1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2024 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 explore a theology of the body to provide a foundation for leadership and laity to engage theologically and practically around issues of mental health, race, gender, and ability.
To support Christian peacemakers by developing regular opportunities for virtual corporate worship and by sharing together in the joys and griefs of peacemaking through the practices of prayer and praise, celebration and lament.
Hyun Woo Kim
To empower Asian American churches to embrace their cultural heritage, reconcile intergenerational differences, and re-envision worship in ways that reflect their congregants’ diverse identities and experiences by integrating Asian cultural elements into Western hymnody and worship frameworks.
To promote unity within diversity in Christian worship by providing safe and hospitable spaces for multilingual songwriting processes among diverse groups, leading to the incorporation of multilingual songs into existing liturgies.
To decolonize worship life by auditing the liturgy, music, preaching, and sacred spaces of the church in order to fully live into the church’s commitment to antiracism and its mission of “Sharing Love, Doing Justice, and Building Community.”
To strengthen those who lead worship by deepening their unity with one another while cultivating skills in planning and leading worship that integrates cultural expressions with the narrative of God’s story.
To integrate ancient liturgy and prayer with expressions of worship such as art, meal sharing, and communal serviceso as to strengthen connections between gathered worship and daily life.
To facilitate a deep engagement with scripture through a culture of God-centered storytelling that develops the habit of naming God as the main actor in stories from both scripture and worshipers’ lived experience.
To create a formation program on liturgy, theology, and musicianship that equips and encourages Spanish-speaking parish musicians and music ministers.
To help churches and artists learn to collaborate with each other more effectively through an artist-in-residence program that will help worshipers connect more deeply with God, scripture, and one another through the arts.
To encourage faculty to explore their vocation and calling as an act of worship and to share their stories in worship, podcasts, and other contexts to help both faculty and students grow in their walks with God and identify God’s work in their vocational journeys.
To engage with science in worship by piloting worship "experiments" in five partner churches involving interviews with worship leaders and scientists and the creation of new worship resources.
