1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
To worship in line with the Lord’s Prayer—on earth as it is in heaven—requires making room in worship for stories, songs, and gifts from many cultures. Doing so depends in part on how churches form their views about refugees and immigrants.
Seeing violence and racism up close is ugly. Two Presbyterians discuss how to help congregations prepare for and respond to divisive events.
Churches often shy away from conversations about white supremacy or which lives matter. A Presbyterian elder and a worship leader explain how to pastorally move toward effective reconciliation ministry.
A songwriting class in a North Carolina prison taught eight women to write biblical songs that touch congregations inside and outside prison walls.
Teaching an intensive songwriting class in a North Carolina prison for women made Susannah Long and Michael Conner reflect on gaps in what churches sing about.
It is far more common to hear about physical ailments than mental ones in congregational prayers and worship. Psychiatrist Warren Kinghorn explains why mental health issues and people with mental illness should be acknowledged in Christian worship.
We hear a lot about using person-first language. Yet it is still common to label people with their mental health diagnosis. Christians and churches can offer another way to describe our common human identity.
It is important for financially stable churches and Christians to build relationships with those in poverty. But the reason may be different than what you might assume.
TOGETHER is a new Bible study curriculum designed to include, appeal to, and challenge adults of varying abilities. The new curriculum is building community in ways that enrich worship in congregations and congregation members with dementia.
People treated as the last and the least often feel unwelcome inside churches. That is why some church plants create a worshiping community outdoors. Many of their discoveries also apply to indoor churches.
Those who experience homelessness, poverty, physical or mental illness, or addiction understand things that more privileged people may never know. Raising up peer chaplains from within this group can lead to renewal in both outdoor and building-based Christian communities.
Our first roundup of ordination resources was so popular that we have now consulted five more experts from five more denominations. Their best practices will help you dig beneath the surface when you ordain or install ministers, elders, and deacons.
