Resource Search Results

Psalms Retreats Invite Vulnerability, Build Hope and Trust

When a congregation in Long Beach, California, designed a psalms retreat as part of a worship renewal grant, they had no idea how it would grow and blossom. Engaging with psalms of confession, praise and thanksgiving, lament, and hope and trust has helped hundreds of Christians develop a new language of prayer.

Feature Story | September 12, 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

Keith M. Douds on Creating Safe Space for Church Groups

Church retreats, church governance meetings, and church small groups require honesty, vulnerability, and transparency to collectively draw closer to God. Psychologist Keith M. Douds explains how and when to step in with grace and preserve safety so that everyone has a chance to share and be listened to.

Conversation | September 01, 2023

Becas del Calvin Institute of Christian Worship permiten crear un cancionero educativo en español

Para el liderazgo de la Iglesia Presbiteriana El Redentor, la noticia del apoyo que estaba ofreciendo el Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) para implementar un proyecto relacionado con su comprensión del culto, la adoración, y la predicación, llegó de sorpresa. “Esa fue la primera impresión, cuando fuimos invitados a pensar en un plan y que podríamos tener apoyo financiero,” comparte muy emocionado el Reverendo Jorge Texidor, pastor de la iglesia en mención, junto a la líder Janira Colón.

Feature Story | August 17, 2023

La Adoración Visual Creativa como Forma de Promover una Mayor Participación y Accesibilidad

La Iglesia de Dios Casa Ebenezer en Kissimmee, Florida se involucró durante el 2022 en el Programa de Becas para Congregaciones Hispanas del Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, y pudo desarrollar el proyecto “De Corazón a Corazón”, que ha traído un despertar en la adoración y vitalidad a esta congregación.

Feature Story | July 18, 2023

46 Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants Awarded

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) announces with gratitude forty-six new Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants to recipients across the United States and Canada, including five Teacher-Scholar grants and forty-one Worshiping Communities grants.

News Item | April 14, 2023

How Hymnody Can Help Diversify Contemporary Worship

Contemporary-worship congregations are rediscovering hymns as treasuries of theological depth that express the full range of emotions and Scripture. Singing hymns together helps people connect across generations and cultures.

Feature Story | March 13, 2023

Jonathan A. Powers on Teaching Hymns Appropriate to Context

If your congregation experiences hymn singing as dull and lifeless, then try Jonathan A. Powers’ advice on finding, introducing, and teaching hymns that will resonate with your worshiping community.

Conversation | March 06, 2023

Katie J. Graber on Singing with Cultural Appreciation, Not Appropriation

Some congregations worry that singing songs outside their own tradition might be inauthentic or offensive. Ethnomusicologist Katie J. Graber gives reasons for using worship songs from other cultures and eras—and how to do so with proper appreciation and attribution.

Conversation | February 28, 2023

Herbert H. Tsang on the Beauty of Low-Tech Connections

COVID-19, “the triple pandemic,” and future universal health threats will continue to prevent many congregants, especially senior members, from attending worship in person. But for those willing to put up with some “holy messiness,” Herbert H. Tsang offers low-tech solutions to connect, sing, and worship together.

Conversation | February 23, 2023

Sharing Hymn Stories Invites Worshipers into Experience

Knowing more about the hymns they are singing helps worshipers feel more connected to God and each other in the universal body of Christ that spans all times and places.

Feature Story | February 07, 2023

First Round of Vital Worship Grants awarded for 2023 by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship  

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has announced 15 projects for funding in this first round of grants awarded for 2023-2024, 11 in the Teacher-Scholar stream of Grants and 4 in the Worshiping Communities stream of grants.

News Item | November 30, 2022

Five Tips on Using Digital Tech to Engage Virtual and In-Person Worshipers

Whether you call it virtual worship or online worship, some people will continue to join worship remotely even as others joyfully return to church buildings. Here are five tips for using digital technology as a “both/and” option for hybrid worship services.

Article | June 16, 2022

Pandemic Worship Changes Worth Keeping

So much has changed about church worship since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, soared, waned, and resurges. Those pandemic-forced pivots have created worship opportunities that have helped congregations adapt, find unity amid division, and pursue justice.

Feature Story | June 16, 2022

A Pastor and Photographer on Creating "God Moments" in Worship

When the pandemic prevented in-person worship, First Church of Windsor, Connecticut, learned how to create liturgical art installations and videos that moved hearts and minds even during virtual and hybrid worship.

Conversation | June 13, 2022

Writing Hymnkus—Haiku Poetry Set to Music—for Christian Worship

Your congregation can make worship the work of the people when you use their words in worship. The hymnku form—haiku poetry set to music—works for in-person, hybrid, and online worship and can involve many ages.

Article | May 23, 2022

Suzanne L. Vinson on Congregations Creating Liturgical Language

Grace Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, often invites members to write words used in worship. They've found that crafting liturgical language, such as calls to worship or stewardship and psalm or song paraphrases, is an easy way to help more people participate in worship and congregational life.

Article | May 23, 2022

Toronto Designers on Visual Cues to God's Time

First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto, Ontario, planned a worship grant connecting color and the liturgical year. They invited the congregation into the biblical story by collaborating on a permanent artwork. Then the pandemic prevented them from entering the church building. The landscape architect and the architect who led the grant say that this pivot turned out to be a good thing.

Conversation | April 19, 2022

Vital Worship Grants awarded for 2022 by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship  

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship  announced today that it will fund 25 Vital Worship Grants projects to Worshiping Communities for 2022-2023 as part of its Vital Worship Grants Program.   This group of grants puts us over the 1000 mark for grants awarded through this program. Thanks be to God!

News Item | April 14, 2022

Carol Arend on the Art of Accompaniment

Accompanying people on their faith journey is an art that can be learned, according to Pope Francis. When St. Thomas More Catholic Community committed itself to the art of accompaniment, it learned principles that nearly any worship community can apply, Catholic or not.

Conversation | February 14, 2022