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On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship is committed to supporting and developing resources for worshiping communities that provide information, inspiration, and strategies to build capacity in congregations, individuals, communities, and other organizations to value diversity, embody inclusion, and engage across lines of difference in informed, respectful, and effective ways. Christian worship practices both implicitly embody and explicitly express powerful cultural values, and it is a life-giving challenge to align them with the vision of Revelation 7 and 21:
I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ...
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
We are grateful to draw upon the expertise and work of many people, including Calvin faculty and staff from a variety of fields and disciplines. The insights gathered here aim to inform and strengthen congregational, parish, and denominational ministries without limiting the scope of their influence in other sectors of society.
Pastor-scholar Andrew Wilkes shares how his worshiping community, Double Love Experience Church, prayed and sang the psalms during the troubling times of 2020. The psalms gave them language and support for praise and lament, and Wilkes asserts that lament is the evidence of faith because we are bringing our troubles to God.
Christians often talk about being one body in Christ, but migrants often struggle to feel that oneness in the Spirit. Some international doctoral students, all migrants to Canada, created liturgies that help recognize and heal trauma.
A Psalm Talk by Karen Campbell on peace and reconciliation with a visual prayer and embodied response led by Dea Jenkins.
Pastor-scholar Andrew Wilkes shares how his worshiping community, Double Love Experience Church, prayed and sang the psalms during the troubling times of 2020. The psalms gave them language and support for praise and lament, and Wilkes asserts that lament is the evidence of faith because we are bringing our troubles to God.
Christians often talk about being one body in Christ, but migrants often struggle to feel that oneness in the Spirit. Some international doctoral students, all migrants to Canada, created liturgies that help recognize and heal trauma.
A Psalm Talk by Karen Campbell on peace and reconciliation with a visual prayer and embodied response led by Dea Jenkins.
Whether you’re an average worshiper or a seasoned pastor, you’ve probably wondered, “Why is the preacher saying this or doing that?” But would you ever dare ask the preacher? Creating a culture of giving and receiving sermon feedback benefits both preachers and congregations.
