
Paul Wilson has influenced two generations of preachers through his years of teaching, mentoring, and preaching. In particular his book, The Four Pages of the Sermon, first published twenty-five years ago, transformed the focus of sermon preparation and preaching across North America and well beyond. In many places and for many people it contains the most important elements of the preacher’s task. This will be the third time Paul has been featured as a Lester Randall preacher. His wisdom and grace are always a blessing.

3. Workshop Leader

Casey Barton

The Rev. Dr. Casey Barton serves as Assistant Faculty and Director of the Pastoral Ministry Program at Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary and Graduate School, in Lancaster, PA. He is Ordained to Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Covenant Church and, before joining the faculty of LBC|Capital in 2022, served in various roles in pastoral ministry in Mississauga, ON, San Jose, CA, and Hilmar, CA. He is the author of Preaching Through Time: Anachronism as a Way Forward for Preaching (Cascade, 2017), and various articles focused on preaching hope and lament, preaching and eschatology, and preaching with courage. Mostly, Casey enjoys spending time with his wife Sarah and two sons, Eugene and Theo, snowboarding, riding bikes and kayaking. He also enjoys loudly rooting for the Red Sox, especially against the Yankees.

A California native, Casey attended college at Briercrest College; then Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MDiv, ThM: Homiletics); earned an MTh in Practical Theology (Homiletics) at New College, University of Edinburgh, Scotland; and a PhD in Homiletics from Emmanuel College of Victoria University, in The University of Toronto, in 2010.

Workshop:

Preaching As Eschatology

Martha Burns

Martha Burns has been an ensemble member and leading actor of the Vancouver Playhouse, National Arts Center, Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival and Soulpepper theatre companies.

She is the recipient of two Gemini awards for the series, Slings and Arrows, two Genie supporting actor awards for the films Long Days Journey Into Night and Love and Savagery and two Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the plays Trafford Tanzi and The Miracle Worker.

She received the 2005 Barbara Hamilton Award for excellence and professionalism in the performing arts and the 2016 Leslie Yeo prize for volunteerism.

A current project is Practice Rooms, which provide space and time for multi – generational artists to share knowledge, build projects and create community.

Workshop:

Workshop: Speaking from the Heart (and other organs), Open Session: Performance Masterclass – Actors' Tools for Speaking and Listening

Jason Byassee

The Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee is the senior minister of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto, Ontario. He previously served as the professor of Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Vancouver School of Theology. His primary vocation is to reinvigorate today’s church with the best of ancient and contemporary wisdom for creatively faithful living.

Jason is the author or editor of a number of books, including, most recently, Northern Lights: Resurrecting Church in the North of England, with Ross Lockhart, Better than Brunch: Missional Churches in Cascadia (both with Cascade) and Surprised by Jesus Again (Eerdmans).

He was previously senior pastor of Boone United Methodist Church in Boone, North Carolina. He has also served as pastor of a small, rural congregation in NC, as interim preacher at First Baptist Vancouver, and as preacher to the English-speaking congregation at Chinese Presbyterian in Vancouver. He is married to Jaylynn and together they have three boys.

Workshop:

Workshop: Preaching in the Future Perfect Tense

Jeff Crittenden

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Crittenden has served in congregational ministry for over thirty years throughout Canada (ON, QUE, NB, AB, NFLD). Jeff holds Doctoral degrees in Theology (PhD) and Homiletics (DMin). He is an Assistant Professor in Practical Theology at Huron University (Western); the Founding Director of CPT (The Centre for Practical Theology) and the author of ‘Leisure Resurrected’.

Workshop:

Pilgrimage Preaching, Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 3 Jeff Crittenden and Gail Ricciuti

Sarah Han

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Han is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Director of the Tyndale Centre for Pastoral Imagination at Tyndale University Seminary and brings practical ministry experience as an ordained minister and theological expertise as an academic. Dr. Han considers herself to be “third culture” Canadian-Korean-Chinese and her formative theology was shaped on the mission field abroad. She has provided leadership in the Canadian immigrant church context for over a decade and has diverse experience in the Canadian public and private sectors. Dr. Han’s vocational commitment and theological passion are to critically observe and reflect on how ecclesiology shapes and informs missiology and her research focuses on an intercultural, intergenerational, missional ecclesiology for Canada.

Workshop:

Workshop: Renewed Preaching for a Digital Age, Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 2 Sarah Han and Michael Knowles

J. Peter Holmes

The Rev. Dr. J. Peter Holmes has served on the ministry team of Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto since 1995 and as the Minister of the Congregation since 2001. Peter was raised and educated in Victoria, B.C. and holds degrees from the University of Victoria, Wycliffe College (U. of T.), and Acadia Divinity College (Acadia University). Peter’s D.Min. thesis work was in the area of preaching at funerals and was done under the supervision of Dr. Paul Scott Wilson. Peter has contributed to two recent series of commentaries, Feasting on the Word, and, Feasting on the Gospels. He has also been published in Joel C. Gregory’s, Baptist Preaching, A Global Anthology, and contributes a weekly entry to Walking Together, Yorkminster Park’s weekday online devotional.

