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Symposium 2015 Presenters

A list of presenters from the 2015 Symposium on Worship

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symposium 2015
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posted on March 5, 2015

A picture of the moon

Some presenters' workshops were recorded (audio or video).

James Abbington, professor of music and worship at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA; executive editor of the GIA African American Sacred Music Series; and author of several books and hymnals on music and worship in the African American tradition, including Readings in African American Church Music and Worship, Volume 2 (GIA Publications, Inc, 2014).

Several alumni of The James Abbington Church Music Academy—a vital part of the Choir Directors’ Organists’ Guild of the Hampton Minister’s Conference, an annual event held at Hampton University and attended by 5,000 pastors and musicians. With the goal of training future generations of music ministry leaders, the Academy provides one-week of intensive training in African American sacred music for undergraduate/ graduate music students who serve in church music leadership capacities. Beyond training in organ, piano, voice and/ or choral conducting, the Academy offers intellectual enrichment, spiritual formation and intense leadership development. Interns of the Academy are admitted through a competitive nationwide application process.  

  • Seminar 3: Seven Streams of 21st Century Congregational Song: Skills for Leading the People's Song in a Musically Multilingual World
  • Vesper Service: “We’ve Come This Far by Faith:” Our Story, Our Song
  • B1: GIA Choral Reading Session
  • James Abbington on Mentoring Church Musicians

Margaret Allotey-Pappoe is an artist and assistant professor of graphic design at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mount Vernon, OH. She is also the art director and co-founder of eschooltoday.com.

  • Art Exhibit: Between the Shadow and the Light – A Traveling Exhibition Out of South Africa
  • B2: Projecting your Message: Designing Screens for Effective Communication
  • C2: Between the Shadow and the Light: Artists’ Prophetic Responses to South Africa Today

Awet Andemicael works primarily at the intersection of music and theology, and is active as a performer, writer, consultant, and educator. Committed to education and mentoring, she has taught courses at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Université Chrétienne Bilingue du Congo (UCBC) in Beni, DR Congo, and has led masterclasses on singing in Brittany, France and at the University of Notre Dame. She holds degrees from Harvard University, UC Irvine, and Yale Divinity School, as well as a certificate from the Institute of Sacred Music, and spent a semester as an affiliate postgraduate student at Stellenbosch University. 

Students from Anima: the Forum for Worship and the Arts at Samford University. Anima exists to help young people connect their imagination, creativity, and enthusiasm to all the possibilities inherent in worship and the arts.

David M. Bailey, founder and director of Making a Melody, a ministry that inspires, empowers, and equips Christians to shape worshiping communities to value and cultivate the flourishing of all people. He is a music producer, speaker, and the author of Arrabon: Learning Reconciliation through Community & Worship Music.

M. Craig Barnes, president and professor of pastoral ministry, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ. His writing and academic work reflect his deep commitment to the theological formation of pastors to lead the church in changing times. He is the author of a number of books, including The Pastor as Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life (Eerdmans, 2009), and a columnist for The Christian Century.

Tim Blackmon, a Christian Reformed minister serving the American Protestant Church of The Hague in the Netherlands. Before returning to his native Holland, Tim was a Christian Reformed church planter in Moreno Valley and Folsom, CA.

Joyce Borger, editor of Reformed Worship; team leader of Worship Ministries of the Christian Reformed Church; and editor of Lift Up Your Hearts: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs (Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2013).

Susan Briehl, a Lutheran pastor and liturgical writer from Spokane WA, is co-editor with Dorothy C. Bass of On Our Way: Christian Practices for Living a Whole Life (Upper Room 2010), a book for emerging adults.

Emily R. Brink, resource development specialist for congregational song at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; she recently retired as program chair of the Calvin Symposium on Worship. She is co-author with Paul Detterman of Wise Church: Exploring Faith and Worship with Christians Around the World (Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2013).

Wendie Brockhaus, a pastor, theologian, and educator in the greater Kansas City area, she curates experiences of worship and spiritual formation for faith communities and individuals. She is the former director of spiritual formation at Saint Paul School of Theology. She co-authored The Mosaic Experiment: Bringing Old Testament Practices Out of Retirement (The House Studio, 2010).

