Public Speaking as Proclamation of the Word of God
Early in my career, I hesitated to speak in public—lots of excuses—I didn’t like the residue of my Southern accent, others could do it better than me. This was true whether I was asked to be a presenter at a conference or to be a lector at church, reading the scriptures. Over the years, my outlook on speaking in front of people, has revolutionized based on a few epiphanic moments. I discovered that when I gave a presentation and thought of it, and indeed, did “know” that I was proclaiming the word of God, I was fine and even enjoyed it. How did I come to this? I started this movement to proclamation while studying at seminary. The few times I had to “preside” or give a homily were killers, though I realized the more I believed in my homily, the better the experience for me. But my first real breakthrough was when my husband’s dear aunt died—she had been very supportive of my study at seminary and wanted me to plan and preside at several rites of burial that are found in the Catho...