Sacramentality of Preaching

The Author: Todd Townshend is the Assistant Professor of Homiletics, Faculty of Theology, at Huron University College, in London, Canada, where he also serves as Rector of St. Aidan’s Anglican Church. He completed his Th.D. at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto.

«More than anyone else in a long time, Todd Townshend thinks preaching into worship and worship into preaching. Life and liturgy are both from God and to God. Because sermons are divine events that inform and perform, they may also become moments when listeners recognize an active God in their midst, a God who engages people in a transformative response. Townshend makes an essential case for a creative tension within preaching and shows how Scripture and Sacrament both point to the Risen Christ. His compelling argument has wonderful practical implications for preaching and offers vital hope for the church.» (Paul Scott Wilson, Professor of Homiletics, Emmanuel College, University of Toronto)«Todd Townshend is interested in the deep connection between the proclaimed word, worship, and ethical mission. In ‘The Sacramentality of Preaching’, he draws on the insights of Louis-Marie Chauvet, one of the most important sacramental theologians in our day, with integrity and creativity. Through the lens of sacramentality, Townshend conceives preaching as an arena where God is present to bless God’s people, and a forum in which God’s people, in turn, can respond in faith and commitment. This volume will inspire and equip faithful preachers and educators to move beyond the necessary discourse about God in sermons so the event of proclamation may prove an actual encounter with God, shoring up a congregation’s perception of itself as the Body of Christ and propelling that congregation into living as such in the world.» (D. Jay Koyle, President, the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission)