1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
This vesper service features music from the soon-to-be-released Sending Songs album by the music collective Porter’s Gate. Created in collaboration with Fuller Seminary’s Worship for Workers project, this album offers songs that commission God’s people with mission and purpose into their places of work and play.
This service was originally presented at the 2025 Calvin Symposium on Worship.
Joslyn Henderon, Sandra McCracken, Wendell Kimbrough, Joel Littlepage, Isaac Wardell, Daniel Tavani, Orlando Palmer, Megan Tavani, Kathryn Ritsema-Roelofs, and Ron Rienstra
“Bring It to the Altar”
Text and Music: Paul Zach, Isaac Wardell, Leslie Jordan, Kate Bluett © 2023 The Porter’s Gate
Used by permission. CCLI #400063
“My Friends, May You Grow in Grace”
Text and Music: BENEDICTION; Stanza 1, 2 Peter 3:18; Timothy James Meaney and Sean Diamond; rev. Gregg DeMay and Gregory Kett © 1991, 2001 Wiseman Music; stanza 2, The Porter’s Gate © The Porter’s Gate
Used by permission. CCLI #400063
“Your Labor Is Not in Vain”
Text and Music: Wendell Kimbrough, Paul Zach, Isaac Wardell © 2017 Porter’s Gate Publishing
Used by permission. CCLI #400063
“Leave the Rest to You”
Text and Music: The Porter’s Gate © The Porter’s Gate
Used by permission.
“This Time Tomorrow”
Text and Music: The Porter’s Gate © The Porter’s Gate
Used by permission.
“The Breastplate of St. Patrick”
Text and Music: Wendell Kimbrough and Dan Wheeler © 2023 The Porter’s Gate
Used by permission. CCLI #400063
“Reformation Blessing”
Text and Music: The Porter’s Gate © The Porter’s Gate
Used by permission.
“Rhythm of the Kingdom”
Text and Music: The Porter’s Gate © The Porter’s Gate
Used by permission.
What basic models for worship planning are out there, and which patterns will work best in your context? Join a lively discussion of several worship planning models by the authors and pastors who use them. Bring your questions and suggestions as we learn together.
Join us after the University worship service (chapel) for a conversation with worship leader Kimberly Williams. We will explore topics related to worship leading and planning for diverse congregations, leading teams, songwriting and recording, and mentoring women in ministry.
In this session Terry Wildman will share the vision, process, and outcomes of the First Nations Version (FNV) New Testament. Why was this translation needed? Who was involved in the translation? What were some of the cultural challenges faced by the translation council? What does it say about the translations done in Native languages in the past? How did the translation council decide on more than 185 key words and terms? What are some of the unique qualities of the FNV versus other English versions? How has the FNV affected the worship expressions of some Native believers? What is the future of the FNV?
What basic models for worship planning are out there, and which patterns will work best in your context? Join a lively discussion of several worship planning models by the authors and pastors who use them. Bring your questions and suggestions as we learn together.
Join us after the University worship service (chapel) for a conversation with worship leader Kimberly Williams. We will explore topics related to worship leading and planning for diverse congregations, leading teams, songwriting and recording, and mentoring women in ministry.
In this session Terry Wildman will share the vision, process, and outcomes of the First Nations Version (FNV) New Testament. Why was this translation needed? Who was involved in the translation? What were some of the cultural challenges faced by the translation council? What does it say about the translations done in Native languages in the past? How did the translation council decide on more than 185 key words and terms? What are some of the unique qualities of the FNV versus other English versions? How has the FNV affected the worship expressions of some Native believers? What is the future of the FNV?
How does one think about diversity as a Christian or as the church? How might working with and among—or even just thinking about—migrant neighbors contribute to our ecclesial identity? The language of catholicity allows us to imagine the unity of the church not in a monocultural way, but rather as a community inclusive of people of all languages and ethnicities. Migration and migrants today especially remind the church of its own catholic identity. How does the church's identity as a migrant church foster a healthy catholicity in the church's worship? This session will include the use of salsa music to invite participation in a more catholic way of life, asking what multicultural, cross cultural, and intercultural ways of being a church on the move might look like in worship.
