A practical, skills-based conference equipping clergy, church staff, & lay preachers to bring the Word to life in Cascadia
Saturday, May 3, 2025
1:00-5:30pm followed by optional Mocktail Mix & Mingle
Calvin Presbyterian Church, Shoreline, WA
Early bird pricing is $69 until March 15th. Learn how you can attend for free.
Timely Topics
for Liberating Preaching
Through our keynote and breakout sessions, we’ll provide tools for how preaching can be life-giving for the preacher, impactful for the congregation, and liberating for the communities we serve in. We invite you to reimagine.
Efficient Sermon Preparation
Culturally Intelligent Preaching
Tending to your own soul: Preaching as a spiritual practice
Preaching for political discipleship in divisive times
Storytelling: incorporating your own stories appropriately in sermons
Equipping lay preachers: co-preaching demonstration & best practices for supporting lay preachers
Innovative sermons and services
& more
.As a companion event – Christ & Cascadia will host a 1/2 day gathering on May 2nd, 1:00-5:30pm.
These two events explore one overarching question:
How do we bring the Word to life in Cascadia?
Dig into the “What” and “Why” of this question with others
Imagining New Ideas with Others
Conversations & Discussion-based Sessions
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Meet the Presenters
Rev Dr. Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, Keynote
Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm is the Brightbill Professor of Preaching and Worship at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, IN. Ordained in the Church of the Brethren (one of the Historic/Living Peace Churches), she has served as a hospital chaplain in psychiatric and trauma centers, then as pastor of two churches in Lancaster and central Pennsylvania. Dawn earned her Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary and has been teaching at Bethany for over 20 years. The author and editor of several books, her current research and writing focus on theopoetics at the intersection of preaching, spirituality, and justice. She is married, has three adult children, and enjoys outdoor/distance swimming and singing (not at the same time).
Dawn is a former president of Societas Homiletica (the international association of homileticians), current vice-president and upcoming president of the Academy of Homiletics (2026). She is also the senior editor of Homiletic (the journal of the Academy of Homiletics), the editor and contributing author of Preaching Prophetic Care: Building Bridges to Justice (Wipf & Stock Pub.), editor of a 3-volume series titled Preaching God’s Transforming Justice (Westminster John Knox Press), and the author of Preaching the Gospel of Mark: Proclaiming the Power of God (Westminster John Knox Press).
