Apply for the Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants Program to support and enhance Christian worship practices. We encourage proposals on universal design, cultural engagement, preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and more. Two grant streams are available.
Join us for our Symposium on Worship and Summer Seminars. Engage in inspiring sessions, workshops, and intensive seminars to deepen your understanding and practice of Christian worship.
Since at least the eighth century, Christians have prepared to celebrate the birth of Christ by singing the O Antiphons. These seven songs, or antiphons, function as prayers asking for the Savior to come soon. Each employs a different name for the Messiah found in the Old Testament. In modern times, the O Antiphons are most commonly sung as the seven verses of the Advent hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin University advances Christian worship through resources, events, and grants. Since 1997, we have partnered with congregations and organizations to fulfill our mission.
Opportunities and Challenges for Pastoral Ministry in 2023
Published on
April 12, 2023
Video length
3 mins
Seven pastoral leaders—pastors, reconcilers, preachers, and scholars—offer insights from their unique contexts on the greatest opportunities and challenges for ministry work now.
Pastor Szabina Sztojka describes the ethnic conflict in Hungary, especially against the Roma people, and reflects on how Reformed church leaders and congregations face both opportunities and challenges in inclusion and welcome for all.
Preacher-scholar Brianna K. Parker reflects on the opportunities and challenges pastoral leaders face regarding data on worship practices and on how asking good questions and commissioning good research can be beneficial.
Author Latasha Morrison reflects on opportunities and challenges churches face in healing, equity, and reconciliation, specifically through the lens of discipleship and spiritual transformation.
Te-Li Lau on the Cultivation of Emotions in Worship
Professor Te-Li Lau reflects on the opportunity and challenge of cultivating and nurturing godly emotions in public worship and connecting them to scripture.
Professor Rolanda L. Ward challenges communities of faith to pause and consider the harm in our world and the role lamentation has in helping us work through these tragedies in everyday living.
Explore the compelling beauty of the Bible's covenantal vision of the divine-human relationship and the transformative difference this makes for how we worship the triune God. This session will feature insights from the authors of two influential books: Esther Lightcap Meek's Loving to Know: A Covenantal Epistemology and Daniel Block's Covenant: The Framework of God's Grand Plan of Redemption.
Born of Water and the Spirit: Four Continental Perspectives on Baptism
While Christian baptism is predominantly a transcultural practice, distinct faith communities worldwide experience this initiation rite through unique contextualizing elements. Join us in a fascinating conversation with Christian leaders from five continents about the rich cultural diversity reflected in baptismal liturgies, imagery, and practices, and how they shape Christian life in their contexts.
This panel will explore the intersectionality between culture and disability. What can we learn from the experiences of people across varying cultures and contexts? What do experiences of racism and ableism in the church have in common? How do they overlap? How does belonging for people with disabilities look different in a variety of cultural contexts?
Explore the compelling beauty of the Bible's covenantal vision of the divine-human relationship and the transformative difference this makes for how we worship the triune God. This session will feature insights from the authors of two influential books: Esther Lightcap Meek's Loving to Know: A Covenantal Epistemology and Daniel Block's Covenant: The Framework of God's Grand Plan of Redemption.
Born of Water and the Spirit: Four Continental Perspectives on Baptism
While Christian baptism is predominantly a transcultural practice, distinct faith communities worldwide experience this initiation rite through unique contextualizing elements. Join us in a fascinating conversation with Christian leaders from five continents about the rich cultural diversity reflected in baptismal liturgies, imagery, and practices, and how they shape Christian life in their contexts.
This panel will explore the intersectionality between culture and disability. What can we learn from the experiences of people across varying cultures and contexts? What do experiences of racism and ableism in the church have in common? How do they overlap? How does belonging for people with disabilities look different in a variety of cultural contexts?
Worship with Teenagers: History Lessons for Ministry Today
Teenagers’ desire to encounter God has been realized throughout history as youth ministry has grown and evolved. Indeed, teenagers have expressed needs and desires to practice and grow their faith at church, school, and home as well as at camps and conferences or on short- and long-term mission trips. On the one hand, these worship efforts have been deeply formative. On the other hand, these worship efforts have focused on attracting and keeping teenagers as much as, if not more than, on spiritual formation. This session will identify key historical patterns in adolescent worship and examine how we might engage their wisdom for faithful worship practices with teenagers today.
