Writing Coaching With Jon Argaman
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Deepen Into A Sermon Writing Practice You Love
What is it?
A nourishing community to deepen your sermon writing practice, facilitated by a writing coach who specializes in working with rabbis.
You'll be able to workshop your sermon ideas, get group and individual coaching on your writing process, cross-pollinate with other rabbis, and develop a sermon writing practice you genuinely love and that works for your actual life and rabbinate.
The Details:
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One monthly group coaching session over Zoom on the third Tuesday of the month.
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A monthly 1:1 'office hours' meeting with me at a time convenient to you.
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Access to a moderated online community discussion and writing sharing space.
How do I sign up/What is the cost?
Click one of the links below to sign up.
The minimum commitment is six months - the amount of time it takes to see a real transformation in your practice.
If you're not sure this is the right group for you and would like to talk it over, I'm very happy to speak to you one on one.
I'm happy to provide any needed documentation for you to use professional development funds to pay for this.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I know if this is for me?
This is for rabbis who want to grow in their sermon writing - and other ways of teaching their Torah in writing - and have struggled to find the time and resources for it among the many (many) other daily demands of the rabbinate.
This community would be a particularly good fit if any of the following resonate:
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You feel like your sermon writing always gets squeezed out by other demands
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You are looking to make Torah study and writing a more integral and nourishing part of the rhythm of your rabbinic life
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You are feeling into what your community(ies) need in a time of polycrisis
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You feel a call to use your rabbinic voice in new ways but you're not sure what they are
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You have Torah to share and struggle to find the words, or the courage to share it
2. What tangible results will I get from participating in this community?
The heart of the process is learning - through experimentation, coaching, community support and connection - how to express your Torah in way that actually works for your unique skills and in your (real) life.
By the end of 6 months everyone will come away with:
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An individualized map of what does and doesn't work for your writing process.
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Writing tools customized to you to help you move through uncertainty and new projects.
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A deeper vocabulary of homiletical tools, and more confidence using them.
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A strengthened connection to your own Torah and in what ways you are called to teach it.
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More ease, agency, and purpose in your writing process.
3. What happens in a group call?
Each call will be a mix of checkins on long-term goals, workshopping, brainstorming (solo and pair-shared), and direct coaching. You will leave every session with actionable next steps you can start working on right away, and a plan to check in and support you between calls.
4. What should I bring/prepare to my first session?
- Your whole self
- Sermon ideas, in any stage of completion from fragments to drafts to "I always wanted to write about Yonah as a queer story but it never went anywhere".
- Your questions, desires, uncertainties, and dreams about growing and deepening your practice as a sermon writer.
- A willingness to experiment, and give and get feedback
5. Who's facilitating this?
I am a writing coach who has taught writing at the University of Pennsylvania for nearly a decade. My background is in working with clergy, unconventional leaders, writers held back by anxiety and perfectionism, and neurodivergent writers.
I live in Philadelphia with my husband, our four year old, and an ever-growing herb garden.