A new preaching course, led by Bishop Saju, will begin in the diocese this October. Building on a successful pilot group, the Preaching Well Learning Community offers a guided and collaborative environment focused on deep engagement with Scripture, practical sermon preparation, and personal reflection.
It is designed to support the formation of preachers, helping participants grow in clarity, confidence, and theological depth as they develop their preaching ministry.
Bishop Saju writes:
"Over the last year, I journeyed with a small group of preachers in our diocese. Not to perfect delivery, but to tell the truth. We opened Scripture. We listened to God, to one another, to the sound of our own voices. We spoke. We fumbled. We tried again.
Something happened.
Voices steadied.
Thoughts gathered.
Lives came into focus.
Preaching began to do its real work - not as performance, but as formation. Words took root. They moved through flesh and bone, through doubt and hope, through kitchens and quiet prayers at night. Preaching shapes lives because it comes from a life. And when that life is held - watched, guided, stretched, prayed for - it changes the way the Word is heard.
In October this year, a new cohort begins. Not a course to complete, but a path to walk and a community to be part of. Together we will work at the craft: how a sermon forms, how a text speaks, how attention sharpens. We will attend to the content: Scripture read with care, with patience, with courage. And we will face the deeper work: the preacher’s own life - its wounds, its questions, its call.
You will practise. You will receive feedback that names what is true. You will learn to stand in a pulpit without hiding. You will grow a voice that carries both conviction and care.
This comes from the first cohort. We learned as we went. We listened closely. We saw what helps. The next group will carry that forward - with more clarity, more honesty, more depth.
If you sense even a small pull - follow it.
If something in you stirs when the Gospel is read - pay attention.
If you wonder whether your voice might serve others, come and see.
On Saturday 20 June there is be a morning to explore. A conversation. A doorway.
People sit before a preacher with real lives in their hands. Grief. Joy. Fear. Hunger for meaning. Words can steady a heart. They can open space for God. They can call a life by name. Perhaps now is your moment. Not to have it all together - but to step forward with a desire to preach well."
Find out more: Saturday 20 June, 9am - Bishop's Lodge, Leicester.
This session will offer an opportunity to receive further information about the programme and to consider participation in the forthcoming cohort.
RSVP: Peter.Collett@LeicesterCofE.org
To provide insight into the Learning Community, Bishop Saju has made a video featuring members of the first cohort: