Bio
Samantha is the Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Wartburg Theological Seminary. She previously taught homiletics at the General Theological Seminary (New York, NY) and speech communication in ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton, NJ). She holds a Ph.D. in Practical Theology focusing on Homiletics, an M.Div., and an M.A. in Christian Education focusing on Spirituality and Missional Formation from Princeton Theological Seminary.
As a Designated Linklater Teacher (a certification in an internationally recognized embodied voice method), Samantha taught voice and speech at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, and the Tom Todoroff Studio (New York, NY). She is integrating this expertise as a practical theologian to develop practices for preachers to become fully present, connected, and receptive to God and people, and to help them foster their embodied voices for proclamation that corresponds to the freedom and abundance of the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified.
In her spare time, Samantha enjoys the sounds and smells of rain, backyard birding, yoga, cooking and eating new recipes, scouting out the best coffee shops in town, and taking lazy walks along the Mississippi with her husband, Lance, and their dog, Driscoll.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton Theological Seminary
Master of Divinity, Princeton Theological Seminary
Master of Arts, Princeton Theological Seminary
Bachelor of Arts, Trinity Lutheran College
Current Courses
Preaching
The Preaching Body
Word, Image, Imagination
The Living Word: A Theology of God’s Present Tense Activity
Lutheran Confessions (preaching component)
Spiritual Practices
Publications
Articles/Essays
“Preaching and Performance Studies.” In Oxford Handbook of Christian Homiletics, edited by Carolyn Sharp. Oxford University Press. (forthcoming)
“Christ for You and Me”: A Lutheran Theology of Proclamation and the Presence of the Preacher.” Religions 15.3 (2024).
Text to Sermon/Preaching Helps:
“From a Scholar” in Sundays and Seasons: Preaching
2026
- Ash Wednesday
- First Sunday of Lent
- Lectionary 30
- All Saints.
2025
- Lectionary 22
- Lectionary 23
- Holy Cross Day
- Lectionary 24
Working Preacher Commentaries:
2025
- Psalm 51:1-10
- Psalm 113
- Psalm 146
- Psalm 37:1-9
2023
- Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
- Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
- Psalm 126
- Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
https://www.workingpreacher.org/authors/samantha-gilmore
“Preaching Helps” in Currents in Theology and Mission
52.4 (2025) – (forthcoming)
- Reformation Sunday
- All Saints Sunday
50.3 (2023)
- Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
- Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
50.1 (2023)
- Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
- Fifth Sunday After Epiphany
“Between Text and Sermon: John 10:1-10.” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 77.3 (2023).
Book Reviews
“Sacramental Presence: An Embodied Theology of Preaching” by Ruthanna B. Hooke Kerygma, Spring 2025.
“The Gifts They Bring: How Children in the Gospel Can Shape Inclusive Ministry” by Amy Lindeman Allen Lutheran Quarterly 39.1 (2025)
Expertise
Preaching and embodiment, presence, and imagination
Preaching and spiritual formation
The Linklater Voice Method