Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast selected for EPF Lay Preacher Training Program

We are very pleased to announce that The Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast recently applied to be considered for a pilot program focused on Lay Preaching Excellence with the Episcopal Preaching Foundation. We were awarded a place along with five other dioceses. The Rev. Dr. Joy Blaylock and the Rev. Lydia Johnson will begin specialized training this fall. The program aims to start teaching select students for this lay preaching program beginning in January 2022.

This new program is funded by a grant from Trinity Church Wall Street and is a three-year program whose objective is to create a robust curriculum and protocol for the formation and training of lay preachers. The LPTI will create a scalable program with the flexibility to be then successfully implemented by any Episcopal diocese.

In line with the ECUSA vision of lay leadership as a fourth dimension of diocesan leadership alongside bishops, priests, and deacons, the overarching vision is to develop a cadre of powerful lay preachers drawn from within their local communities who can supplement ordained clergy in the pulpit.

The lay preachers will serve congregations lacking full-time or bi-vocational clergy and offer a different voice of the Good News from within the community, as well as provide schedule relief on the preaching roster as needed. This is an exceptional opportunity to be part of expanding our mission and living into our Diocesan mission statement of forming disciples who move beyond the status quo.

We are thrilled to have been chosen for this special program and look forward to lifting up those called to proclaim the Gospel in this special way as a part of their Baptismal Ministry.

If you would like to know more about this program, please contact the Rev. Dr. Joy Blaylock:

joyblaylock@diocgc.org