1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2025 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.
Nathan Chase
To study the connection between sacramental practices and ordinary life (meal, ministry of touch, and oil) through three historical case studies from the early church and Roman Catholic liturgical practice to help Roman Catholic worshiping communities understand the historical origins of Eucharist, healing, and ordination.
To integrate psalms into corporate and private worship habits in an ecumenical setting, primarily through guided conversations and scholarly-artistic engagement with university students and local pastors.
To deepen engagement with Jesus’ teachings by creating songs, liturgies, and visual artwork in response to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for use in congregational worship and art-making events.
To engage in spiritual practices of liturgical writing, reflection, prayer, and art to collaboratively create a community prayer book that will facilitate the spiritual growth and well-being of the community through both personal and communal use.
Antonio E. Alonso
To spark deeper conversations about the significance of the materiality of lived Christian practice through theological reflection on the reception of Vatican II liturgical reforms in Asian, Latine, and Black Catholic contexts.
To foster greater embodied participation in worship services through a biblical, historical, and intercultural exploration of physical worship practices.
To more deeply engage with the arts in worship by commissioning artists to lead the community in creating different art forms to facilitate worship throughout the liturgical year.
To strengthen the connection between Christian worship and creation justice by producing worship songs and liturgical resources that encourage deeper love for and connection to God's creation through public worship.
Michelle A. Stinson
To create resources for exploring how “keeping time” with both liturgical and environmental/agrarian seasons can be a means of cultivating and fostering a biblical hope in uncertain times.
To inspire a renewed love of Anglican worship through educational programming and retreats that explore how beauty and poetry reveal God’s truth.
To develop a dynamic intergenerational worship resource guide for Brethren in Christ U.S. congregations that promotes meaningful worship practices that reflect BIC values, theology, and mission.
To create opportunities for students to find community and a space to explore their faith through dinner church, pilgrimage, and retreats that empower student leaders to craft liturgy that speaks to their lived experience in a culture with a broken relationship with creation.
