"Psalm 85" by John August Swanson, 2003

"Psalm 85" by John August Swanson, 2003

Updated on
October 3, 2025

As part of its year of Dwelling in the Psalms, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship is providing support to worshiping communities throughout the United States and Canada to host a public psalm festival worship event that features congregational singing based on Psalms. We encourage using the resource Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship (Brazos and Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2012) and other psalm resources of your choosing.

Who can participate?

Any Christian worshiping community in Canada or the United States is invited to apply to us for support. Your community might be a congregation, a school, a college or university, a seminary, a retirement community, a nursing home, a prison congregation, a new or old church, a big or small church, a church plant or a home church, an urban, suburban, or rural congregation—all are invited to apply.

Apply to host a Psalm Festival for your worshiping community:

apply now 

What will I receive?

A Psalm Festival starter kit includes:

  • Five free copies of Psalms for All Seasons, the most comprehensive psalter ever published, which includes musical settings of all 150 psalms, most in multiple formats.
  • Two free copies of En la escuela de los Salmos / At Psalms School, a bilingual intergenerational picture book that explores the role of the psalms in Christian worship and teaches us about listening to and talking with God through the psalms.
  • Promotion of your event on the Psalm Festivals webpage and through social media.

Additional copies of Psalms for All Seasons are available for purchase:

Guidelines:

By signing up, you agree to:

  • host a FREE public worship event any time before December 31, 2026, that features congregational singing of psalm settings (we warmly recommend songs from Psalms for All Seasons), and
  • submit a feedback form after the event to the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship with your insights and learning surrounding the event.

Tools for Planning a Psalm Festival

  • Participate in additional Dwelling in the Psalms events throughout 2025–26.
  • Explore the Psalms in Worship page of our website, including links to many articles, recordings, and books.
  • Visit Zeteosearch.org to learn more about the psalms.
  • Visit Hymnary.org to listen to audio clips from Psalms for All Seasons.
  • Visit ReformedWorship.org for practical resources on the psalms.
  • Visit PsalmsforAllSeasons.org, the companion website for the songbook, to find resources that support the use of the songbook.
  • Options to consider for a psalm festival:
    • Sunday morning, evening, or mid-week service
    • A community-wide service with other churches in your classis, presbytery, diocese, or neighborhood
    • A service before a classis or presbytery meeting
    • A school event involving children for a spring festival, with each grade learning a different psalm
    • A service that connects with a part of the liturgical year
    • A weekend youth group or college dorm retreat
    • An evening gathering for a retirement complex

Questions? Email us!