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On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
When congregations cooperate, it’s often with other churches in their own family of faith. But building relationships with churches and Christians who are very different can open us to how God has gifted them. Christian Churches Together helps Christians learn from each other and build relationships so they can witness to the unity Jesus prayed for.
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As part of the Dwelling in the Psalms year, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has provided resources to support Psalm festivals around Canada and the United States. These events are open to the public and many will be livestreamed.
Creation is struggling, and we are suffering with it! People around the world are reeling from natural disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires, drought, floods, tornadoes, and typhoons.
Preachers, worship leaders, teachers, and others who study the Bible often go online to find resources for their research. Sorting through search results is often frustrating. But Zeteosearch.org—a revamped curated search engine—offers thought-provoking results.
The Holy Spirit has gifted different Christian traditions with unique songs, rituals, stories, and practices. Monica Schaap Pierce, executive director of Christian Churches Together, explains how to learn from and welcome gifts from other church families. You can use these ideas at church and at home.
You are invited to join the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) in a year of dwelling in the Psalms—the prayerbook and songbook of the Bible. Together, the 150 psalms guide Christian worshipers through the full range of human emotions and experiences, making space for communities to practice praise and lament, to ask questions and find words of comfort, and so much more. Our work at CICW over the years has connected us to many people engaging in thoughtful and imaginative work around the psalms. We are eager to build on those connections and encourage more new and ancient ways to dwell in the psalms.
Weekly worship prepares congregations for the work of the week ahead in many different jobs and places. We all carry different burdens throughout the week and are given different tasks. This series of prayers written by Calvin University faculty and staff for people working in various professions can be adapted to fit the different occupations present in your congregation. As a Christian liberal arts institution, Calvin University prepares students not only for their different fields of calling, but to live as agents of renewal and citizens of God’s kingdom in their everyday work and living.
Every person who enters Christian worship brings more than a body into the room. We bring our histories, relationships, memories, fears, wounds, hopes, and expectations. For some worshipers, those histories include trauma.
Este mes nos encontramos con la confrontación final de Jesús con los líderes religiosos de Israel. Estos comienzan cuestionando la autoridad de Jesús (21:23-27) y él les responde con tres parábolas: los dos hijos (21:28-32), los labradores malvados (21:33-46) y el banquete de bodas (22:1-14). En ellas, Jesús describe a la nación y su liderazgo como rebeldes que no han respondido al llamado de Dios. Los líderes, a su vez, le envían tres grupos con preguntas capciosas con la intención de hacerlo caer en su trampa, desprestigiarlo e incluso incriminarlo ante Roma: los fariseos (22:15-22), los saduceos (22:23-33) y un experto de la ley (22:34-40). Una vez que los ha callado, Jesús responde a la pregunta original y deja ver con claridad su autoridad divina (22:41-46).
This series of psalm-based devotions invites worship leaders, planners, and teams to slow down, listen deeply, and be formed by scripture’s most honest and expansive prayers. Created by staff from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and trusted collaborators, these reflections draw from the rich themes of the psalms—praise and creation, fear and doubt, suffering and salvation—to ground the work of worship in a living conversation with God. Together, they help teams not just plan services, but cultivate attentiveness, unity, and spiritual depth.
In the Old Testament, the temple was a place of worship where God’s presence dwelled. Three times each year, the Israelites would make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to worship at the temple, singing a group of psalms called the Songs of Ascent as they traveled in anticipation of gathering to worship God. They helped the pilgrims share excitement for the journey, pray for God’s protection, and celebrate the unity of their faith.
Suffering is something none of us can avoid. It can take many shapes: academic pressure, broken friendships, financial strain, family struggles, or even the quiet ache of feeling alone. In Psalm 13, David puts words to what many of us feel in seasons of suffering: “How long, Lord?” He is brutally honest about his pain, confusion, and sense of God’s silence.
Those with interest in classical music know that it is not a stretch to say that Nadia Boulanger single-handedly shaped the course of classical music during the twentieth century. She was a composer, organist, conductor, and pianist, but most of all, she was a teacher. Everyone studied with Nadia Boulanger: Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, George Walker, Philip Glass, you name it.
