2024 Summer Preaching Series
WORSHIP WITH US IN PERSON AND ONLINE
We are pleased to announce our line-up of guest speakers for the 2024 season.
July 9
Rev. Dr. Emily Bisset
Emily Bisset is a graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. She received her Master of Divinity (M.Div) degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and was ordained in the PC(USA) in March 2000. After serving at North Shenango Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, she came to Toronto to pursue her Doctorate of Theology (Th.D.) in homiletics (preaching). She served Knox (Oshawa) Presbyterian Church as their minister for 5 years before coming to Calvin in 2012. Emily teaches preaching at Knox College (Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto). She leads workshops and preaches for national events in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, such as the Canada Youth Conference, as well as more local events, retreats, and seminars. She is married to the Rev. Alex Bisset.
July 16
Rev. Laura de Jong
Rev. Laura de Jong is a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church of North America with a passion for worship and ecclesiology. She served as pastor of Second CRC in Grand Haven, Michigan, for four years before returning to Southern Ontario where she now serves as Pastor of Preaching and Pastoral Care at Community CRC in Kitchener. Laura is a regular contributor to the Reformed Journal Blog, and enjoys reading, writing, and watching the Jays. Laura is a graduate of Calvin University (History and Congregational Ministry Studies) and received her M.Div from Calvin Theological Seminary.
July 23
Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling
The Reverend Dr. Andrew Stirling is the Ambassador for the Canadian Bible Society. Prior to that appointment in 2022, he served as the Senior Minister of the historic Timothy Eaton Memorial United Church in Toronto from 1998 to 2021. Andrew was born in the United Kingdom and is a Canadian Citizen. He received his education in England, Bermuda, Canada, and South Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Comparative African Government and Law from the University of Cape Town (South Africa), a Master of Divinity from the Atlantic School of Theology (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and a Doctor of Ministry in preaching from Acadia Divinity College (Wolfville, Nova Scotia).
In 2008 Wycliffe College (Toronto), recognized his contribution to preaching with an honorary Doctor of Divinity. In 2016 Dr. Stirling was appointed a Lifetime Fellow of Acadia Divinity College. For the past 15 years he has been an IndyCar Chaplain.
July 30
Rev. Dr. Paul Scott Wilson
Paul Scott Wilson is Professor Emeritus of Homiletics, Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. He has lectured widely around the world and is the author of numerous books on preaching, including The Four Pages of the Sermon (1999, 2018).
August 6
Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis
Karoline M. Lewis is the Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, where she has taught since 2007.
Lewis is the author of A Lay Preacher's Guide: How to Craft a Faithful Sermon; Embody: Five Steps to Leading With Integrity; SHE: Five Keys to Unlock the Power of Women in Ministry (including an accompanying facilitator guide, participant guide, and DVD); and John: Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries, as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Lewis was one of the 100 religious scholars in the United States to be a part of the Values and Voices Campaign 2016 (valuesandvoices.com) and again in 2021. Her current projects include John and Method, and Belonging: Lessons At The Well.
Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Lewis holds degrees from Northwestern University (B.A.), Luther Seminary (M.Div.), and Emory University (Ph.D., New Testament Studies and Homiletics). She is the Program Director for the Festival of Homiletics, an annual conference that features the best preachers in America today, a contributing writer for Working Preacher, and co-host of the site's weekly podcast, Sermon Brainwave. Lewis leads conferences, workshops, and retreats internationally on the Gospel of John, the New Testament, interpreting the Bible, preaching, leadership, and women in ministry. You can learn more about Lewis and connect with her at karolinelewis.com.
August 13
Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris
Stephen Farris is a semi-retired Presbyterian minister and is presently serving as Visiting Professor of Preaching at Knox College, University of Toronto. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, and Cambridge University, England, from which he received his PhD. He is Dean Emeritus of St. Andrew's Hall, Vancouver, and Professor Emeritus of Preaching of Vancouver School of Theology. Dr. Farris was elected Moderator of the 140th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, has served on the Executive Committee of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and as President of the Academy of Homiletics, the international association of teachers of preaching. He has preached and taught internationally and nationally, and is the authour of four books, many academic and popular articles, and a murder mystery short story. His most recent book is So, Tell Me a Story: The Art of Storytelling for Preaching and Teaching.
August 20
Rev. Dale Soble
The youngest of three children to Bill and Carol Soble, Dale was raised in Belleville, Ontario. The family's home church was Victoria Avenue Baptist Church where Dale was baptized when he was thirteen years old. After high school, Dale attended McMaster University, thinking he would eventually turn toward a career in journalism, but he was drawn or pushed into ministry in his final years of arts.
Following graduation, Dale enrolled in McMaster Divinity College. His first church was a small country church, Wainfleet Baptist. While there, Susan and Dale were married in 1978 and had their first child, Nicholas. They were called to Lakeside Heights Baptist Church in the West Island of Montreal during which time their children, Katie and Nathaniel, were born. From Montreal they were called to First Baptist Church, Ottawa, where Maggie was born.
The next adventure in ministry came when Dale became one of the Area Ministers for the CBOQ, watching over 80 plus churches in the southern part of Ontario. After ten years as Area Minister, Dale accepted the call to Murray St. Baptist Church in Peterborough.
Since retiring in 2015, Dale writes weekly blog posts at theunconventionalbaptist.blogspot.com and occasionally fills in as the on-call chaplain at the local hospital. Susan spent part of her childhood at Yorkminster Park when her father, the Rev. Dr. Bruce Neal, served on our ministry team. Susan retired in 2022 and their seven grandchildren keep them busy and happy and proud. For several years Dale and Susan have been part of our online congregation and we are honoured that they have now joined our church.