1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Today, more people than ever before live in a country other than the one in which they were born, and the number of displaced people is at a record high. According to the United Nations, in 2017 the number of migrants reached 258 million, and in 2018 an unprecedented 70.8 million people around the world had been forced from home by conflict and persecution. Half of the latter are under the age of 18. Throughout Scripture the people of God have been called to love the stranger (Lev. 19:34) and to serve those in need (Matt. 25:35–40). How are different Christian communities around the globe responding to the challenges of our times? How do Christian hospitality and social justice relate to worship? How do churches’ responses to the migrant crisis inform our worship practices? How does public worship form God’s people to love and serve the most vulnerable? In this session, the panelists shared their unique experiences in a variety of contexts around the globe.
“Deconstruction” is a popular term among young people who grew up in the Christian church. In this public lecture, Robert Chao Romero will consider the challenge of widespread deconstruction while offering a hopeful path forward. Expanding on Phyllis Tickle’s analogy of the church having a rummage sale of ideas every few centuries, Romero invites us to consider the contributions of Latina/o theology and the history of the Brown Church as valuable resources for reconstruction on the other side of deconstruction.
Carmen Imes has spent the past fifteen years immersed in the book of Exodus, writing about it for both her master’s thesis and her doctoral dissertation. In this lecture, Imes will share some of the most paradigm-shifting insights she’s had while reading Exodus through an Egyptian lens.
Martin Luther frequently called Psalm 118 as his “own beloved psalm,” describing it as a “friend who helped [him] out of many troubles.” This session provides a history of the interpretation of this beloved psalm by looking at the readings of Ambrose, Augustine, Theodoret of Cyrus, Cassiodorus, Luther, and Calvin.
“Deconstruction” is a popular term among young people who grew up in the Christian church. In this public lecture, Robert Chao Romero will consider the challenge of widespread deconstruction while offering a hopeful path forward. Expanding on Phyllis Tickle’s analogy of the church having a rummage sale of ideas every few centuries, Romero invites us to consider the contributions of Latina/o theology and the history of the Brown Church as valuable resources for reconstruction on the other side of deconstruction.
Carmen Imes has spent the past fifteen years immersed in the book of Exodus, writing about it for both her master’s thesis and her doctoral dissertation. In this lecture, Imes will share some of the most paradigm-shifting insights she’s had while reading Exodus through an Egyptian lens.
Martin Luther frequently called Psalm 118 as his “own beloved psalm,” describing it as a “friend who helped [him] out of many troubles.” This session provides a history of the interpretation of this beloved psalm by looking at the readings of Ambrose, Augustine, Theodoret of Cyrus, Cassiodorus, Luther, and Calvin.
Modern song writers are continually setting the psalms to new music for band-led worship contexts. Join Paul Ryan, Nate Glasper, and the Calvin University Worship Apprentices to sing contemporary psalm settings sung in public worship at Calvin.
