1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
This is a conversation between Swee Hong Lim, Deer Park Assistant Professor of Sacred Music at Emmanuel College, and John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Swee Hong is a widely traveled leader for global seminars and conferences dealing with worship and sacred music. He is well-published in global music, including Giving Voices to Asian Christians (VDM Verlag, 2008). He is also a prolific composer of hymnody.
Swee Hong has recently published his new book Lovin’ on Jesus: A Concise History of Contemporary Worship (Abingdon Press, 2017), co-authored by Lester Ruth. Swee Hong also serves as the director of both the Master of Sacred Music Program and the chapel program at Emmanuel College.
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.
Join this excursion through compositional method, use of text, melodic creation, vocal range, and inner insights. The session includes the presentation of new psalm settings by Rawn Harbor.
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.
Join this excursion through compositional method, use of text, melodic creation, vocal range, and inner insights. The session includes the presentation of new psalm settings by Rawn Harbor.
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.
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.
