1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
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.
Wendell Kimbrough’s setting of Mary’s Song captures the wonder, fear, and obedience of Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message. The song is a perfect fit for Advent, Christmas, and Lessons and Carols services.
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.
This service of Lessons and Carols from 2017 celebrates Christmas by proclaiming the Easter Gospel: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!"
What if we thought about Christ’s birth as an ongoing reality, rather than a one-time event? That’s just what Lois Shuford’s haunting Advent song “Ready My Heart” does: it helps us prepare our hearts for Christ to dwell in us every day.
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.
View this conversation with pastoral musician David Crowder and Noel Snyder, program manager at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
Because human beings are embodied creatures, the shape of the material world—in particular, the shape of the built environment—will affect their spiritual lives, both in relation to God and to each other.
Introducing the worship song “Come, Holy Ghost / Be Not Afraid” by Bruce Benedict and Ray Mills.
Introducing the worship song “Come, Holy Ghost / Be Not Afraid” by Bruce Benedict and Ray Mills.
Jesus’s example of laying down his life for others inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and the U.S. civil rights movement. This theology of how to engage undeserved suffering can help congregations deal with pain.
