Siblings in Christ,
This month, the Rev. Christina Jensen, one of our Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative (CGPI) mentors and pastor of three, yes you read that right three, congregations in Lake Huron Presbytery (Chandler, Fraser, & Kinde Presbyterian Churches), provides us a report on the Michigan Presbyteries Cohort of CGPI.
We are currently recruiting for the second cycle of CGPI which begins on June 12-16, 2025 at Alma College in Alma, MI. There are still several openings. The application and further information are available on the Synod website. Please contact me with any questions.
Grace and peace,
Matt Aragon-Bruce
609-712-4258
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Grace and Peace to the Synod of the Covenant from the Michigan Presbyteries Cohort of CGPI!
Here we are, approaching the halfway mark of the inaugural session of the Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative, and we have learned so much together in this time!
Since we departed Alma College in June 2024, our cohort has been meeting once per month via Zoom – typically on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. Our cohort is made up of members from all four of the biggest presbyteries in the state of Michigan. We have one from Detroit Presbytery, one from Lake Michigan Presbytery, one from Mackinac Presbytery (shout out to our friend from Wisconsin!), and two from Lake Huron Presbytery.
We have practiced scripture reading, we have contemplated different ways of preaching, we have discussed the assigned readings and their implications on our preaching skills, and we have explored how God is moving in each of our lives and discerned what special gifts God has given each of us to use as we seek to lead God’s people in knowing God better.
A highlight of our time together so far was our January retreat. Since our cohort members are spread across the entire state of Michigan (and a little sliver of Wisconsin), we decided it would be easier to rent an AirBnB - that was relatively centrally located - for our retreat location. We found a lovely home in Kalkaska, Michigan and we spent a good 40 hours together strengthening our preaching skills and being in community together.
At the retreat, we shared meals, discussed what our cohort time would look like going forward, prayed together, and had time for fellowship. The biggest part of our retreat, though, was the preaching. Each cohort member said a prayer of illumination, read their Scripture reading, and preached the sermon that they had prepared. After the sermon was finished, each preacher was offered feedback from their colleagues – and the first question each was invited to answer was “What is the golden thread that ran through our friend’s sermon?”
Here is what some of our cohort members said, when asked to describe their time at our retreat.
“My retreat experience was that all my cohort members and I each gave a sermon we wrote to all our cohort members including our cohort leader, Pastor Christina. The purpose of this was to receive feedback on the sermon we preached from the start to the end. Pastor Christina along with my cohort colleagues all gave feedback on the good along with what they thought was needed to improve on in preaching. I will say all feedback was taken in and accepted very well from all in the group. Many prayers were spoken and on top of this plenty of good food.”
"One of the most helpful and inspiring experiences I've had in the CPGI program was the Cohort Retreat in January. We ate together, prayed together and listened to each other's sermons. We were among friends and familiar faces, so giving and receiving feedback was comfortable and low-stress. I received several useful suggestions and encouragement from my mentor and Cohort members, and left feeling renewed and eager for the work ahead."
“After leaving the “paid workforce” just a few years back, I felt the need for direction in my day to day endeavors. I’ve always felt my faith to be strong, a central pillar in my being so to speak. Part of my regular prayers included asking God what direction I should take with my next life project, that I knew He had a plan, a path for me, I just needed to know it to follow it. Early Spring of 2024, I was approached by the Clerk of Session and the then pastor of the Parish about the “Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative.” Didn’t take much discernment to see the path in front of me, and I needed to take it! Now at the end of January, not quite half way through the CGPI, there is no question I am on the right path. Learning the intricacies (and challenges!) of preaching God’s Word, the deeper study needed to better understand the Gospel for preaching, and the practice of presenting it all in a manner that others could truly understand and accept the message, has been very enlightening! There is no doubt that both my faith and potential preaching abilities have grown through the opportunity offered in the CGPI program, and look forward to completing the balance of the CGPI. Trained and ordained pastors are of course irreplaceable within the church. However the “grassroots” approach of the CGPI to train preachers will go a long way in providing a solid method of helping the Church, and those irreplaceable pastors, spread the Good news!”
As a pastor serving three congregations at once, as a member of the Commission on Ministry and Ministry Preparation of the Presbytery of Lake Huron, as the chairperson of the Transition Team of that commission, as a former Minister Commissioner to both Synod and General Assembly, and as a cohort mentor for the inaugural class of the CGPI – I can wholeheartedly say that this is one of the best endeavors that the Synod of the Covenant has ever offered to their presbyteries. The Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative is an answer to a thousand prayers asking “what will we do for the churches in the future? Who will do the preaching?”
I strongly recommend to each presbytery and each congregation to prayerfully consider who among you might benefit from having the gift of sharing their story and God’s story cultivated through participating in the CGPI. It is a priceless opportunity.
God’s rich blessings on all of you,
The Rev. Christina Jensen
Pastor, Chandler, Fraser, and Kinde Presbyterian Churches
Member, Presbytery of Lake Huron
Mentor, Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative
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