1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 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 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 cultivate wonder and gratitude for God and creation, to deeply engage lay people in scriptural interpretation, and to empower new leaders within the church by learning and contemplating worship and growing in creative expressions of worship.
To develop more inclusive worship practices by first learning about the needs and desires ofthose often excluded from worship and the obstacles they often face, and to then initiate new worship practices.
Nathan Chase
To study the connection between sacramental practices and ordinary life (meal, ministry of touch, and oil) through three historical case studies from the early church and Roman Catholic liturgical practice to help Roman Catholic worshiping communities understand the historical origins of Eucharist, healing, and ordination.
To promote healthy spiritual formation for Korean American youth and young adults in New England through resource development, worship retreats, and spiritual formation discipleship cohorts.
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 integrate psalms into corporate and private worship habits in an ecumenical setting, primarily through guided conversations and scholarly-artistic engagement with university students and local pastors.
To deepen engagement with Jesus’ teachings by creating songs, liturgies, and visual artwork in response to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for use in congregational worship and art-making events.
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.