  • A4: Harmony on the Staff: Preachers and Musicians Should Be Friends

James Buswell has performed as a solo violinist with major orchestras throughout North America,  Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia, performing over one hundred solo works for violin and orchestra. He taught at New England Conservatory from 1987 through 2014. His regular professional activities also include solo and chamber music recitals, conducting, teaching, lecturing, writing, including many activities that provide encouragement and support to Christian composers, performers, and church musicians.

Calvin College Worship Apprentices, an application-based year-long program for any Calvin student seeking to develop his or her leadership gifts and interests with the context of worship.

Calvin Honors Orchestra, a group of high-caliber high school age musicians from the West Michigan area.

Joel A. Carpenter, director of the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity and professor of history at Calvin College. 

Lori J. Carrell, author of Preaching That Matters: Reflective Practices for Transforming Preaching (Alban, 2013), Vice Chancellor, University of Minnesota Rochester; formerly Distinguished Professor of Communication at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh as well as director of both the University Studies Program and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Carrell has served as the assessment coordinator for the Academy of Preachers' National Festival of Young Preachers.

Fernando A. Cascante-Gómez, executive director of the Association for Hispanic Theological Education (AETH), based in Orlando, FL. A native of Costa Rica, he studied at the University of Costa Rica and the Latin American Biblical Seminary. He served churches in San José and other parts of the country for more than ten years. He received his MA and Ed.D from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, VA, and served as professor of Christian Education there. 

Mark Charles, resource development specialist with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in the area of worship and culture; he lives with his family on the Navajo Reservation, exploring areas of teaching and discipleship ministries among a wide range of people and cultures.

  • Retreat 2: Learning Christ-Centered Lament: Worship and Reconciliation in Light of a 600-Year Pattern of Systemic Injustice
  • B7: Contextualized Worship

David Cherwien, church organist, conductor, composer, and improviser, serves as cantor at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN, and music director for the National Lutheran Choir. He has also held several full time parish music positions. He is a noted leader of congregational song and innovative musician, merging organ, piano, instruments, and voices.

Todd Cioffi, assistant professor in the Congregational and Ministries Studies department at Calvin College, and director of Jubilee Fellows, a year-long program designed to mentor 12 junior Calvin students in Christian leadership and church ministry, and to foster the next generation of church leaders. 

Dale Cooper, resource specialist for liturgical spirituality at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, as well as chaplain emeritus and adjunct faculty in the department of Congregational and Ministry Studies.

  • Retreat 1: While We Are Waiting, Yielded and Still
  • C11: Christlike Patience: A Mark of a Congregation’s Spiritual Maturity

María Cornou, resource specialist for international programming and Spanish language resources for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she taught biblical studies and was administrative director at the International Baptist Theological Seminary, she is completing a Ph.D in theology.

  • B8: Worship and "Glocal" Mission, with a panel of International Guests

Phil de Haan, senior public relations specialist for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

  • C12: Wise Practices of Communication and Social Networking

Norma de Waal Malefyt, resource development specialist for congregational song, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. She co-authored Designing Worship Together: Models and Strategies for Worship Planning (Alban, 2005).

Kelly Dobbs-Mickus, an editor for MorningStar Music Publishers in St. Louis. She has extensive experience in church music publishing, including 25 years at GIA Publications in Chicago. She also serves as organist at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Chicago.

  • Seminar 8: A New Song. A Skillful Song

Miranda Dodson, singer/songwriter/worship leader at City Life Church, Austin, TX. She most recently released "Ascend," a worship project that highlights the incomparable person and work of Jesus—his birth, life, death, resurrection, and return—paying particular attention to his victorious ascent from the grave, conquering sin, death, and evil. It is a celebration of the Jesus who, not only forgives sin in his death, but also starts a whole new creation in his resurrection life.

Diane Dykgraaf, associate in the Worship Ministries office of the Christian Reformed Church, church musician and accompanist with training in various styles of church music, piano and organ teacher; and hymnal assistant and arranger of several songs in Lift Up Your Hearts: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs (Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2013).

