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 nourish Christian unity and interpersonal connection within a prison by initiating and reflecting on a weekly practice of the eucharist.
To nourish the faith of worshipers by experiencing and reflecting on different ways of celebrating the Lord's Supper and reconnecting it to the preaching of the Word.
Andrew Wymer and Kristen Daley Mosier
To engage the baptismal practices of diverse Christian communities in regions impacted by toxic water, and to construct a theoretical and practical vision of baptismal solidarity for the broader Church.
To invite people into the solemnity and joy of the eucharist by focusing on collaboratively created art.
To pursue unity and reconciliation through deepening worshipers’ understanding and practices of Holy Communion.
To promote a vibrant experience of the Lord’s Supper in which worshipers experience God’s nourishing presence by engaging in new forms of communion liturgies.
Lisa Milligan Long
To survey worshipers' understanding of the effect of participation in the Lord's Supper, and to offer methods to leaders in a variety of denominational settings for deepening Eucharistic participation.
To renew a robust Communion practice by exploring the ways global, local, and congregational table practices deepen worshipers’ engagement with God and the world.
To build relationships around the table by exploring a dinner church format and by reflecting on Scripture to create new songs that represent this expression of worship.
To strengthen participation in the sacraments through study and reflection on the connections between baptism, communion, faith formation and Christian community.
To live deeply into the Scriptural connection between the Lord’s Supper and social witness, with particular awareness of the contextual challenges of racism and violence.
To develop a missional theology of the table and create worship resources in order to better connect worship with a missional vocation.
