What: The monks of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts are providing a series of six recorded sermons for Episcopal congregations this Advent season. The free sermon resource can be used in a service where a preacher may not be available, or they can be used as an adult forum resource.

Why it matters: Of the almost 6,000 congregations of the Episcopal Church, some 1730 of them have 29 or fewer people on an average Sunday. Many of these do not have a clergy person present of many Sundays. This resource aims to provide them with monastic wisdom for the season that prepares us for the incarnation of Christ.

Driving the news: This resource, called Virtual Preaching Monks, is another experiment from TryTank Experimental Lab. TryTank offers inventive approaches to the challenges facing the Episcopal Church.

The details: Interested congregations can register for the resources at www.TryTank.org/vpm. Once registered they will receive access to the resource page that hosts the sermons. The sermons are based on the Sunday lectionary and are about 12 minutes in length and cover the period from Christ the King to Christmas Day. On that webpage they will also find access to a simple one-page curriculum if they opt to use the sermons as a seasonal adult forum. At the end of the season, TrYTank hopes the participating congregations will fill out a survey about their experience.

More information: For more information at www.TryTank.org/VPM