May 24, 2019

Ten preachers from the Florida and Western North Carolina Conferences recently completed the 2018-2019 Institute of Preaching  It is a cooperative ministry of the Florida Conference, Western North Carolina Conference, and Duke Divinity School.  Participating from Florida were Phillip Short, Tracie Ashley, Josias Andujar, Ben Collins, Ginger Medley and Andy Whitaker-Smith. Along with three retreats in Chapel Hill, NC, Tampa, FL and St. Simons Island, GA, the preachers received sermon feedback from a team of lay persons in their congregations.  Tracie Ashley, the pastor at Emmanual UMC in Bradenton, said, “The Institute of Preaching catapulted my preaching to a new level, gave me a deeper understanding of my calling and created a lifelong bond with a dynamic team of people.”  Applications are now being accepted for the 2019-2020 Institute.  Information is available at https://www.flumc.org/instituteofpreaching.