Chapel at Western Theological Seminary
Kerygmatic Conversation
Kerygma means “proclamation" – and in this type of service, after a scripture passage is read, congregants are invited into small groups. There, guided by the Holy Spirit, they ask questions of each other and the text, and offer their own thoughts and responses in community exegesis. A leader may prompt reflection with specific questions.
Structure
The following structure is one example from the Iona Community, but it can be adjusted to fit your purposes.
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Invitation: The people of God are invited to encounter the Trinity by both word and symbol.
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Scripture: Choose a passage in which there are three to four characters. Read the passage once to the congregation without saying where it comes from. Encourage them to listen and not follow along in the text.
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Assemble: Invite the congregation to split up into groups of three to four. Each person in the group should then pick one character in the text as their own.
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Scripture: Read the text a second time as each person imagines themself in their character’s place.
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Conversation: Ask the groups to discuss the passage while “in character”. Some questions may include “What was your character thinking throughout the story?” or “What questions does your character have for another character?”
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Reflection: Invite the group to reflect on what they heard or learned from this practice.
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Sending: Send the people of God out with benediction.
Example
Video
Coming soon!