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.
Diocese of St Cloud Office of Worship
To assist parishes to more fully embody the vision of Vatican II by training those who will form new Catholics for a life grounded in liturgical worship.
Diocese of Youngstown
To provide training, internships, and experiences of liturgical music from various traditions and cultures to high school students with potential to be future liturgical pastoral ministers.
First Christian Church, Whittier
To connect two different churches that use the same site by bringing them into worship together on feast and fast days, using music as a bridge to promote wholeness and healing.
Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance
To train members of four churches to tell their stories of faith in order to strengthen each congregation’s local worship practices and deepen a shared identity in an ecumenical, multicultural alliance.
New Mount Zion Baptist Church
To promote active participation of all ages in worship through intergenerational activities throughout the liturgical calendar that tell the stories, customs and traditions of African American culture.
South Congregational Church (2016)
To focus on the seasons of the Christian year through worship, study, and art, in order to promote a greater sense of God’s presence in worship and daily life.
University of Dayton's Institute for Pastoral Initiatives
To provide training for clergy and lay parish leaders to enhance the planning of liturgy, especially in rural and missionary community parishes.
Arnett Chapel AME
To explore ways to leverage the congregation's worship and missional priorities and promote a greater commitment to discipleship and service through studies and events related to worship and justice.
Christ Lutheran Church of Falmouth
To gather a community around silence, contemplative prayer and meditation on Scripture and ancient Christian texts, in order to facilitate encounters with God's living presence in worship.
Coastland Commons
To empower members of three local congregations to engage in spiritual formation through practicing and sharing artistic works of song, prayer, and Scripture.
First Christian Church of Orange
To strengthen corporate worship with theological reflection, innovative and embodied worship elements, creative arts, and the unique gifts of the congregation.
First Presbyterian Church of Redding
To develop intergenerational, indigenous worship by including the congregation in designing worship services for Advent and Holy Week that include music, visual arts and drama.