Cohort 3 Recap

The third cohort of the Pulpit Project met from August 18-20, 2025, at the Orlando Science Center.

The 17 participants included Rick Phillips, Chandra Snell, Tiffania Icaza-Willetts, Andy Whitaker Smith, Bethany Douty, Travis Taylor, Ryan Frack, Danny Bennett, Gary Logan, Britt Gilmore, Mike Moxley, Beth Bostrom, Steve Carleo, Rachel Williams, Mark Holland, Peytyn Tobin, and Brett DeHart.

The co-facilitators were Allee Wood, Dan Wunderlich, Linda Tice, and Magrey deVega

The Pulpit Project gathered its third cohort of pastors August 18–20, 2025, at the Orlando Science Center, marking another milestone in this innovative preaching initiative of the James and Martha Harnish Institute of Preaching. Seventeen Florida Conference clergy joined together for three days of collaboration, creativity, and community, ultimately producing 40 new worship series that will enrich congregations for years to come.

With this cohort’s contributions, the Pulpit Project has now engaged 57 clergy across its first three gatherings, generating 124 worship series that will be permanently archived and available for future generations. Over the next three years, six additional cohorts are planned, with a projected total of nearly 200 participants and more than 350 worship series created.

Led by co-facilitators Allee Wood, Dan Wunderlich, Linda Tice, and Rev. Magrey deVega, the gathering combined hallmarks of the Pulpit Project experience: improvisational games that spark collaboration, small-group writing sessions, and candid discussions on the sacred task of preaching. This cohort stood out for its strong collegial bonds, with many participants choosing to share meals and fellowship beyond the scheduled sessions.

Special guests Dr. Maria Cornou and Dr. Fernando Cascante from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship joined the cohort, affirming the quality of the work and exploring ways to integrate the Pulpit Project’s worship series into a broader ecumenical database. Their presence also invited conversation about sustaining the project beyond its initial five-year funding by the Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative.

Highlights of the newly created worship series include:

Peter Rocks! (And Sometimes He Doesn’t!) – exploring Peter’s failures and redemptions.
Lifeguard – caring for self, family, community, and creation.
Emotionally Intelligent Psalms – engaging the emotions of the Psalms through the lens of Inside Out.
Every Gift Tells a Story – a stewardship and generosity series.
They Changed the World – spotlighting lesser-known biblical women.
Let Justice Roll – addressing justice from the personal to the societal.

The three days also included robust dialogue on sermon structure, prophetic preaching, pastoral leadership in times of grief and trauma, and balancing lectionary-based preaching with thematic series. Participant reflections underscored the impact: “If I could do this all day every day, I would,” said Rev. Andy Whitaker-Smith. “I feel really rejuvenated.”

Several cohort members volunteered to contribute to the upcoming Awakened to Grace worship series, part of the Wesleyan Rooted initiative, which will be used across the Conference in fall 2026.

With new learnings about schedule design, hospitality, and preparation, organizers believe Cohort 3 represented the smoothest experience yet. The next gatherings are scheduled for May 4–6 and August 17–19, 2026, again at the Orlando Science Center.