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August 10, 2026, Atlantic City, New Jersey – “Women liturgical preachers are a gift of the Holy Spirit, a fire in the church that enkindles faith. These women, called by the living Christ who dwells within them, have the right and duty to serve in collaboration with their brothers as equal partners in the church’s mission of liturgical preaching at the Eucharist.”

Those words come from an introduction written by Sister Sara Fairbanks, OP, in Lay Liturgical Preaching in a Synodal Church. The book took first place in the Catholic Media Association’s (CMA) Liturgy or Worship Category in its Book Awards. The award was announced during the CMA’s annual conference, held in June 2026 in Atlantic
City, New Jersey.

“This collection of extremely well written essays uses the lens of the Synodal imperative to uncover the fruitful and positive impact that lay preaching would impart for the church today,” the award judges wrote in their commentary on the book. “The theological and ministerial implications are solid, practical and necessary.”

“It was a great honor to have that book receive that kind of recognition,” Sister Sara said. “I was very pleased.” 

Edited by Gregory Heille, OP, the book is the result of a symposium of theologians and preachers, held at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri, during spring break in March 2024. At the time, Sister Sara ministered with Dr. Heille in the Doctorate in Ministry (DMin) program at Aquinas Institute. She is currently the Mission Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, based in Adrian. 

The symposium, “The Pastoral Charge for Lay Catholic Eucharistic Preaching,” drew 27 participants to explore the topic of lay preaching at liturgies. Many of the presentations are included in the book. 

Sister Sara’s introduction, preached during the symposium, focused on the parable of the Good Samaritan in the light of women doing liturgical preaching. She compared women who seek to preach at liturgies to the man who fell victim to robbers.  

“[T]he sight of women preaching the Gospel when most of the faithful gather for Sunday worship is extremely rare, especially with the pushback against the Second Vatican Council,” Sister Sara wrote. “While laymen can take the diaconal road to the pulpit, women are left in the ditch, half-dead. Like the priest and the Levite, many of the church’s clergy pass us by, blind and indifferent to our plight.”  

"The whole point is to raise the idea for trained lay ministers to be able to preach the Word as equal disciples of Christ,” Sister Sara said. “Since Vatican II, the Church wanted to open its doors to the whole people of God, and if they have the skills to preach, why not let the lay people? There are so many talented, gifted people out there from all walks of life who can inspire the congregation.”

The book also contains the formal “Proposal for Lay Eucharistic Preaching to Further a Synodal Church in Mission,” submitted to the October 2024 assembly of Catholic Church members, the end of the Synod on Synodality, a three-year process called by Pope Francis to enable the Church to listen to the perspectives of Catholics around the world.