1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
A conversation between Danjuma Gibson, associate professor of pastoral care at Calvin Theological Seminary, and Christina Edmondson, dean of intercultural student development at Calvin College.
Preaching to peers in a homiletics cohort opened Antonio Almonte’s eyes to the differences in how listeners perceive his preaching in English versus Spanish. As a result, he adjusted his English-language preaching style.
Three church groups started out as separate congregations sharing one building. Now regularly-scheduled joint worship helps them see themselves as members of one body in Christ.
Worshiping regularly with a congregation culturally dissimilar from yours is challenging but worth it. Understanding these challenges can also help you change worship to better include different cultural groups within your church.
John 17 records Jesus’ prayer for unity “so that the world may know that you have sent me and loved them.” It is a powerful witness when churches model unity within diversity. This witness requires intention and prayer.
To become more multicultural, congregations must help members discern differences between biblical doctrines and cultural biases.
Preachers who interpret scripture without paying attention to cultural, ethnic, and other differences in their congregation miss out on opportunities to build bridges to their listeners’ lives.
After becoming a seminary professor in Egypt in 2013, Anne Zaki discovered two things about preaching that she hadn’t learned in the North American context.
In this workshop, we focused on what it looks like for a church to be committed to racial reconciliation for the long haul and offered five foundational practices for becoming a reconciling community.
What are the times proclaiming? What are the demographic shifts clamoring for our ministries?
Join Cheryl Bear as she leads a vesper service at the 2018 Symposium on Worship.
A bilingual vesper service at the 2018 Worship Symposium. Led by Carlos Colón, María Monteiro, María Cornou, and Mariachi Ágape.