  • B10: Worship Accompaniment and Improvisation 101 for the Church Pianist

Julia Start Fletcher, chaplain and outreach coordinator for Turning Pointe School of Dance Ministry, Holland, MI; adjunct professor of dance at Calvin College; worship arts & dance instructor for area churches and dance schools.

  • A6: Moving Worship: What IS Liturgical Dance?
  • C14: Moving Worship: How to Create Movement

Michael Gittens has been a church musician for over four decades. He has also been an accompanist, arranger, and musical director on several gospel recordings. He is director of music at Kaighn Avenue Baptist Church, Camden, NJ.

Catherine Gunsalus González, professor emerita of Church History at Columbia Theological Seminary. She is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and was the first woman to preach on The Protestant Hour in 1974. Her new bi-lingual book is Resources in the Ancient Church for Today’s Worship/Lecciones del culto antiguo para la iglesia hoy (Abingdon, 2014).

Justo L. González, an ordained United Methodist minister, retired member of the Rio Grande Conference of the United Methodist Church, and noted historian and theologian. A prolific author whose books on history and theology have been published in ten languages, he is an influential contributor to the development of Latino theology.

Mike Graves, Wm. K. McElvaney Professor of Preaching and Worship, Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, KS. He is the author of The Story of Narrative Preaching: Experience and Exposition (Cascade), and The Fully Alive Preacher: Recovering from Homiletical Burnout (Westminster John Knox).

Denise Kingdom Grier, lead pastor at Maple Avenue Ministries, a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-generational congregation in Holland, MI, and the first union church of the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church. 

Betty Grit, recently retired as grants manager for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; she now serves on the board of Christian Learning Center (CLC) Network and provides consultation to churches who seek to renew worship and engage worshipers of all abilities.

  • B12: Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Worship: Vertical Habits In Action

Eileen Guenther, professor of church music, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC. She teaches music and worship courses, directs the chapel choir, and co-directs the chapel services. She concluded three terms as president of the American Guild of Organists. She is author of Rivals or a Team: Clergy-Musician Relationships in the 21st Century (MorningStar, 2012) and a forthcoming book on The Power of Spirituals: In Their Own Words.   

Betsy Steele Halstead, an artist in oils and woodcuts and program coordinator for grants and communications and resource specialist for visual arts at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

  • A8: Visual Arts in Worship: Purposefulness in its Use Today

Melissa Haupt, Ph.D. candidate in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her academic interests include the intersection of worship and pastoral care, the Psalter as teacher of prayer and grammar, and recovering the practice of lament. She contributed to Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship (Brazos Press and Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2012) and Lift Up Your Hearts: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs(Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2013).

  • A9: Worship and Pastoral Care

C. Michael Hawn, professor of church music, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, and author of One Bread, One Body: Exploring Cultural Diversity in Worship (Alban, 2003) with a foreward by Justo L. González.

William Heard, minister of liturgy & worship and family life at Historic Kaighn Avenue Baptist Church, Camden, NJ. He is well-known as a singer, songwriter, producer, and serves as psalmist and musician for the Hour of Power worship service at Princeton University.

Linda Witte Henke, an artist whose work is informed by degrees in journalism and theology, studies in art and surface design, experiences as a published author and parish pastor, and life-long passion for worship and liturgy. She maintains an active commission schedule of liturgical projects that have garnered numerous awards; exhibits her work in Europe, Asia, and North America; and leases several collections of her spiritually expressive art to  exhibition venues throughout the U.S. She is also the author of Marking Time: Christian Rituals for All Our Days (Morehouse) and serves as a writer for Augsburg Fortress on the subject of the arts in worship.   

Scott Hoezee, director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI. His new book is Actuality: Real Life Stories for Sermons that Matter (The Artistry of Preaching Series, Abingdon Press, 2014). 

Shannon Jammal-Hollemans, pastor and program developer for the Office of Social Justice for the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). She is an ordained pastor in the CRC, living in Grand Rapids, MI.


Meg Jenista, pastor of The Washington DC Christian Reformed Church. She is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a Th.M. in preaching, also from Calvin. 

