Article XXXV: Of Homilies

2 Responses

  1. Bob Chapman says:

    Not to absolve the laity in our part of God’s mission here on earth, but if sermons today were generally adequate throughout the Episcopal Church, our churches would be full.

    It is, in part, the laity’s fault by not giving our preachers the time to adequately prepare.

    It is, in part, the laity’s fault by not expecting our preachers to take adequate time to prepare.

    It is, in part, the laity’s fault by accepting that an MDiv is adequate preparation, and not providing the support (time, money) for extended theological education.

    I wanted to say this so that it is a matter of record that I am not (only) blaming our priests for the current state of affairs. The laity needs to demand changes.

    That said, are the clergy informing their congregations of what it takes to change the current state of affairs?

  2. Augustine in De Doctrina actually recommends that pastors who aren’t confident in their own speaking ability read sermons written by others. I don’t think that that should be normal practice, but there’s certainly a place for it.