1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
CICW has awarded Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants for over 20 years to teacher-scholars and worshiping communities in 45+ states and provinces and across 40+ denominations and traditions—including Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, non-denominational, and other Protestant communities.
While worship styles and practices vary greatly across these traditions, the grant projects typically explore at least one of CICW’s ten core convictions related to worship. Explore the hundreds of projects we’ve funded across both streams of the program.
To use the Psalms as a guide to deepen the understanding and practice of prayer, and to promote unity among diverse ecumenical, racial, and cultural worship expressions.
To explore the concept of “Ancient-Future” worship and implement what has been learned in a new worship service that is intended to help the congregation stay true to its Reformed roots, understand and enjoy the blessings of connecting to the historic Christian Church and offer a service that will be intelligible to the nonbeliever while being theologically rich and meaningful to Christians.
To engage the congregation in small group studies, a retreat and workshops that focus on scripture reading, the Liturgical Calendar, music and the Sacraments that will encourage deeper participation and understanding of worship for all ages.
To equip lay leaders by offering a Liturgical Certification Program that will educate, renew and deepen the understanding of Roman Catholic Liturgy for a parish of 10,000 families and the diocese of Las Vegas.
To engage ten congregations and eleven clergy in developing new worship and prayer resources by creating opportunities for learning how the cultural seasons and church year intermix as the needs of neighborhoods are considered.
To train Worship Interns in worship leadership and theology of worship that will become evident in multi-valenced, theologically astute and creative worship services when the community gathers for chapel as well as when students serve in congregations, youth groups, retreats and camps.
To train 20 worship leaders and other interested congregants through Bible studies and workshops focused especially on the Psalms and Vertical Habits, Christ-centered hospitality, Scripture reading, visual arts, creative and relevant music and collaborative planning and evaluation that will be contextualized to form participatory and communal worship services in one of the most impoverished districts in Canada.
To offer workshops and a retreat that will enrich the understanding of Scripture and preaching for pastors of the Weed Ministerial Association and their congregations in a remote frontier county of northern California and to build ecumenical community by worshiping together quarterly.
To initiate a collaboration of at least 14 pastors in the South Florida region to discuss and identiy issues impacting worship in African-American churches in the 21st century and to develop new worship practices within the congregations by offering workshops on worship and the POWR (planning, ordering, worshipping and reflecting) worship planning model.
To immerse the congregation in learning that will develop a deeper understanding of worship, incorporate the arts through creativity and demonstrate theological integrity and biblical knowledge.
To offer the campus community, through example, instruction, worship and intentional conversation, the tools to express their individual faith stories that will allow them to connect with the larger narratives of faith and build relationships among students who come from many countries and diverse faith experiences.
To explore and enrich understanding of public prayer in two congregations through an extensive study of prayer with a focus on the Psalms to shape the practice of congregational prayer that extends to the personal prayer life of individuals.
