1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Learn how church dynamics shift as congregations change size. A feature story exploring small churches, like All Nations Christian Reformed Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that are making the most of their size.
Though you might associate "heal" with "cure," healing in worship is broader. Whether through prayer, hospitality, communion, or laying on hands, it helps people become more whole.
This workshop discussed what Dallas Willard calls the "elephant in the church" - the general failure of training adult Christians to be dedicated followers of Jesus Christ.
21st-century worship planners are faced with unique exciting challenges as the church answers the Spirit's call to be a place where all nations and cultures are invited to join in praise.
This workshop will explore the implications for liturgy and preaching which arrive from recognizing afresh 1-- the reality of Christ's priesthood and 2-- that we are, in George Herbert's phrase, "Secretaries of thy praise."
This workshop offered tools and ideas for creating rich, balanced language in worship. Participants explored principles for and discuss examples of welcoming traditional language gracefully; composing or improvising elements in fresh language; using songs and prayers to worship with the global church; and finding a place for lament. The session was based on the book Worship Words.
There continues to be a growing interest in church visual art galleries, exhibitions, and educational opportunities related to art within our churches.
Certainly advances in presentation technology provide opportunities to do new things in worship. But they can also enhance our ability to do the ancient things of worship. This session discusses integrating presentation technologies both into the worship space and the worship service.
This session explored an ecology of practices designed to deepen youths' participation in the Lord's Supper/Eucharist and to form them to interpret and act in the world eucharistically. Participants learned creative pedagogies for teaching youth about the Eucharist; how youth may be engaged in ministry at the Table; the importance of creating a broad ecology of liturgical and extra-liturgical Eucharistic practices through which youth may be formed; and the means to invite youths? personal and theological reflections on Eucharistic life.
While funerals have often been seen as family affairs or private activities, the fact is that death impacts entire communities: both the faith community and the community at large.
In this presentation, several contributors to the recent book The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together explored the issues involved, highlighted some of the findings, and stimulated further reflection.
How do Christ's life, death, and resurrection save us? What poetic imagination do we use to grasp his saving work?
