The Brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE) in Cambridge, Massachusetts are providing a series of recorded sermons for congregations to use this Lenten season. The free sermon resource can be used in a service where a preacher may not be available, or it can be used as an adult forum resource.
Of the almost 6,000 congregations of the Episcopal Church, some 1,730 of them have 29 or fewer people on an average Sunday. Many of these do not have a clergy person present on many Sundays. This resource aims to provide them with video sermons with monastic wisdom for the season that prepares congregations for the incarnation of Christ.
This resource, called Virtual Preaching Monks, is an offering from TryTank Experimental Lab. TryTank aims to offer inventive approaches to the challenges facing the Episcopal Church. The Brothers of SSJE are a community of men in the Anglican/ Episcopal tradition. Last Advent, the Brothers offered a similar resource and expected a few congregations to participate. In the end, 484 signed up.
For 2022, the resource is available to congregations outside the Episcopal Church.
Interested church leaders can register for the resources at www.VirtualPreachingMonks.org.
Once registered, church leaders will receive access to a resource page that hosts the video sermons.
The sermons are based on the Sunday lectionary, are about 12 minutes in length, and cover:
- Ash Wednesday
- The Sundays in Lent
- Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday
- Good Friday
- The Great Vigil/Easter Day.
On the resource website, users will also find access to a simple one-page curriculum if they opt to use the sermons as a seasonal adult forum. The resource is also available for individuals who want to use it as a Lenten devotion.
Virtual Preaching Monks is a project of Virginia Theological Seminary and The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church.