Tom Jennings, director of worship at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City since 1995; his work there has been featured in Jazz Times, Worship Leader, byFaith, andCharisma, as well as a documentary for Anglican Media Sydney; as a pianist, he has performed as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, and in opera, jazz, and cabaret.

Pablo Jiménez, senior pastor of the Iglesia Cristiana (Discípulos de Cristo) in Espinosa, Dorado, Puerto Rico, and co-author with Justo González of Púlpito: An Introduction to Hispanic Preaching. He has preached and taught in several countries in Central and North America; see www.drpablojimenez.com.

Todd E. Johnson, the Brehm Chair in Worship, Theology and the Arts and theological director of the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology and the Arts, Fuller Theological Seminary. Todd is the lead professor in Fuller’s doctoral program in Christian Worship. Most recently he has been researching Paul’s writings to the Corinthians about their “gatherings.”

  • A11: The Apostle Paul on Worship: Paul as a Worship Consultant to the Corinthian Church

Graham Kendrick, a leading contributor to  ‘modern worship music’ who for more than 30 years has been at the forefront of Christian music in the UK having written and recorded hundreds of songs, many of which are well known around the world, including “Shine Jesus Shine,” “Knowing You,” “The Servant King,” and “Amazing Love.” He is an active advocate for the charity Compassion, encouraging audiences worldwide to understand worship as a way of life, and true intimacy with God as sharing in the concerns of the heart and participating in God’s mission to the world. 

Charles Kim, Korean Ministry coordinator and Ethnic Ministry leader for the Christian Reformed Home Missions. He has been a church planter and lead pastor of Ttokamsa Seoul Church, reaching out to a unique community of people in the district of Gangnam in Seoul, Korea, which is the epicenter of a new culture in Asia. His previous ministry experiences include directing and producing large international conferences and planting a church reaching college students and young adults at UCLA. He travels globally to do consulting and to speak on issues related to the next society and on leadership.

  • A12: Just Show Up: Bible Listening Gatherings

Young Richard Kim, associate professor of history and classics at Calvin College. His current research focuses on the life and work of Epiphanius of Cyprus, a bishop active in ecclesiastical politics and theological controversies during the late fourth century. His first book, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus: Ancoratus, was published in the Fathers of the Church series of the Catholic University of America Press, 2014, and his second book, Epiphanius of Cyprus: Imagining an Orthodox World, is forthcoming with the University of Michigan Press. 

  • Seminar 1: Water From a Deep Well: Learning From the Riches of Historical Worship Practices

Joy-Elizabeth Lawrence, has worked both in theatre and churches and finds resonance using theatrical training and skills to communicate God's word. She is a biblical storyteller and regularly leads lay readers and performers toward creative and clear ways to remember and retell God's story in worship.

Jorge Lockward, born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Jorge lives in New York City where he works as director of the Global Praise Program of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, and lectures on worship at Union Theological Seminary. Jorge was a committee member of the Spanish Language United Methodist Hymnal, Mil Voces para Celebrar, and has served as consultant on other denominational hymnals.

Karin Maag, director of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies and professor of history at Calvin College. Her forthcoming book with Eerdmans is an edited volume on worship in Calvin’s Geneva. 

Eric Mathis, assistant professor of church music and worship leadership at Samford University, Birmingham, AL, where he teaches courses in music and worship; he also serves as program director of anima: the Forum for Worship and the Arts.  

Barbara J. Newman, a church and school consultant for Christian Learning Center (CLC) Network. She is the author of several books, including Helping Kids Include Kids with Disabilities, Autism and Your Church, and Body Building: Devotions to Celebrate Inclusive Community. She is a frequent national speaker at educational conferences and churches.

  • B12: Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Worship: Vertical Habits In Action

Aaron Niequist, worship leader, songwriter, and pastor in the Chicago area. After leading worship at Mars Hill Church (Grand Rapids, MI) and Willow Creek Church (Barrington, IL), he created A New Liturgy - a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings. Currently he is curating a discipleship-focused, formational, practice-based community at Willow Creek called “The Practice." See more at practicetribe.com.

