Digital Preaching For These Challenging Times

Rev. Dr. Karyn L. Wiseman

Preaching in this time is different than ever before. We are doing more digital and collaborative worship due to the pandemic and we are doing more with less physicality than normal. But how do we do these things well? What are the most engaging ways to preach for today? How do we preach the Gospel to transform our listeners and our part of the world? These are the questions Dr. Wiseman will address in her workshop.

Digital Worship

Rev. Dr. Erika D. Crawford

During these difficult times digital worship caused the church to change some traditions. Some of these changes may be temporary but some may be permanent. How do we marry the tradition with the current context?  How do we do this without alienating anyone? How do we handle communion, sacraments, funerals? We’re going to have to be creative and continue to innovate. Can we understand this time as a gift and digital worship as a means of grace? Explore with Dr. Crawford the new understanding of community that has emerged from digital worship and how our worshipping communities are even now being reformed in a new way.

How Can We Sing God’s Song in a Strange [Virtual] Land?

Dr. Martin Tel

Like the psalmist, we have felt like hanging our harps (well, maybe guitars) in the willows (Psalm 137:2). We remember how we used to join the singing multitude in God’s house, and we weep (Psalm 42:4). In this exile, whether it be livestream, Zoom, or other muted gatherings, we have learned lessons about what we had taken for granted, but have also discovered aspects of singing that we had overlooked. Together we will consider some of the best practices of virtual communal singing and anticipate what we might wish to carry forward in our “post-exilic” worship.

Both/And: Maximizing Hybrid Worship Experiences For Online and In-Person Audiences

Jason Moore

In 2020, many churches went online for the first time or completely overhauled their approach to the online worship experience. For the first time ever, most churches began talking directly to the camera, and started designing worship for people watching online from home or wherever they might otherwise be.

As we approach the return to in-person worship, we face a critical moment in the life of the church. We mustn’t treat the people who return to our worship spaces as the studio audience for people who have watched online, and we also cannot treat the online audience like observers of an experience they’re not really a part of.

Join author, speaker and worship coach Jason Moore for a conversation about how to re-imagine worship, the experience of worship and how to create “BOTH/AND” worship where neither audience feels like an afterthought. You’ll learn specific strategies for how to connect with multiple audiences, regardless of your church size, worship style, technology savvy, denominational affiliation (or not) and more.

Rev. Karyn L. Wiseman, Ph.D.

Rev. Karyn L. Wiseman, Ph.D. is the Lead Pastor of Gloria Dei Church, Huntingdon Valley, PA and The Herman G. Stuempfle Associate Professor of Homiletics at the United Lutheran Seminary with campuses in Philadelphia and Gettysburg.  She is interested in engaging the 21^st century church for vital ministry, equipping established communities to take on new models and methods for church, and employing postmodern ideas to reengage younger generations in preaching and worship. Karyn lives with her family in the Philadelphia area where they love to visit historical sites, go to the movies, and to head up to NYC to see musicals/plays.

Rev. Dr. Erika D. Crawford

The Reverend Doctor Erika D. Crawford (D.Min.) heard her call to preach at the age of 21 and answered at the age of 23, preaching her initial sermon at Reid Chapel AME Church in Columbia, SC (7^th Episcopal District).  Over the course of 20 years, the ministry has taken her to pulpits across the United States and in South Africa, Jamaica (W.I.), England, Guyana, and Bermuda. In addition to her current Pastoral work and responsibilities at Mt. Zion AME Church (Dover, DE),  Dr. Crawford is the Connectional (International) President of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Women In Ministry (AME/WIM) with a membership of more than 4000 clergywomen; she is a member of the Pan-Methodist Commission; a co-founder and convener of High Heels Seeking Higher Ground Women’s Retreat Ministry; a life member of the NAACP; co-founder of The ToolShed Community a forum for racial dialogue, a member of the Trauma Delaware Resilience Working Group, Member of the Board of Directors for Self-Help, Inc., Member of The Village a community education support group, Director of Stewardship for the First Episcopal District of the AME Church as well as a number of other leadership positions in the AME Church and community.

Dr. Martin Tel

Martin Tel is the C. F. Seabrook Director of Music at Princeton Theological Seminary where he directs the seminary choirs, facilitates the music ministry for daily worship, and lectures in the area of church music. He served as senior editor of Psalms for All Season: A Complete Psalter for Worship (Faith Alive, 2012). He also served on the editorial committees which produced a new hymnal for the Christian Reformed Church and Reformed Church in America denominations, Lift Up Your Hearts (Faith Alive, 2013) and the Spanish-English bilingual hymnal, Santo, Santo, Santo / Holy, Holy, Holy (GIA, 2019).

Jason Moore

Known for his pioneering work in collaborative worship design, online worship, hybrid worship, and guest readiness, Jason Moore has devoted the last two plus decades to resources development, training, and coaching & consulting that works for local churches of all sizes, styles and means. The author of 10 books, Jason has lead nearly 80 webinars dedicated to helping churches navigate pandemic and post pandemic worship. His latest book From Franchise to Local Dive: Multiplying Your Church By Discovering Your Contextual Flavor, a book on revitalizing and starting new worship experiences is available at www.franchise2dive.com