THE second Festival of Preaching, organised by Canterbury Press Norwich and the Church Times, will take place from 8 to 10 September at Christ Church, Oxford.

Nearly 500 people attended the inaugural Festival of Preaching in September 2017, which sold out three months before it took place (Features, 22 September 2017).

Speakers lined up for the 2019 Festival include the American author and activist Brian McLaren; the theologian Dr Paula Gooder; the Dean and Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, Canon Mark Oakley; and the Rector of St Nicholas’s, Burnage, and Visiting Fellow of Manchester Metropolitan University, Canon Rachel Mann.

“A programme of talks, seminars, and workshops will aim to inspire, nurture, and celebrate all who are called to proclaim the gospel today,” a statement from Hymns Ancient & Modern, which owns Canterbury Press and the Church Times, said. Among the topics covered will be “Worship that destroys (and saves) the world”; “All-age preaching”; “Preaching the parables”; “Dangers in the pulpit”; and “Sermons seldom held”.

The Publishing Director of Hymns A&M, the Revd Christine Smith, said: “We are thrilled and excited to return to Oxford in September. We were overwhelmed with the attendance and feedback from the first festival. We will be making some small changes to the programme, but it will largely follow the same format as 2017. Again, we have worked long and hard on curating a programme that we hope will be the right mix of stimulation and encouragement.

“For those of us who preach week in, week out, new ideas and fresh inspiration are always welcome. We hope that those attending will be refreshed and energised by outstanding speakers from across the Christian Church.”
 

For the full programme and tickets, visit festivalofpreaching.hymnsam.co.uk.

Early bird tickets are now on sale: ends 31 January 2019.

Listen to the Revd Christine Smith talk about the Festival of Preaching on the Church Times Podcast: