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.
Amanda Jo Pittman
To foster Christian formation through a study of how embodied and communal practices are described in the books of Luke and Acts.
Myles Werntz
To help worshiping communities learn about the moral life by connecting categories of moral reasoning to the ongoing practice of worship and discipleship as described in Psalm 23.
Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby
To explore the efficacy of preaching through the lens of affect theory to help preachers think carefully about the extralinguistic properties of proclamation and the ethical questions of the power of preaching.
To engage a growing population of people who identify as spiritual, but not religious, and to increase awareness of God's presence in daily life by hosting a monthly worship series that draws connections between familiar secular music and the gospel.
To deepen understandings of racial justice and reconciliation in the church by using theater, visual art, and literature to guide conversations on this topic.
To renew the campus ministry's relationship with God's ecological household through the implementation of worship practices that promote better ecological care and stewardship.
Jennifer Lord
To encourage renewed engagement with the sacrament of baptism among Protestant Christians by studying baptismal practices and theology in Orthodox Christianity, with special emphasis on confession of sins as part of baptismal living.
Melody Escobar
To explore worship practices that foster belonging among marginalized populations through an ethnographic study of an interdenominational church that worships under a highway overpass.
To help students develop spiritual formation practices and build Christian community by mentoring student leaders and creating a weekly worship opportunity focused on prayer and lectio divina scripture study.
Shively Smith
To showcase and provide access to the scriptural interpretations of nineteenth-century African American women by curating a web-based lectionary resource.
Tyler Greenway
To compare the intended and actual outcomes of sermons and homilies by studying how listeners respond to preaching in their behavior, emotions, and beliefs.
Daniel Jesse
To investigate how the lyrics and melodies of contemporary Christian music influence the way worshipers perceive and articulate their feelings in relation to their faith, with a particular focus on the way sadness is expressed in worship.
