....."about your sermon"........
As a parishioner @ St. Intentional's Episcopal Church in Anytown, USA it is quite possible that you have NEVER uttered the above words to your pastor/priest/deacon.
You may, after hearing an inspired sermon have said upon exiting the church or in seguee to coffee hour, "I enjoyed (or really enjoyed) your words this morning". That's a compliment. Far be it from me to knock a compliment!
Maybe it's one of those unspoken Episcopal church etiquette rules (and there are many of these, in case you were unaware: come from another Christian tradition and you will be able to say 'well, come to think of it, she's right! ). In any event, I thought I would open this issue up to discussion, because I haven't seen it discussed elsewhere. I cringe to think this is the original application of the phrase "Don't ask, don't tell".
From the pulpit side of the equation (making "I" statements here, of course), I often get some spontaneous reaction to my sermons as I am preaching them. After the fact however, in the great exodus toward coffeecake or the world at large, few people come over to say one thing or another. Most smile politely while shaking my hand, or shake their heads with a wide grin and keep walking, or are a bit stiff with a blank but solemn look and give a limp shake. Now, did they hear anything? What did they hear? What did the homily bring up in them? I usually never know.
I can't believe I am the only person preaching - having worked hard on a sermon, a theme, prayed that God would come through in the words - who has ever yearned for feedback!
From the pew side, I can say that I have been blessed having heard many wonderful, wonderful preachers. There message was incredible, their delivery smooth and consistent. I have heard weak sermons preached with conviction and confidence that 'looked better than they were' (I'm sure I've done a few of these myself); in the reverse, I have heard sublime words presented in such a distracting way so as to make it a kind of spiritual discipline to get to the content rather than notice the delivery.
In this entry I'm asking us all to pay attention to what we do of a Sunday morning or during any public worship service. Preachers, pay attention to content and delivery... and have the faith to encourage constructive feedback. Parishioners, become good, attentive listeners and understand that an ordained person committed to preaching needs feedback to refine, improve or develop into a better preacher. The relationship between preacher and parishioner will strengthen when there is dialogue.
What's your experience... laity and clergy alike? Send in your comments! Thanks.
You may, after hearing an inspired sermon have said upon exiting the church or in seguee to coffee hour, "I enjoyed (or really enjoyed) your words this morning". That's a compliment. Far be it from me to knock a compliment!
Maybe it's one of those unspoken Episcopal church etiquette rules (and there are many of these, in case you were unaware: come from another Christian tradition and you will be able to say 'well, come to think of it, she's right! ). In any event, I thought I would open this issue up to discussion, because I haven't seen it discussed elsewhere. I cringe to think this is the original application of the phrase "Don't ask, don't tell".
From the pulpit side of the equation (making "I" statements here, of course), I often get some spontaneous reaction to my sermons as I am preaching them. After the fact however, in the great exodus toward coffeecake or the world at large, few people come over to say one thing or another. Most smile politely while shaking my hand, or shake their heads with a wide grin and keep walking, or are a bit stiff with a blank but solemn look and give a limp shake. Now, did they hear anything? What did they hear? What did the homily bring up in them? I usually never know.
I can't believe I am the only person preaching - having worked hard on a sermon, a theme, prayed that God would come through in the words - who has ever yearned for feedback!
From the pew side, I can say that I have been blessed having heard many wonderful, wonderful preachers. There message was incredible, their delivery smooth and consistent. I have heard weak sermons preached with conviction and confidence that 'looked better than they were' (I'm sure I've done a few of these myself); in the reverse, I have heard sublime words presented in such a distracting way so as to make it a kind of spiritual discipline to get to the content rather than notice the delivery.
In this entry I'm asking us all to pay attention to what we do of a Sunday morning or during any public worship service. Preachers, pay attention to content and delivery... and have the faith to encourage constructive feedback. Parishioners, become good, attentive listeners and understand that an ordained person committed to preaching needs feedback to refine, improve or develop into a better preacher. The relationship between preacher and parishioner will strengthen when there is dialogue.
What's your experience... laity and clergy alike? Send in your comments! Thanks.
posted by Joanna Depue | 6:15 PM
3 Comments:
Here, here! When I was first ordained I even started a sermon response group that would meet once a month and let me know how I was doing! Was I on target? Had I struck any chords? I often say that I would rather have people look me in the eye and say "you are full of it!" as they walk out, because then at least I know they were listening!
In my current parish, I do get good feedback. I am very blessed to be in a parish that has been "trained" by good preaching in the past, and they often email or call the day after with some insight gained from something said in a sermon.
I love to preach and because I am "just a deacon" (I always liked Justa as a possible first name!) I only get to about once every 6-8 weeks. The advantage is I get losts of time to craft the message. The disadvantage is that when you spend that much time and sweat in finding the right voice, you feel like a failure when you get no feedback!
Deacon M
After 30+ years, hearing "Great message today. Good sermon. I really needed to hear that ..." and other such comments over the handshake at the back of church on the way out for coffee aren't nearly as thrilling to me as they used to be. I work very hard at preaching "one-point" sermons, thinking that gives folks the best chance to remember what the sermon was about. What really thrills me is when people still remember something I said the next week, or a month later, or even the next year. Once in a while, someone even remembers something I said which they took to heart YEARS ago. Whatever pride comes from such comments is often offset by someone who most definitely remembers me saying something I most definitely know I didn't say. People seem to hear what they need to hear or what they want to hear, whether the preacher says it or not.
After 30+ years, hearing "Great message today. Good sermon. I really needed to hear that ..." and other such comments over the handshake at the back of church on the way out for coffee aren't nearly as thrilling to me as they used to be. I work very hard at preaching "one-point" sermons, thinking that gives folks the best chance to remember what the sermon was about. What really thrills me is when people still remember something I said the next week, or a month later, or even the next year. Once in a while, someone even remembers something I said which they took to heart YEARS ago. Whatever pride comes from such comments is often offset by someone who most definitely remembers me saying something I most definitely know I didn't say. People seem to hear what they need to hear or what they want to hear, whether the preacher says it or not.
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