Workshop:

Body and Soul: Enacting the Gospel at a Christian Funeral

HyeRan Kim-Cragg

The Rev. Dr. HyeRan Kim-Cragg is the 14^th Principal of Emmanuel College and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church Professor of Preaching. She is the first racialized person to be appointed as principal and achieve full professorship in Emmanuel’s history.

She has published 15 monographs and numerous articles. The most recent and the first of its kind published work is on the United Church Preaching, entitled, Moments in Time: Sermons in the UCC, 1910-2020. This book will be out as a UCC centennial celebration in 2025.

Her current research is on ecological preaching. Kim-Cragg presented her research at the Engle Institute of Peaching at Princeton Theological Seminary as the keynote speaker.

Workshop:

Preaching for the Planet

Katie Givens Kime

The Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime is President and Executive Producer, Alliance for Christian Media, and Host of “Day1”. Katie leads ACM and Day1 after years of collaborations at the intersection of faith, media and the public square. Katie first joined ACM in 2022 as grant writer, then director of the 4-year project funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.’s Compelling Preaching Initiative, then as Interim Executive Director in 2023. Previously, as the Director of Religion and Civic Engagement for the faith-based media non-profit Odyssey Impact (2018-22), Katie envisioned, launched, and obtained external funding for the international Odyssey Fellows Program, equipping faith leaders with new media skills. She holds a M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary (NYC) and a Ph.D. from Emory University and was a member of the Post-Doctoral Teaching and Research Faculty at the Universität Bern in Switzerland in 2017-18, and served as the Associate Pastor for Mission, Adult Education and Young Adults at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Ga., for six years. Before that, Katie worked at Marble Collegiate Church and at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, both in New York City. Katie and her husband and daughter live in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Workshop:

Open Session: Panel/Group Discussion

Karoline Lewis

The Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis is a theologian, speaker, teacher, scholar, author, and preacher. She answered a calling to pursue theology, preaching, and teaching 25 years ago. Her experiences ignited a passion to empower leaders in the church to find fulfillment in their calling, too. The heart of her work is helping church leaders realize or rediscover their true voices and joyfully embody their roles as spiritual leaders. She offers personalized consulting and coaching toward a deeper grounding in theology and practice to enhance preaching and leadership skills. Karoline is committed to advocacy, accompaniment, and affirmation for leaders who seek to lead others with compassion, integrity, and confidence. Karoline is the Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, where she has taught since 2007.

Workshop:

New Creation and Preaching John's Theology of Resurrection

Shannon Litzenberger

An experienced artist facilitator, Shannon Litzenberger designs and animates workshops on movement, creation, collaboration, and leadership within artistic, educational and organizational settings. She draws from her 25+ years of experience in dance, physical theatre and interdisciplinary creation to engage participants in co-creative experiences centered in embodied and experiential learning. Her workshops typically offer experiences that enhance sensory attention, expand imagination, cultivate empathy, and strengthen our ability to relate, collaborate and create things together. She has worked with all kinds of people including from high school students to corporate executives, software designers and bankers, PhD Scholars and cultural leaders.

“Connecting people and communities to opportunities for creative engagement with the world is an essential part of my role as an artist. Whether through a shared performance experience, participation in interactive experiences or through collective creation, I’m deeply invested in building connections between people through art, imagination and poetic expression. ” – Shannon Litzenberger

Workshop:

Workshop: Speaking from the Heart (and other organs)

Jennifer McKenzie

The Venerable Jennifer McKenzie, a 2004 graduate of VTS, has been a priest in The Episcopal Church since 2005. As a parish administrator and lay youth worker in the 1990’s she served churches in California and Virginia. As seminarian, transitional deacon and priest, she served churches in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. In 2015 she was collated as Archdeacon of Wigan & West Lancashire, a senior cleric in the Liverpool diocese (UK), where she oversaw the mission and ministry of 60 parish churches and missions and was a canon at Liverpool cathedral She returned to the US permanently in 2021 and is serving part time as Dean’s Advisor for New Initiatives at Virginia Seminary and is the founder of Church Re-Imagined, LLC, a church consulting firm that works to transform churches and strengthen leaders.

Jennifer’s husband Ken serves on the vestry of All Saints in Sunderland, MD. They are parents of three young adults, and two giant Leonberger dogs.

Workshop:

Preaching with Bent Elbows: Bringing the text closer and being surprised by God

R. H. Thomson

Canadian stage and screen actor R.H. Thomson was awarded the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and is a Member of the Order of Canada. He has appeared in theatres across Canada and has filmed in Canada, the US, Greece and the Czech Republic. He has earned multiple awards for his work as an actor. He directed the award-winning production of The Crucible at Theatre Calgary and performed in The Message by Jason Sherman and This Was The World by Ellie Moon, both directed by Richard Rose at the Tarragon Theatre Toronto. He played Matthew Cuthbert in the CBC/NETFLIX series Anne With An E for which he received two Canadian Screen Awards. As well as being an advocate for the arts, Mr. Thomson has worked on many history/education/arts projects. He has built The World Remembers-Le Monde Se Souvient, an international WWI names Commemoration exhibit with twenty-one participating nations, that is now installed at the Canadian War Museum – www.theworldremembers.org.

