Tending Tomorrow: Rev. Dr. Joni Sancken & Rev. Aaron Miller
In this closing episode of the Tending Tomorrow lecture series, Rev. Dr. Joni Sancken addresses the complex task of preaching in a secular age. Drawing on the insights of philosopher Charles Taylor and her own pastoral and academic experience, Sancken explores how secularism, trauma, and the “buffered self” have reshaped how sermons are heard and what people expect from the pulpit. She challenges preachers to engage the imagination, acknowledge human need, and name God's presence as a spiritual discipline. Sancken reflects on the tension between immanence and transcendence in contemporary preaching, offering practical examples and theological insights rooted in trauma theory, narrative preaching, and her Mennonite background. Rev. Aaron Miller’s thoughtful response pushes the conversation further, urging mainline preachers to risk vulnerability, normalize the “weirdness of God,” and reclaim the sermon as a thin space where divine encounter is still possible—even in a disenchanted world.
Tending Tomorrow: Rev. Dr. Sarah Han & Laura Bevan Alexander
Rev. Dr. Sarah Han offers a compelling lecture on preaching in Canada today, casting a vision for an “epic” homiletic that is eschatological, proclamational, incarnational, and Christological. Speaking from her own experience as a Korean-Chinese-Canadian preacher, Han weaves personal narrative with sharp cultural analysis to ask what gospel meta-narrative can hold Canada’s growing diversity together. She argues for a preaching practice rooted in the margins—responsive to pluralism, digital culture, and post-Christendom realities—and passionately calls for Christ-centred proclamation that is lived out in community. Respondent Laura Bevan reflects on Han’s insights through her own lenses of Irish-Canadian identity and theological formation, exploring the implications of marginality, power, and reconciliation in the Canadian church. Together, the episode probes how preaching can be both rooted in particular identity and radically open to God's work among the diverse peoples of Canada.
Tending Tomorrow: Rev. Dr. HyeRan Kim-Cragg & Ruth Kause
In this episode of the Tending Tomorrow lecture series, Rev. Dr. HyeRan Kim-Cragg explores the past, present, and future of feminist and womanist preaching within the Canadian context. Drawing from history, she outlines three key insights for future homiletics: the power of testimony, the need to move beyond solo preaching, and the importance of inclusive and expansive language about God. Kim-Cragg advocates for a preaching practice that is communal, rooted in real-world testimony, and attentive to ecological and interreligious perspectives. Respondent Ruth Kause affirms and deepens this vision with reflections on the global south's influence on Christianity in Canada, the necessity of contextualized communal preaching, and historical examples of courageous women preachers like Anne Hutchinson. Together, they offer a compelling vision of preaching that is embodied, justice-oriented, and responsive to the changing church and world.
Tending Tomorrow: with Rev. Dr. Sarah Travis and Sinyoung Kim
This episode launches a special series from the 2025 Lois Klempa Memorial Lectureship, focusing on the future of preaching in Canada through the voices of Canadian women homileticians. Rev. Dr. Sarah Travis opens the series with a powerful lecture titled “Preaching Wild Hope in a Foreign Land.” Travis challenges the myth of Canadian tolerance and explores how preaching must respond to the realities of colonialism, displacement, and multiculturalism. She argues that all Canadians—settlers and newcomers alike—are in some sense foreigners in this land, and calls for a “wild gospel” that is rooted in Spirit-led preaching, sensitive to diverse audiences, and committed to justice and reconciliation. Respondent SinYoung Kim reflects on the emotional and theological implications of foreignness in preaching, raising critical questions about empathy, homiletical strategies, and the role of the Holy Spirit. This rich dialog offers deep insight into what it means to preach truthfully and courageously in a divided and diverse Canada.