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.
To design a worship gathering contextual to the cultural context, focusing on contemplative, creation-grounded worship that emphasizes the connectedness of all of life and engages in quiet reflection, art, and music to encounter God.
To grow habits of common liturgical worship in school that extend to the home, engaging and expanding the spiritual imaginations of staff, parents, and students, by focusing on spiritual disciplines and diverse ecumenical worship resources.
To foster ecumenical connections among twelve churches by participating in the creation of pottery to form the faith of worshipers as the theological imagery of God as the potter whose hands continue to mold and reform is carried into the worship of each church and into ecumenical worship gatherings.
In response to the challenges of the pandemic, to use the Psalms to explore lament, grief, and resilience by engaging in liturgical arts that tell worshipers' stories, name challenges and losses, and cultivate healing and hope.
To emulate Jesus’ love and concern by renewing worship in light of the gifts, needs and justice concerns of the transgender community and queer communities of color.
To engage in a liturgical and theological exploration of the biblical language and metaphor of friendship as a resource for the spiritual growth of the college community and for exploring issues of worship and justice.
Sarah Travis
To create and field-test a preaching and liturgical resource addressing reconciliation among Settler Canadians and Indigenous peoples for the Presbyterian Church in Canada, based on two Calls to Action from the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
To enrich support and care for the bereaved by developing liturgical practices that sustain the faith of grief-stricken worshipers while remaining vibrant and inclusive of the whole church community.
To deepen the community's experience of the presence of God and of connection with one another across geographic boundaries by exploring how the community and its understanding of worship has changed through the practice of online worship.
To study, develop, and implement liturgical practices that equip worshipers for mission, and to discover gifts in the community that can be assets to the church's worship.
To cultivate a common worship language and shared understanding of worship that facilitates a sense of community across generation and technology, and to use that language to connect worship with all of life.
To pilgrimage together through the Christian Year as spiritual formation in order to more deeply experience Christ, the church, spiritual practices, and the community.
