1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Sarah Kathleen Johnson and Andrew Wymer, two Free Church scholars in worship and liturgical studies, break new ground in “Worship and Power”, a book edited with other scholars in this tradition, and celebrate what these insights offer for ecumenical conversation and learning around liturgical authority.
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Paul Louis Metzger shares about the formative nature of the church calendar, which emphasizes that Christ in the fullness of time is what shapes us and how we inhabit time.
For more than 25 years, Ron Man has been teaching on the biblical foundations of worship. He gathers up that learning in his book “Let Us Draw Near”, a testimony to the power of scripture to guide pastors and worshipers in our calling to be worshipers of God.
Kevin Adams explores the beautiful gifts of framing words for worship—the “conversation of worship”—that are lifegiving and engaging.
Luke Powery encourages preachers and worshipers to embrace the space and place the church provides to ask questions as a faithful way of Christian discipleship and engaging with God.
In a world filled with violence, injustice, and despair, the Advent and Christmas gospel comes, wondrously, with two strands of promise: one that touches neighborhoods racked in violence, one that is as intimate as our own interior lives, so often hidden from everyone but God. Both strands of promise are conveyed in a single common word with breathtaking scope: “Peace.”
In the 2023 Worship Symposium’s five main worship services we are looking at Colossians. In this session the five people preaching on Colossians will reflect together on how the situations facing the Colossian Christians long ago remain relevant today. Najla Kasab, Marshall E. Hatch Sr., Laura de Jong, Danny Román-Gloró, and Scott Hoezee will talk about what they observed in crafting their sermons for this year's symposium and on the larger opportunities all preachers have to bring forward Paul's words to address the many crises of our own time.
What does it mean to be religious? Spiritual? How does a sense of place, identity, culture, and embodied engagement relate to a young person’s sense of belonging to Christ’s church, including the public worship gathering? We will explore these questions and share stories about how young people actively participate in the life of the church.
A lot has been written about the importance of Sunday liturgies and their role in forming the life and worldview of worshipers. This session will focus on helping Christians identify the rituals and liturgies in their workplaces and daily lives and discern how to reform, reject, or reconstruct new rituals that facilitate tangible expressions of love for God, neighbor, and creation.
A panel of Calvin Seminary faculty with a variety of research and ministry experiences will reflect on the practice of lament. What are the different faces of lament? What is the goal of lament? How can pastoral leaders facilitate lament? What does lament reveal about the nature of God and what it means to be human? Those attending the panel will also be able to raise questions and join the discussion.
Come learn and sing through a selection of choral pieces for use in worship. Packets provided by GIA Publications, Inc.
In this session, Te-Li Lau will contrast the current culture's understanding of shame with the biblical framework, suggest ways to rehabilitate our fractured understanding, and draw out the implications of a renewed understanding for public worship.
How can mentors help students discern the leadership roles God has called them to in the church and on campus? In this seminar, Joanna Wigboldy will walk through the process she uses in the ministry leadership class at Calvin University to help students find ways to practice leadership, build community, and love the church. The seminar will center the voices and stories of Calvin students who have been through this discernment process and will honestly explore the ways it helped them enter specific leadership roles as well as what learning gaps they had when they entered those roles. Responses by Angela Williams Gorrell.
