A NEW KIND OF PREACHING COHORT

for Black, indigenous, preachers of color

We seek to identify Black, indigenous, preachers of color to build solidarity, resource proclamation in a digital age, and develop alternative forms and practices of otherwise preaching. 

We look to captivate our communities through accessing our cultural genealogies, radical narratives, and spiritual traditions, creating an alternative space, or in Toni Morrison’s words, “A Clearing,” in order to rewild “otherwise possibilities.” 

In practical terms, we aim to provide a program that will help preachers: 

  • Deepen an approach to witness as observation, testimony, interpretation through diverse forms of orality (e.g. storytelling, humor and comedy, spoken word and poetry, art and music) as fresh forms of incarnational witness

  • Connect to a cohort that will be an ongoing space for workshopping and collaboration

  • Design a method of individual and communal archive that will be an ongoing shared space for resources, topics, and sermons/talks for cohorts of preachers

  • Develop skills around digital technologies, media and communications for platforming the preacher (and their communities)

Each cohort will gather over twelve months for in-person retreats, monthly clearings (via zoom), and self-directed learning, and a capstone multi-day pilgrimage to India.

2026 Cohort

We have opened registration for our 2026 Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN-based cohort. If you live within driving distance, you are welcome to apply!

Apply for our 2026 Cohort!

2025 Atlanta Cohort Participants

  • Rev. Whitney Baisden-Bond

  • Rev. Dr. Yamileh (Yamie) Barnett

  • Rev. Beverly Brown Shaw

  • Rev. Jonathan Hemphill

  • Rev. Crispin Ilombe Wilondja

  • Kylan Pew

  • Rev. Mardy Ringer

  • Rochelle Samuels

  • Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis

  • Rev. Dr. Cedrick Von Jackson

  • Rev. Sungwoo (Sam) Kim

Some Of Our Clearing Speakers

  • Lanecia A. Rouse

    Lanecia A. Rouse is a visual artist whose portfolio encompasses collage, abstract painting, photography, teaching, writing, speaking, and curatorial projects for local non-profit organizations. Learn more at: http://www.laneciarouse.co/

  • Patrick Reyes

    Rev. Patrick B. Reyes, PhD, Dean, Auburn Theological Seminary, author of The Purpose Gap. Learn more at: https://www.patrickbreyes.com/

  • Jeff Chu

    Writer, reporter, editor. Editor-at-large at Travel+Leisure. Teacher in residence at Crosspointe Church in North Carolina. Parish associate for storytelling and witness at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley in California. Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Cook and gardener. Learn more at: https://byjeffchu.com/

What is a clearing?

The driving metaphors of clearing, enfleshing, and witness are inspired from a variety of places. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, the “Clearing” is a liminal, precious space for those who know and live peripherally and provisionally - a site stripped of capitalist impulses toward productivity…it is a space to enflesh that which sometimes inarticulable or unintelligible.

Annual Pilgrimage

We will travel together to encounter and engage communities of proclamation from the global majority. The team is currently finalizing plans for the next three years (2026-2028), traveling to India, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. While yet to be finalized, we are planning to travel to India for the first cohort in January of 2026. Traveling for both personal and vocational nourishment, we will also interact with a diversity of Christian communities, other faith communities and sites and meet interfaith leaders as we explore the proclamation of liberation on the subcontinent.

“Our goal is to rewild the preacher and the sermon, allowing them to flourish in the diverse landscapes of the communities we live in.”

- Rev. Winnie Varghese

Meet the Team

  • Rev. Dr. Eric Barreto

  • Rev. Dr. Valerie Bridgeman

  • Rev. Mihee Kim-Kort

  • Rev. Wesley Morris

  • Rev. Dr. Theresa Thames

  • Rev. Winnie Varghese