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 establish a series of workshops utilizing musical resources and ethnically appropriate instruments to teach songs of the global church, and to make the instruments and music available on loan to congregations following the workshops.
To create a multigenerational worship model through bilingual weekly communion and music. To reach this goal, they will develop a monthly “worship and spiritual formation school,” train worship planners, and develop resources for creating culturally sensitive worship environments that bring together young generations and older generations in Korean American congregations.
To engage four congregations in a process of worship renewal for adults and youth through an educational retreat, an ecumenical worship service, the development of a new African American liturgy, and instruction on the use of percussive instruments in worship that is sensitive to various cultures while preserving the historical order of worship.
To develop music and visual arts for the liturgical year which will encourage and inspire creativity in small congregations with limited resources.
To establish a series of workshops and discussions on the language of liturgy, and to encourage creativity in congregational song, movement and visual art.
To research and write a Christian education study series of the traditions, including Jewish, Catholic, Scottish, and African American, which have shaped the worshiping community.
To offer weekly courses which will include examples of liturgical forms and explanations of the meaning and relevance of those forms to daily life int he 21st century, and to incorporate this information through visits with people and through mentoring seminary students.
To encourage the use and appreciation of multicultural music and liturgy in the worship services of four Lutheran and Reformed congregations located in a multicultural neighborhood through he development of a congregational/ecumenical model for worship renewal.
To conduct workshops that will explore the theology of worship space, the various aspects of worship, and the way the space in which we worship shapes our worship.
To develop a 12-week integrative training course to study the history and purposes of congregational song and to provide participants the opportunity to write, critique and perform original songs and hymns. To teach individuals, both young and old, how to effectively memorize and communicate Scripture for presentation in worship.
To conduct three leadership retreats for developing worship resources for both adults and children that will refelct the diversity of cultures in an inner city congregation.
To conduct a series of 6 sessions for reading, study, and reflection on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and the influence it has on liturgy and the people who gather for worship.
