Program Offerings

• Sermons
• Clergy conferences
• Keynote addresses
• Lectures
• Retreats
• Training days
• Individual Coaching

"Raewynne led one of our clergy continuing education days last year and was nothing short of excellent in terms of her methodology, presence, knowledge, and teaching ability. She is a born teacher…"
- Canon Elizabeth Geitz, Diocese of New Jersey

"As a priest, at my ordination I was handed a bible and given the church's authority to preach the Word of God and to administer the holy Sacraments. Preaching is one of the core elements of priestly vocation. Like most of us, I began enthusiastically, excited about what felt like an enormous privilege of exploring scripture, finding connections with everyday life, and encountering God.

But preaching week after week, year after year, can be tough. Busy with the constant demands of parish ministry, it becomes just one more item on our long list of things to do. It can feel more often a burden than a privilege.

In recent years, I have begun to explore ways in which to reconnect with that early enthusiasm, with the passion that is at the core of my soul responding to the passion at the core of our God. And I have begun to reclaim preaching as a place of grace, where God will reach out to me and gift me to reach out to others.

The programs I offer are focused on reclaiming preaching as a core ministry within our vocation, and even more importantly, as a place of passion and grace, where we ourselves will encounter the Holy."

Dr Whiteley offers the following programs; she is also delighted to develop new programs to address specific issues and needs. Each of these can be presented as a 3-5 day conference incorporating presentations, interactive sessions, preaching practicums and worship, or adapted to a lecture or single day format.

A CD in one hand . . . Preaching and Pop Culture
This workshop explores how pop culture expresses the same longings, doubts, hopes, and celebrations that are woven into Christian spirituality, and developing practical ways of incorporating pop culture into our preaching, using U2's music as an example.

Not Just Youth: How generational differences affect our preaching - in preachers and in those who listen
This program explores the implications of generational theory for how we preach. It focuses on three themes: 1) Truth: how does postmodernism shape the way we understand truth? What would it mean for truth to be multifaceted and multi-sensory? 2) Authority: What weight is behind our words? How do scripture, tradition, reason, experience and culture interact? 3) Authenticity: Who are we? How is that reflected in our preaching?

Help! I'm preaching on Sunday!
Whether you're preaching for the first time, or are an experienced preacher "running dry", this workshop is designed to provide practical help in tackling sermon preparation and delivery. We will particularly focus on the ways in which attentiveness to the text and attentiveness to the world around us (in music, films, bestsellers, TV shows and the news) can bring new insights and energy for preaching.

Take this soul and make it sing
It's easy as clergy to fall into the habit of seeing preaching as yet another task on the "to do" list. This program explores the work of the soul that underlies our preaching, and allows us to reclaim it as vocation and joy.

Who am I to speak? Women and preaching
For many women, it's one thing to have a sense of calling to full time Christian ministry. It's another to discover a passion for preaching and to step outside the traditional women's realms of pastoral care and Christian education. This retreat will explore some of the struggles we face as women in discerning our gifts and callings and provide support and resources for ministry.