Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit builds on students’ understanding and experience of preaching, assisting them to develop their ministry of preaching the living Word of God, in a variety of pastoral contexts. It aims to extend students’ knowledge of contemporary scholarship on preaching, as well as developing their practice of preaching by paying attention to the assembly, the text and the preacher, and inculturation of the Gospel. By exploring the intersection of the Second Vatican Council’s understanding of Revelation with contemporary understandings of communication theory, they will more fully appreciate how the living Word of God shapes the faith community and its response to God’s grace, both individually and corporately.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Articulate contemporary approaches to the ongoing ...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically reflect upon one’s practice of preachin...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse and evaluate the intersection of the Secon...
Learning Outcome 03
Content
Topics will include:
• Theologies of the Word in light of Dei Verbum and subsequent Church teaching;
• The role of preaching within the context of liturgy;
• The intersection of liturgy, culture and proclamation as fundamental to homiletic discourse;
• Understanding the liturgical calendar and the structure of the Lectionary;
• The critical role of the assembly in actively receiving and reconstituting for themselves the alternative view of reality which sees God as a key player in all facets of life;
• The preacher’s capacity to name perspectives that are silent in their preaching. Ways of gaining insight into the assembly’s experiences, pertinent to the readings;
• Engaging the biblical text imaginatively, so that it becomes, for both assembly and preacher, the living Word of God
• The various dimensions and contexts of contemporary preaching:
- Preaching as personal communication
- Preaching in history
- Preaching as sacramental communication
- Preaching as rhetoric
- Preaching as dialogue with scripture
- Preaching as dialogue with culture
- Preaching and ecclesiology
- Preaching as prophetic voice
- Preaching as eschatological hope
- Preaching in the sacramental moment
- Preaching in context
- Preaching and new communication
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Such procedures may include, but are not limited to: homilies, essays, reports, student presentations, case studies and online interactive student performance tasks. Presentation of preaching and teaching scenarios to other adult learners are an effective assessment strategy to enable and develop the knowledge and expertise proper to the ministry of preaching this unit enables. They will be sequenced in order to provide scaffolding for learning.
Assessment 1 enables students to articulate a personally appropriated approach to preaching and its foundations in Christian Spirituality and theology;
Assessment 2 enables students to bring together their theological foundations with contextually situated instances of preaching and evaluate their effectiveness in the context of appropriately scaffolded critical feedback.
Assessment 3 enables students to re-evaluate their integration of a theology of the revelation, the Word and the ministerial practice of preaching with contemporary approaches to communication theory and culturally analyses.
Overview of assessments
Theological reflection eg. Students will reflect...
Theological reflection eg. Students will reflect upon and articulate the spirituality and theology of the Word of God underpinning the ministry of preaching.
25%
Weekly preaching assignments eg. Students will p...
Weekly preaching assignments eg. Students will present at least three homilies and/or verbal presentations on Scripture or catechetical themes, including a structured process of feedback and learning.
50%
Oral/Visual Presentation eg. Based on their lea...
Oral/Visual Presentation eg. Based on their learnings in the unit, students will prepare a presentation on a Vatican II approach to preaching for ministers of the Word and future preachers.
25%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials, online learning, video-conferencing, or supervision. The remaining hours typically involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment. The unit will include online activities with face to face sessions, either weekly or over dedicated intensives, so as to facilitate the participation and interaction of students from a range of ecclesial ministries.
Adult learning theory frames this unit’s exploration of the collaborative ministry between pastoral ministers, members of faith communities and clergy in the exploration of their placement cultures. In particular, transformative learning theory informs the unit’s approach to learning about ecclesial cultures as an attitude or orientation to ministry, while guiding the development of appropriate pastoral ministry tools for pastoral planning.