Mwenda Ntarangwi, a cultural anthropologist and native of Kenya; executive director of the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE); associate director of off-campus programs at Calvin College; and author or editor of eight books, including East African Hip Hop: Youth Culture and Globalization (University of Illinois, 2009).

Glenn Packiam, lead pastor of new life DOWNTOWN, a congregation of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO, where he also serves on the executive team. He is a doctoral student at St. John's College at Durham University in the UK. His recent book is Discover the Mystery of Faith: How Worship Shapes Believing (David C. Cook, 2013).

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., professor of systematic theology and president emeritus, Calvin Theological Seminary, and senior research fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; his recent book is Reading for Preaching: The Preacher in Conversation with Storytellers, Biographers, Poets, and Journalists (Eerdmans, 2013).

  • B17: Glorifying God in Worship
  • C22: Worshiping a Christ Who is Hard to Know

Harry Plantinga, director of Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) and Hymnary.org and professor of computer science, Calvin College.

Emmett G. Price III, professor of music, Northeastern University, Boston, MA; founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship, Allston, MA; columnist for GIA Quarterly; noted scholar of Christian worship and African American Sacred Music with numerous articles, book chapters, and publications including The Black Church and Hip Hop Culture: Toward Bridging Generational Divide (Scarecrow, 2012).

Steve Prince, an artist and art professor residing in Silver Spring, MD. His art explores the conditions of humanity and the challenges we face in a society that erodes our sense of true community and communal togetherness.

Members of the Princeton Theological Seminary Choir. A professional and graduate school of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Princeton Theological Seminary stands within the Reformed tradition, embracing in its life and work a rich racial and ethnic diversity and breadth of communions represented in the worldwide church.

David Reimer, head of the String Program at Calvin College and an accomplished violinist. He has played with the Kalamazoo Symphony, West Michigan Symphony, the Traverse Symphony, and as concertmaster of the Baroque on Beaver Island Orchestra. He also has served in diverse ministry roles, having published teen Bible Study guides for David C. Cook, starting a church men’s ministry, and volunteering with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Ron Rienstra, professor of worship of preaching and worship arts at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI, and co-author of Worship Words (Baker Academic, 2009).

  • B19: Praises Plans and Pauses: Music as Liturgical Punctuation

Erin Rose, serves as a program director with Making a Melody, a ministry that partners with Christian communities nationally and internationally in creating new culture that is contextually diverse, beautiful, and demonstrates heaven on Earth to the world. Erin also serves as the worship coordinator at East End Fellowship, an economically and culturally diverse church in the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond, VA.

  • Seminar 8: A New Song. A Skillful Song
  • C4: Principles of an Urban Doxology

Paul Ryan, associate chaplain for worship, Calvin College, and resource development specialist for worship teams at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

David Rylaarsdam, teaches history, worship, and faith formation at Calvin Theological Seminary. He likes to teach and preach in cross-cultural contexts, whether in prison or in countries around the world. His research interests include the ways in which communities of disciples have been formed for ministry. 

Eric Sarwar, an ordained Presbyterian pastor from Pakistan, and founder and director of the Tehillim School of Church Music & Worship in Karachi.

Greg Scheer, minister of worship at Church of the Servant, Grand Rapids, MI; music associate at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; author of The Art of Worship: A Musician’s Guide to Leading Modern Worship (Baker, 2006).

  • Seminar 8: A New Song. A Skillful Song
  • Using Hymnary.org's FlexScores to Include Instruments in Worship
  • B9: Songwriting from the Inside: Friday Session, Saturday Session

Chris Schoon, senior pastor at First Hamilton Christian Reformed Church, ON, and occasionally teaches mission related courses at Redeemer University College. He is a doctoral candidate in missional theology at Wycliffe College (Toronto) with a focus on how worship can contribute to forming the evangelistic character of God’s people.

Gerald L. Sittser, professor of theology at Whitworth University, Spokane, WA, who specializes in history of Christianity, Christian spirituality, and religion in American public life. He is the author of many books, including A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss (Zondervan, 2004), A Grace Revealed: How God Redeems the Story of Your Life (Zondervan, 2012), and Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries (IVP, 2007).

