Academy News

It is my privilege to invite Academy of Homiletics members to make plans now to attend our annual meeting Dec. 3 through 5 in our nation’s Capitol.  We are all painfully aware of the financial constraints under which we and the institutions we serve are now working.  Yet every now and then a special time and place—and event—come our way that, with some advance planning and scrimping, we are glad we found a way to take part in.  I believe this year’s Academy of Homiletics meeting in Washington DC is one of those times. 

That is why I am urging now, more than four months before our meeting, that Academy members begin to lay concrete plans to be part of our activities and festivities.  When the camaraderie and special events planned for this year’s Academy are combined with the sites of our nation’s Capitol, the long weekend in early December will prove truly memorable.

We are setting a goal of having 150 Academy members in attendance for the Washington DC meeting—with a goal of 100 being part in the very special Saturday night banquet.  The banquet speaker alone should be able to attract that many to this event, to say nothing of the live music and dancing after the program.  The price (to be announced) of the dinner also covers a full evening, including the speaker and entertainment.

SPEAKERS/LECTURERS
Here you will meet both the guest speakers/lecturers for this year’s Academy program as well as those who will preach at our three traditional worship services.  While we honor many of our Academy traditions, we are deviating from some of them in a few intriguing ways. 

In addition to the speakers and preachers introduced here, we are also including the first round of information about our meeting Hotel, the Embassy Suites Convention Center hotel, and how to make travel arrangements to Washington DC.  Read the information about our hotel carefully, particularly if you would like to make a reservation within the next couple of weeks. 
What is not yet included here on our web site is information about registration, Academy dues, costs, etc. related to membership and to our December meeting.  We are still working to be able to do all of the “business” of our Academy on-line, but it is going to take another 30 days or so before we can have things up and running.  Both Jennifer Lord, our Treasurer, and Stephen Johnson, our Web Master, are hard at work on those important matters.  And in the next 30 days or so, Lucy Lind Hogan, our Local Arrangements Chairperson, will give us additional details about getting ready to come to Washington.   

Our theme this year is, “Preaching and the News” and, in different ways, each of our speakers and preachers will address that theme.  This will be an Academy meeting to be remembered.  Please make arrangements early so that you can attend.

I want to add one other note.  We contracted with three of our well-known speakers a year ago, when our Academy finances were much better than they are now; the recession has hit our Academy as it has everything else.  In recent weeks, we have had graceful and generous responses from the speakers we asked to take a lesser honorarium than we had originally promised them, and that we are used to providing to our guests.  Our program did not change; the same speakers will be with us.  The membership needs to know that.