Sermon of the Year 2021 open for entries

Sermon of the Year 2021 is open for entries. Now in its sixth year, the event invites preachers and sermon writers, aged 18 or over, from all denominations and none, from across the UK to submit their 1,500 word sermons. This year's theme is Cross the Divide. The entry deadline is midnight on Sunday 21 February, 2021.

We have chosen Cross the Divide to reflect the consequences of recent world and national events and the growing need for healing. The theme has been inspired by the idea of reconciliation of the divisions in our lives: from the personal, to households and local communities, to regional and national issues and across socio-economic, political, and environmental areas of concern. The brief to entrants is broad and we expect sermons might address hot topics such as Brexit, Covid-19 or Black Lives Matter.

This year, the process for submitting entries has changed. Entries are to be submitted via our website by uploading entrants' details and sermons to a submission form. Full entry details and the entry form are at www.preachweb.org/sermonoftheyear. In line with previous years, entries will be anonymously adjudicated to select the top ten to be included in our Sermon of the Year 2021 book and the four that will go through to the Grand Final. The four finalists will deliver their sermons at our Grand Final on the evening of Thursday 24 June, 2021.

In 2020, Sermon of the Year promotional activity reached over 25,000 people in the UK and attracted over 2,000 views of the Grand Final and trophy presentation videos, making it LWPT's most widely engaged event to date.

Preach is the quarterly membership magazine for LWPT. Ecumenical in outlook, each edition covers a topical theme to help preachers understand and explore current issues in a Christian context. It aims to facilitate their sermon-writing and how they address their congregations. Written by preachers for preachers, each issue includes features, interviews and opinion with topics including Chaos & Truth, Politics, Single Living, Mental Health, The Digital Age and Money.

LWPT (Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust) is a Christian charity which provides resources, information and support to preachers. Established in 1849 to give assistance and welfare to Methodist and Wesleyan preachers and their families, the charity has reached out to all denominations since 2005. Our focus is to provide information and resources to preachers to help in their vocation. These include our website Preachweb.org, Preach magazine, Ichthus (our newsletter) and Bible Month (a study course series). Since 2016 we have, under our Preach brand, organised Sermon of the Year - an annual, nationwide event to encourage and celebrate in the gift and craft of preaching. We also actively encourage student preachers to take up ministry and twice a year offer grants to help with their course fees and study materials.