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 engage children of all ages in creating drama, storytelling, dance, music and visual arts centered on the Psalms that can deepen understanding of Scripture and be used in worship.
To immerse the congregation in baptismal practices, “affirmation of baptism” practices and public and private psalm-saturated liturgical practices that help believers identify themselves as part of the baptized community as seen and practiced by generations of those saturated in the psalms by offering sermons, monthly baptismal services based on psalms and informed by rituals from the global and historic Christian church, and curriculum for family devotions, small group life and children’s ministry.
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.
To partner with local congregations by offering “hands-on” experiences in the visual arts as a means for artists and congregations to study and respond to the Creation Psalms.
To study the Psalms and Vertical Habits through sermons, prayers, music, the arts, study and memorization to help the congregation and neighboring churches grow as places of hospitable community and encouragement.
To engage a growing, diverse congregation in singing the Psalms in order to promote confident, prayerful Psalm singing at home and in worship that will give them tools to understand themselves as an important voice in the story of scripture rooted in baptismal identity.
To offer workshops on the Psalms, the Church Calendar and the intersection of worship and culture that will equip intergenerational worship planning teams to explore biblical texts and prepare liturgy, music and visuals for worship.
To facilitate multi-generational and multi-cultural education in worship arts with an emphasis on the Psalms that will incorporate unique cultural contributions of people in the congregation from many nations.
To engage the congregation in an inclusive, intergenerational, hospitable process of learning about the Church Year and how the Psalms and Vertical Habits can provide a vocabulary for worship that will deepen understanding and participation in worship.
To engage the congregation in a study of the Psalms and Vertical Habits as a framework for worship throughout the liturgical year and to create visual arts and language that will remind the congregation that worship is a dialogue with God that can be carried into their daily lives.
To create a common language for worship among staff and clients through lament, Psalms and the Vertical Habits at an adolescent residential psychiatric treatment facility that will lead to corporate and personal worship that promotes spiritual healing.
To encourage personal and public prayer practices in worshipers of all ages by creating a language for prayer through Lectio divina, praying the Psalms, and media that includes Twitter and Facebook.
