Susan McGurgan is a pastoral minister and homiletician who earned a D.Min, in Preaching from Seabury Western Theological Seminary (now Bexley Seabury.) Her dissertation, “Hearing the Voice of Silence: Catholic Women Preaching in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati” explored call and authority in lay preaching by placing women’s contemporary experiences into conversation with the history and tradition of the Church. She holds an Honors History Degree from Oklahoma State University, an MA in Pastoral Ministry from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology, and completed three years of Doctoral work in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to coming to Marian in 2024, she was an Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Director of Lay Ecclesial Formation for Mount St. Mary’s and taught courses in pastoral studies, Church history and lay formation. In 2020 she was the Marten Visiting Fellow in Preaching at the University of Notre Dame. She is past President of the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics, served on the Executive Board of the Academy of Homiletics, and convenes the Theology of Preaching Work Group. She is a frequent mission preacher and retreat leader who has led workshops for priests, deacons, and laity on a variety of topics.
Current Research Interests
As Director of the Preach All Ways Initiative, Dr. McGurgan is engaged in forming youth and young adults for public testimony, forming lay men and women as non-Eucharistic preachers, and developing resources for preachers to better engage listeners, particularly youth and young adults.
