The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence

Denomination: Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA)
Organization: Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA

Anna Carter Florence is the Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and holds degrees from Yale University (BA) and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv and PhD). Before joining the Columbia faculty in 1998, Anna served as an associate pastor for youth and young adults at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis.

Anna’s books include Preaching as Testimony, Inscribing the Word, Rehearsing Scripture: Discovering God’s Word in Community, based on her 2012 Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale Divinity School, and most recently, A Is for Alabaster: 52 Reflections on the Stories of Scripture; her current project is a sequel called B Is for Banquet: 52 More Reflections on the Stories of Scripture. She has published articles and chapters in numerous books and journals, including a year’s worth of lectionary text commentaries for www.WorkingPreacher.org.

Anna’s research focuses on testimony, preaching pedagogies, and creative strategies for communities to engage and encounter the biblical text for our present context. She is a frequent preacher and teacher in the U.S. and abroad, which gives her plenty of opportunity to do what makes her happiest: sitting around a table with a group of people, a big passage of Scripture, and a big block of time to dive into it. She and her husband, the Rev. David Carter Florence, have two grown sons, Caleb and Jonah, and two new daughters-in-law, Kate and Kyra. They also have a dog, a cat, a log-splitter to keep their woodstove going, and way too much knitting yarn.

Day1 Weekly Programs by The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence

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Reading Our Story Backwards - Episode #4210

Tuesday November 25, 2025
Join us for Day1 Episode 4210 as Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence, Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching and Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, shares her sermon “Reading Our Story Backwards,” based on Matthew 24:1-8, 32-44. On this First Sunday of Advent, Dr. Florence invites us to see the promise of redemption through new eyes, reminding us that knowing God’s ending gives hope to our beginnings. Tune in for this thoughtful and hope-filled message as we begin the Christian year together.

Anna Carter Florence: Expecting Cornelius

Tuesday August 22, 2023
Anna Carter Florence says Acts 10 shows us that no matter how hard and fast the rules, God likes to change things up at a moment's notice. God likes to do a new thing, just to keep things lively and the people hopping, while amazing grace pours down.

Anna Carter Florence: Nicodemus

Tuesday March 03, 2020
In her sermon for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, Dr. Anna Carter Florence says Nicodemus’s generous act at Jesus’s death was extravagant, but also too much too late. We’re left wondering what might have been if he had acted on his first conversation with Jesus--if he’d not only recognized the light coming into the world, but followed it wholeheartedly and even shared it with others.

The Girls in the Reeds

Tuesday January 26, 2016
Anna Carter Florence offers a powerful take to the well-known story of baby Moses in the reeds, and in it finds a source for courage to deal with situations that confront us today, which cry for God's liberation.

Unmarked Graves

Tuesday May 11, 2010
The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence takes a hard look at rituals--how they help us reflect on our faith and encourage us to do good... as well as how they can outlive their usefulness and cause more harm than good.

The Woman Who Just Said No

Sunday November 11, 2007
The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence celebrates the integrity and courage of Queen Vashti, obscure individual from the book of Esther, who refuses to be objectified by her husband, King Ahasuerus.

Filling Stations

Sunday November 04, 2007
The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence shares an exceptionally fresh look at the challenging parable of the 10 bridesmaids.

Video by The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence

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Day1 Book Launch Party Video

Saturday December 12, 2020
Day1 presents a video Book Launch Party for the new book, "Bread Enough for All: A Day1 Guide to Life," published by Church Publishing, Inc. Join Day1 host Peter Wallace and seven outstanding preachers/church leaders who share their sermon excerpts from the book and engage in conversation and Q&A: Joanna M. Adams, Anna Carter Florence, William Flippin Jr., Juan Carlos Huertas, Micah Jackson, Charley Reeb, and Ozzie Smith Jr.

Day1 Minute with Anna Carter Florence - Part 1

Wednesday June 13, 2018
Anna Carter Florence offers inspiring insight about the two girls in the reeds and their radical decision... in this Day1 Minute.

Conversation with Anna Carter Florence - A 30 Good Minutes Interview

Friday December 17, 2010
Sherre Hirsch and Daniel Pawlus in conversaton with Anna Carter Florence about paying attention to the world around us, to be constantly willing to see the face of God in someone else

Anna Carter Florence, "This Foreigner" - 30 Good Minutes Sermon

Friday December 17, 2010
Anna Carter Florence, the Peter Marshall Associate Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, takes a new look at the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers, seeing it as an invitation to acknowledge each person's authentic faith in God, even if that faith is different from our own.

The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence - Day1 Conversations with Peter Wallace

Monday May 17, 2010
The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence joins Day1 host Peter Wallace for an interesting discussion about the work and love of preaching, how that love translates into teaching at Columbia Theological Seminary, and how today's world is changing for those seeking to preach.

Radio by The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence

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Day 1 Podcast Extra-Carter-Florence

Friday February 08, 2008
In this Day 1 Podcast Extra, the Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, shares her personal insights and experiences..