Kathy Smith, associate director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and program manager for the Institute's grants programs. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church, adjunct professor of church polity at Calvin Theological Seminary, and author of Stilling the Storm: Worship and Congregational Leadership in Difficult Times (Alban, 2006).

Rebecca Snippe works with worship and hymnal related resources and coordinates several web resource projects for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. She is a student in the MTS program at Calvin Theological Seminary, where she also received an MA in Worship. 

  • A5: Singing for Faith Formation: Nourishing Songs for Worship

Carrie Steenwyk, program manager for publications, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; co-author with Lester Ruth and John D. Witvliet of Walking Where Jesus Walked: Worship in Fourth-Century Jerusalem (Eerdmans, 2010), and co-author with John D. Witvliet of At Your Baptism (Eerdmans, 2011). 

Martin Tel, C.F. Seabrook director of music at Princeton Theological Seminary. Martin teaches on musical resources for the congregation, the Psalms in worship, and collaborative worship planning. He is senior editor of Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship (Brazos Press and Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2012).

Students from Unity Christian High School, located in Hudsonville, Michigan. 

  • Seminar 5: The Sound of Scripture

Howard Vanderwell, resource development specialist with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and adjunct professor of worship at Calvin Theological Seminary; he is editor and author of The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together (Alban, 2008).

  • B24: Links in the Liturgy: Creating “Flow” in a Worship Service

Sandra Maria Van Opstal, pastor at Grace and Peace Community (CRC) in Chicago, IL, is a speaker and activist who is passionate about creating spaces where voices from different cultures can come together and overcome division. She has directed worship at Urbana and with Intervarsity, and is author of The Mission of Worship (IVP, 2012) and a forthcoming book on leading worship in a multicultural world.

Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk, chair and professor of art at Calvin College, where she directs the art education program; she also maintains a fiber studio in downtown Grand Rapids. 

  • A20: Art and Forgiveness
  • C2: Between the Shadow and the Light: Artists’ Prophetic Responses to South Africa Today

John Varineau, music faculty at Calvin College where he conducts the Calvin Orchestra and the Calvin Community Symphony. He also serves as associate conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony and conductor of the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony and Classical Orchestra. 

Kristen Verhulst, associate to the director and program manager, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

  • A21: Children’s Books about Worship

Eric Washington, assistant professor of history and director of African and African Diaspora Studies Minor at Calvin College. His research areas include studying the African American church from its development in the late 18th century through the 19th century; individual Christians, primarily Calvinists; and African-American church missions to Africa.

  • Seminar 1: Water From a Deep Well: Learning From the Riches of Historical Worship Practices

Paul Scott Wilson, professor of homiletics at Emmanuel College of the University of Toronto. He is one of the most respected and recognized teachers of homiletics in North America. He is the author of a number of books, including God Sense: Reading the Bible for Preaching and The Four Pages of the Sermon, published by Abingdon Press. He is the general editor of The New Interpreter's Handbook of Preaching (Abingdon).

Tom Witt, music coordinator at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities; co-founder of Bread for the Journey musical ensemble, Minneapolis, MN. Co-author, with Susan R. Briehl, of Holden Prayer Around the Cross: Handbook to the Liturgy (Augsburg Fortress, 2010). 

  • Vesper Service: For the Healing of the Nations: a Candlelight Liturgy of Scripture, Silence and Simple Song
  • C6: Prayer around the Cross: Unpacking the Liturgies

John D. Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and professor of congregational and ministry studies, music, and worship at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, respectively. His recent book is Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship, co-edited with Joyce Borger and Martin Tel (Brazos Press and Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2012).

Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology at Yale University, and Senior Research Fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia. He is the author of numerous books, including Hearing the Call: Liturgy, Justice, Church, and World (Eerdmans, 2011).

Anne Zaki, teaches at the Evangelical Presbyterian Seminary, Cairo, Egypt, and serves the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship as resource specialist for the Middle East.  

Jeremy Zeyl, is the director of worship at Talbot Street Christian Reformed Church, London, Ontario, as well as the Artistic Director for Body and Soul: A Worship Collective. This current project sets the words of Reformed Confessions (the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession) to modern music for corporate worship and congregational singing.