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 in hymn singing in worship that facilitates the participation of worshipers of multiple abilities, generations, and languages.
To engage in biblical and theological reflection, practical training, and collaboration to initiate chapel worship that promotes individual and collective formation of students around the core values of the institution.
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 develop best practices for engaging and uniting online and in-person worshipers in formative and participative worship.
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.
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 increase worshipers' awareness and experience of God's action in history and in the world by exploring the distinct gifts of the liturgical seasons of the Christian Year.
To create new expressions of worship that allow for freedom in experiencing God, by decolonizing inherited worship practices and experimenting with forms of worship that are free from patriarchal and white supremacist structures.
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 reflect God's creativity in worship that is deeply scriptural and intentionally collaborative and hospitable and that continues from Sunday morning into the fabric of everyday life.
To embrace diverse practices from around the world that give worshipers experiences of acting as host and as guest, in order to strengthen and broaden their understanding of biblical, cross-cultural, transcultural, and reciprocal hospitality.
