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These changes turn out to be good for everyone in church worship and congregational life. Conversation | February 21, 2024 Lindsay Wieland Capel on Recognizing and Overcoming Ableism in Churches Many congregations don’t realize that the way they arrange their space, talk in worship, or define giftedness and leadership speaks volumes to people with different bodies and minds. The message is: “We don’t see you as a welcomed and valued member of Christ’s body.” Conversation | February 21, 2024 Reynolds Chapman: Local History Matters to God You might not think often about the land your church sits on or the community beyond your church property. But finding ways to learn local history and include it in worship may help church members become more faithful disciples, more meaningfully draw near to God, and reach people who are disconnected from the church. Conversation | January 23, 2024 Anneli Loepp Thiessen on Creating Non-Hymnal Songs Even when denominations try their best to compile culturally sensitive hymnals, not every congregation can or should use that hymnal. That’s why Anabaptist Worship Network works to include more people and cultures in creating new songs for use in worship. Conversation | November 28, 2023 Service of Song and Prayer David M. Cherwien and The Choral Scholars will lead this service of song and prayer centered around the botanical images of Christ and his people found in scripture. Vesper | October 17, 2023 Celtic Psalms As we seek a world of love and mercy, justice and peace, it's essential that we find resources of resilience to help us through the challenges we face. The psalms offer a timeless source of healing and hope. They remind us that God listens to our honest prayers, and they reconnect us with what brings us delight, solace, and joy. In this service of psalms set to soulful Celtic melodies, we will allow a healing space for expressing difficult emotions while also tapping into the hopeful future God envisions for all people. This service will be led by Kiran Young Wimberly, The McGraths, Mary Beth Mardis-LeCroy, and Brian Hehn. Vesper | October 17, 2023 Rosemary Apol-Hoezee on Dementia and Worship Chaplains have been using the Evening Star worship manual in memory care facilities for almost twenty years. The second edition incorporates new research on dementia to create a worship model that is even better at engaging people who live with dementia. Conversation | September 07, 2023 Rosemary Apol-Hoezee on Dementia and Inclusion People who’ve served and attended churches faithfully often feel isolated when their cognition declines—and so do their caregivers. Your congregation can take simple steps to become more dementia friendly. Conversation | September 07, 2023 Children and Youth Can Dwell in the Word Too Dwelling in the Word is a tool for helping people of all ages—even children—to read and reflect on the Bible together. Doing so helps them to see the Bible as an ongoing story in which God invites us to participate in God’s mission for the world. Feature Story | August 18, 2023 Dwelling in the Word: Simple Practice Leads to Spirit-led Mission Explore Dwelling in the Word, a communal way of engaging Scripture that helps people encounter God, fellow dwellers, and other neighbors. The change happens over time as people repeatedly listen to and discuss the same passage. Feature Story | August 18, 2023 The Colossian World Today: Opportunities for Preaching 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. Video | July 21, 2023 Compelling Preaching: A Conversation with Neal Plantinga and Laura de Jong Vivid imagery, compelling stories, perceptive exegesis, pastoral sensibilities, theological clarity, cultural fittingness--each of these gifts contributes immensely to compelling, transformative preaching. Compelling preaching features the dynamic interplay of each of these strengths. This conversation will explore how these dynamic interactions come about, how we cultivate them, and how the practice of polishing, and studying, exemplary sermons can stretch not only award-winning authors but also those of us struggling to shape compelling sermons for people who may not always seem to appreciate it. Video | July 19, 2023 Creating a Sense of Belonging with Youth in Worship and Church Life 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. Video | July 19, 2023 Pouring Forth Speech: The Webb Telescope and God's Glory Theologian John Stek called the physical creation "the glory robe of God." John Calvin liked to observe that it is our privilege to live in the “glory theater” of God's creation and that the reason God made human beings to stand upright is so we could better lift up our eyes to see the stars above. In the last year more of the universe's glory has been revealed by the stunning images emerging from the new James Webb Space Telescope. Few people can help us appreciate these new glimpses into God's creation better than astronomer Deborah Haarsma. In this session, Dr. Haarsma and Scott Hoezee will discuss what new facets of our Creator God's work have been revealed by the Webb Telescope’s images. Video | July 19, 2023 Silver Linings: What Churches Are Learning about Pastoral Worship Ministry through the Pandemic What have we been learning about ministry through the pandemic? What benefits, strengths, virtues, and gifts have surprised us? Our panelists for this session are listeners and learners—people listening for what local ministry leaders are saying and for what is going on under the surface, even things not explicitly spoken. We'll learn from their listening and then receive some tips about how all of us can be more attentive in our listening practices. Video | July 19, 2023 Dru Johnson on Bible Literacy, Fluency, and Engagement Biblical scholar Dru Johnson explains how churches and even the U.S. criminal justice system might be different if more people who identify as Christian were more familiar with the whole of Scripture. Conversation | July 07, 2023 Ronnie Farmer Jr. on Positively Addressing Racial Difference Some Christians think that even talking about racial differences is racist. But the church has a crucial opportunity to promote honest cross-cultural conversations that help people recognize the image of God in every person. Conversation | June 19, 2023 Ken Boer on Biblevox: Memorizing Scripture through Song For many Christians, Bible verses and passages are often easier to memorize when set to music. Worship pastor Ken Boer designed the website Biblevox to help people find word-for-word scripture songs. Conversation | May 30, 2023 Szabina Sztojka on Mission To and With Roma People in Hungary As in many denominations with a single ethnic majority, the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) is working to be more welcoming to other cultures. As leader of the RCH Roma Ministry, Szabina Sztojka focuses on reconciliation, health, and hope to nurture Roma gifts and leadership in churches and schools. Conversation | April 19, 2023 Kizombo Kalumbula and Artie M. Lindsay Sr. on Work and Worship Valuing diversity in worship includes but goes beyond multiethnic considerations. It also means helping people of different ages, abilities, and vocations see themselves as living out their part to usher in God’s shalom. Two pastors offer practical insights for congregations interested in work and worship. Conversation | March 27, 2023 1 2 3 ... Next »