Suzanne L. Vinson on Congregations Creating Liturgical Language
Grace Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, often invites members to write words used in worship. They've found that crafting liturgical language, such as calls to worship or stewardship and psalm or song paraphrases, is an easy way to help more people participate in worship and congregational life.
Sarah Farmer on Courageous Hope in Youth
Practical theologian Sarah F. Farmer offers four promising pathways for African American youth to strengthen capacity for hope infused with courage in the life of the church and community.
Angela Williams Gorrell on the Gravity of Joy for Young People
Practical theologian Angela Williams Gorrell shares how experiencing life's challenges and sorrows is also an opportunity to share in its joy.
Benjamin T. Conner on Friendship and Hospitality that Embraces Youth with Developmental Disabilities
Practical theologian Benjamin T. Conner encourages and challenges congregations and pastors to reorient ministry with youth to fully include and amplifiy the witness of adolescents with developmental disabilities.
Amy Adamczyk on the Influence of Parents in the Religious Lives of Their Children
Sociologists Amy Adamczyk and Christian Smith co-authored the book "Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation," which explores the research results of more than 200 interview with US parents exploring intergenerational transmission of religious faith and practice between the generations.
Engaging in Learning, Growing in Faith
As part of the 35th annual Calvin Symposium on Worship in Feb. 2022, twenty guests spoke with about 200 students in various courses and student organizations about the relationship between public worship and their areas of study. The program demonstrates the catalytic connections that can be made and faith formation that can happen through integrating attention to Christian practices in all areas of study.
Toronto Designers on Visual Cues to God's Time
First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto, Ontario, planned a worship grant connecting color and the liturgical year. They invited the congregation into the biblical story by collaborating on a permanent artwork. Then the pandemic prevented them from entering the church building. The landscape architect and the architect who led the grant say that this pivot turned out to be a good thing.
Vital Worship Grants awarded for 2022 by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship announced today that it will fund 25 Vital Worship Grants projects to Worshiping Communities for 2022-2023 as part of its Vital Worship Grants Program. This group of grants puts us over the 1000 mark for grants awarded through this program. Thanks be to God!
Empowering Children and Youth through Active Involvement
In this conversation, Priscilla Rodriquez shares with Elizabeth Tamez Mendez about her worshiping community in Chicago which provides accessible leaders with a guiding presence so that early on children are encouraged to be creative and share their gifts as they grow up in the life of faith and the church.
Intergenerational Relationships in the Worshiping Community
In this conversation, pastor Ahnna Cho Park invites church communities to consider a Biblical concept of honor that embraces the imago Dei, breaks down cultural hierarchies between youth and adults, and welcomes all on a journey of intergenerational friendships and worship practices.
Curiosity, Relationship-building, and Youth as Active Participants
In this conversation, Nicole Saint-Victor shares with Elizabeth Tamez Méndez her passion for nurturing relationships with youth and inviting them into intentional conversations and spaces even while sometimes disrupting established practices in order to provide multiple pathways for youth into Christian community, worship, and life together.
Bilingualism, Generations and the Church
In this conversation, pastor Marcos Canales shares with Elizabeth Tamez Méndez how intercultural and intergenerational relationships intersect with a worshiping community to foster spaces of belonging in la familia of God.