Skip to main content
CICW Logo CICW Logo
  • Resources
  • Grants

    Apply for Grants

    Apply for the Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants Program to support and enhance Christian worship practices. We encourage proposals on universal design, cultural engagement, preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and more. Two grant streams are available.

    Learn More

    All Grants Awarded

    Explore all grants awarded since the program launched in 2000, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.

    Info for Current Recipients

    Explore detailed guidelines and support resources to help you manage your grant effectively.

    Teacher-Scholar Grants

    Apply for the Teacher Scholar Grant to support innovative research and teaching in Christian worship. Proposals from educators and scholars are welcome.

    Worshiping Communities Grants

    Apply for the Worshiping Communities Grant to support and enhance worship practices within your community. Proposals for diverse and innovative worship initiatives are welcome.

    Teacher-Scholar Grants

    Apply for the Teacher Scholar Grant to support innovative research and teaching in Christian worship. Proposals from educators and scholars are welcome.

    Worshiping Communities Grants

    Apply for the Worshiping Communities Grant to support and enhance worship practices within your community. Proposals for diverse and innovative worship initiatives are welcome.

  • Events

    Events

    Join us for our Symposium on Worship and Summer Seminars. Engage in inspiring sessions, workshops, and intensive seminars to deepen your understanding and practice of Christian worship.

    Learn More

    Calendar of Events

    Consider joining an upcoming event we sponsor or support. An archive is also available for reference.

    Dwelling in the Psalms

    You are invited to join the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in a year of dwelling in the Psalms—the prayerbook and songbook of the Bible.

    Upcoming Event

    Artwork: "Celebration" by John August Swanson, 2003
    From Generation to Generation: A Service of Lessons and Carols
    Join Calvin University choirs for their fiftieth annual lessons and carols service, which coincides with Calvin University's 150th anniversary celebrations spanning the 2025–26 academic year. 
    December 7, 2025, 3:00 PM
    Grand Rapids
    , 
    Michigan
    View Event
  • About

    About

    The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin University advances Christian worship through resources, events, and grants. Since 1997, we have partnered with congregations and organizations to fulfill our mission.

    Learn More

    Mission

    We promote the study and renewal of Christian worship through partnerships at Calvin University.

    What We Do

    We partner with congregations and organizations, focusing on resources, events, and grants.

    Diversity and Inclusion

    We promote worship practices that celebrate diversity and foster inclusion in all communities.

    Partners

    Discover our generous funding partners who make our programs possible through their support and grants.

    Staff Directory

    Find contact information and profiles for CICW staff across all programs.

    Learn at Calvin

    Calvin University offers many options for learners and students of all ages and contexts.

    Learn about MLC

    Learn about MLC

    A program for first- and second-year Calvin University students exploring how their interests intersect with the church.

    MLC Leadership Staff

    Meet the Ministry Leadership Cohort staff.

    MLC Peer Leaders

    Meet the Ministry Leadership Cohort peer leaders.

    A program for first- and second-year Calvin University students exploring how their interests intersect with the church.

    Contact Us

    Get in touch with us for inquiries, support, or more information about our programs and services.

    Executive Director Search

    Learn at Calvin

    Calvin University offers many options for learners and students of all ages and contexts.

    Learn about MLC

    Learn about MLC

    A program for first- and second-year Calvin University students exploring how their interests intersect with the church.

    MLC Leadership Staff

    Meet the Ministry Leadership Cohort staff.

    MLC Peer Leaders

    Meet the Ministry Leadership Cohort peer leaders.

    A program for first- and second-year Calvin University students exploring how their interests intersect with the church.

    Contact Us

    Get in touch with us for inquiries, support, or more information about our programs and services.

    Executive Director Search


  • Resources

  • Grants
    • All Grants Awarded
    • Info for Current Recipients
    • Teacher-Scholar Grants
    • Worshiping Communities Grants

  • Events
    • Calendar of Events
    • Dwelling in the Psalms

  • About
    • Mission
    • What We Do
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Partners
    • Staff Directory
    • Learn at Calvin
    • Learn about MLC
      • Learn about MLC
      • MLC Leadership Staff
      • MLC Peer Leaders
    • Contact Us
    • Executive Director Search

  • 1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA

    On the campus of Calvin University

    © 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship


Search Results

Article Planning Worship Cultural Diversity Music/Song

Marcelo Villanueva on Authentic Worship in Argentina

More people are training to lead music and worship in Protestant churches in Argentina. As in churches elsewhere, they must balance using popular songs from other cultures with creating music that helps worshipers live out their faith in the real world.
Generic placeholder image
Article

All Sheep Need a Shepherd - Psalm 23, John 10 - Sermon Notes

Sermon Notes for a sermon that explores the major themes of Psalm 23.
Article Cultural Diversity Music/Song En Español

Tony Alonso on Liturgical Music as Communal Confession

Tony Alonso notices gaps between what we sing in worship and how we live, including how we choose bilingual songs.
Article Music/Song History Theology

Glenn Packiam on Songs that Bring Hope in Worship

What do contemporary Christians sing about when they sing about hope? Do they experience hope when they gather to sing in worship? If so, what sort of hope is it?
Generic placeholder image
Article Teaching Teaching

Hymnology

This syllabus follows a course on Christian congregational song, ranging from Old Testament psalms to contemporary praise-worship songs, from traditional Western hymnody to global worship songs, with some attention to cultural context and practica.
Generic placeholder image
Article Intergenerational Theology Cultural Diversity

Japanese Church Music: Reaching back and reaching forward

After the first Catholic missionaries visited Japan in 1549, many people became Christians. But less than a century later, Japan expelled all missionaries and priests, banned Christianity, and cut off cultural contact with former trading partners.
Generic placeholder image
Article Cultural Diversity Christian Year Faith Formation

Chapel For Lent: Taize Worship

A chapel outline for Taize worship
Generic placeholder image
Worshiping Communities Intergenerational

Bridge Street AME Church

To explore creative uses of media and the arts in order to engage youth and encourage collaboration between youth and adults in planning worship.
Generic placeholder image
Article Faith Formation Interdisciplinary

Vertical Habits and Mental Illness in Worship

The vertical habits framework is easy to understand and talk about. It gives people the words to bring every part of themselves--even mental illness--to God in worship.
Generic placeholder image
Article Psalms/Scripture Drama Language Arts

Being Jesus on Good Friday

On Good Friday, as congregations meditate on the betrayal, suffering, and death of Jesus, some liturgies call the Church to identify with those who judged, persecuted, mocked, and killed our Lord. This is a sobering reality, and appropriate. But, like many stories in the Bible, there are multiple implications within this narrative.
  • Load More
Footer Logo

Stay in the know about the study and renewal of worship.

Sign up for our newsletter

Footer

Resources

  • Resource Library
  • Audio & Video
  • Publications

Events

  • Calendar
  • Symposium on Worship

Grants

  • Teacher-Scholar Grants
  • Worshiping Communities
  • Current and Past Grants

About

  • Our Mission
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Funding and Partners
  • Staff Directory
  • Contact Us

1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA

On the campus of Calvin University

© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Footer Logo