Workshop:

Open Session: Performance Masterclass – Actors' Tools for Speaking and Listening, Workshop: Searching for our Authentic Voice

Sarah Travis

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Travis is Associate Professor, Ewart Chair in the Practice of Ministry and Faith Formation at Knox College, University of Toronto. She has written several books including Decolonizing Preaching: The Pulpit as Postcolonial Space; Metamorphosis: Preaching after Christendom; Unspeakable: Preaching and Trauma-Informed Theology; and Unsettling Worship: Reforming Liturgy for Right Relations with Indigenous Peoples. Sarah is passionate about training lay and ordained people to preach in a rapidly changing world.

Workshop:

Body and Soul: Enacting the Gospel at a Christian Funeral

Jerome J. Washington

The Rev. Dr. Jerome J. Washington is Pastor of the Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Durham, NC. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Apex School of Theology, Durham, NC. He has done postdoctoral studies at Christ Church College of the University of Oxford and Harvard Divinity School. Dr. Washington is an inductee into the Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Ministers and Laity at Morehouse College.

Dr. Washington’s sermons and articles have appeared both in print and online in numerous journals including the journal African American Pulpit. Prior to becoming a minister, Reverend Washington performed as a classical singer throughout the United States and Europe.

He serves as a board member of the Durham Anti-Gang Commission. He has one daughter, Janel Valerie and a grandson, Avery Lee.

Workshop:

From Ancient Scrolls to Modern Souls: Preaching from the Prophets

4. Workshop & Fine-Tuned Leader

Emily Bisset

The Rev. Dr. Emily Bisset has been the minister at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Toronto for 11 years. As a graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, Emily also received her Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky. She was ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and served a small rural congregation. She came to Canada to do her Doctorate of Theology in homiletics (preaching) at Knox College (Toronto School of Theology), University of Toronto. She was received into the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) in 2007 and served Knox Presbyterian Church (Oshawa) for 5 years before coming to Calvin in 2012.

In addition to congregational ministry, Emily teaches preaching at Knox College. She leads workshops and preaches at national events in the PCC as well as local events, retreats and seminars. She has been married to the Rev. Alex Bisset for 14 years.

Workshop:

Workshop: Generative Preaching, Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 1 Scott Hozee and Emily Bisset

Jeff Crittenden

Workshop:

Pilgrimage Preaching, Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 3 Jeff Crittenden and Gail Ricciuti

Sarah Han

Workshop:

Workshop: Renewed Preaching for a Digital Age, Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 2 Sarah Han and Michael Knowles

Scott Hoezee

The Rev. Scott E. Hoezee is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church in North America and has served two congregations. He was the pastor of Second Christian Reformed Church in Fremont, Michigan, from 1990-1993. Then from 1993-2005 he was the Minister of Preaching and Administration at Calvin CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the spring of 2005 Scott accepted the Seminary’s offer to become the first Director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching. He has also been a member of the Pastor-Theologian Program sponsored by the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey, where he was pastor-in-residence in the fall of 2000. From 2001-2011 Scott served on the editorial board of Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought and was co-editor of that journal from 2005-2011. He blogs regularly for The Reformed Journal and along with Darrell Delaney is the co-host of the Groundwork radio and podcast program from ReFrame Ministries of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

Rev. Hoezee is the author of several books including The Riddle of Grace (1996), Flourishing in the Land (1996), Remember Creation (1998), Speaking as One: A Look at the Ecumenical Creeds (1997), Speaking of Comfort: A Look at the Heidelberg Catechism (1998), Proclaim the Wonder: Preaching Science on Sunday (2003), Grace Through Every Generation (2007), Actuality: Real Life Stories for Sermons That Matter (2014), and Why We Listen To Sermons (2018).

Workshop:

Workshop: Preaching the Gospel of John, Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 1 Scott Hozee and Emily Bisset

Michael Knowles

The Rev. Dr. Michael Knowles is a graduate of Wycliffe College and the Toronto School of Theology, Dr. Knowles retired in 2024 from the George Franklin Hurlburt Chair of Preaching at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, where he now serves as Professor Emeritus. His most recent book-length study, Third Voice: Preaching Resurrection (2021) addresses the spirituality of preaching in light of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Dr. Knowles is ordained within the Anglican Church of Canada

Workshop:

The Spirituality of Preaching, Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 2 Sarah Han and Michael Knowles

5. Fine-Tuned Leader

Gail Ricciuti

Rev. Gail Ricciuti (Presbyterian Church USA) is Professor Emerita at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, where she taught preaching and practical theology for 23 years. During the 25 years preceding her teaching career, she and her husband (the Rev. Anthony Ricciuti) pioneered the field of co-pastoring in Byron, New York and at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she earned degrees from the University of Puget Sound and Princeton Theological Seminary, with an honorary Doctor of Divinity conferred by Keuka College. She co-authored the two-volume Birthings and Blessings: Liberating Worship Services for the Inclusive Church.

Workshop:

Fine-Tuned Preaching: Group 3 Jason Byassee and Gail Ricciuti