"Bringing Life to the Dead: Employing the Writer's Craft in Funeral Sermons"

After attending several funerals over the years that I might classify as "insert-name-of-the-deceased-here," the idea of offering a workshop on using writers' techniques in funeral sermons took root. In the spring of 2025, I pitched this concept to the esteemed Lester Randall Preaching Fellowship, an event I attend in Toronto every year, the 'Woodstock' for preachers, as I like to describe it.

It was a delight and an honour to offer this workshop in October, 2025, with the theme of that year's fellowship being "The Strength of Our Words." Here's the workshop description:

"The strength of our words matters more than ever in the funeral sermon. In a few short minutes, the preacher’s sacred responsibility is to honour the mystery, beauty, meaning, pain and glory of a life – and its accompanying death – while also offering pastoral consolation to the ones who remain. Sheryl will use her own and others’ experiences not only to offer wisdom on the importance of funerals and the funeral sermon, but also to give tips from writers on listening, observing, spiritually preparing, and employing other resources to uncover and express the luminous details of a life lived and a death experienced."

For more about the Lester Randall Preaching Fellowship: www.lesterrandall.com