
St. Nersess Armenian Seminary is pleased to offer the following unique study opportunity in memory of Mr. Haig Dadourian, a long-time friend of St. Nersess Seminary and former Chairman of the Diocesan Council.
Spring Semester, 2007
BS 402 Let the Word Be Heard: Practical Homiletics
Facilitator: The Rev. Dr. Stephen I. Woods
Course Description
This course is designed as an introductory step into a life-long practice of the preaching art; the effective communication of God's word to the faithful. It will be an interactive exploration of what it means to be a preaching person (not a persona), the process of finding one's true voice and learning to speak from one's unique context. There will also be discussion of preaching resources, intellectual and spiritual. Over the duration of the course, students will craft and critique three sermons. The course is offered P/F.
Course Facilitator
Fr. Stephen Woods holds a PhD from The Heller School at Brandeis University and was a tenured Assoc. Prof. at the University of North Florida, where he founded an MSW program. A priest in the Episcopal Church (now retired), he has served as a pastor, interim priest, and pilgrimage guide. His preaching career has brought him acclaim in several dioceses, and he has for many years been instrumental in preparing preachers, in both traditional and non-traditional academic settings.
Course Schedule
The course has two components: there will be five class sessions led by Fr. Woods, and three weekend seminars led by guest presenters. Each seminar will consist of a Friday evening lecture/presentation and an intensive Saturday workshop. The schedule will be as follows:
February 2 - Class Session 1 Introduction to the Course: The Art of Preaching
February 9-10 - SEMINAR I - THE PREACHING "SELF"
Led by Rev. Dr. Jim Ellis
Feb. 9 at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary (7pm to 9pm)
Feb. 10 at Trinity Retreat Center, Larchmont, NY (10am to 4pm)
February 23/24 - SEMINAR II - THE PREACHER'S VOICE
Led by Kate Kelly Bouchard
Feb. 23 at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary (7pm to 9pm)
Feb. 24 at St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church, White Plains, NY (10pm to 4pm)
March 2 - Class Session 2
The Sacred Conversation: Hearing Voices
March 9/10 - SEMINAR III - THE PREACHER�S PREPARATION
Led by Rev. Dr. Cleophas J. LaRue
March 9 at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary (7pm to 9pm)
March 10 at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary (9:30am to 4pm)
March 16 - Class Session 3
Context for the Text: Patterns of Communication
April 20 - Class Session 4
Polishing the "Sacred Mirror": Prophecy, Prayer and Preaching
May 4 - Class Session 5
The Preacher's Support System: The Hard to Hear Spaces and Places
Seminar Leaders
Jim Ellis is a pastoral psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist working in private practice in New York City and in Rumson, NJ. An American Baptist minister, Jim became interested in the field of depth psychology and religion during a year long Clinical Pastoral Education residency program working with acute and chronically mentally individuals at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC. This chaplaincy experience motivated him to pursue an STM in depth psychology and religion at Yale Divinity School, followed by a PhD in a joint program between the Blanton-Peale Institute of Religion and Health and Union Theological Seminary. Jim's particular interest is in the various ways people who have experienced suffering find meaning in their lives. He lives in New York City with his wife, Kate Dunn (a Presbyterian minister) and their two children.

is a specialist in Voice/Speech and Presentation Training. She has served on the Theatre Faculty of Skidmore College for the past sixteen years, most recently immersing herself in the intensive teacher training program of Shakespeare and Company. She trained for four years with Uta Hagen, and has studied extensively in many Stanislavski-based techniques. She has also participated in numerous voice workshops at the Linklater Center. In addition to a distinguished teaching career, Kate has thirty years of acting experience, with performances throughout the country in theatres including Hartford State, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Delaware Theatre Company, Portland State, American Stage Festival, and the Folger Theatre.
