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  • 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.

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    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.

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    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

    Common Hymnal, Live at Calvin
    Join Common Hymnal, a vibrant online community of creatives on the margins of the Christian faith, for a night of worship, in a movement of honest expression and collective transformation.
    November 8, 2025, 8:00 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.

    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.


  • 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

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

    On the campus of Calvin University

    © 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship


Search Results

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Stories Intergenerational Faith Formation Theology

Vertical Habits: Relational words that expand worship language

Focusing on simple phrases helps develop worship habits that affect our whole lives. Vertical habits expand how people talk with God during church worship and school chapels. A feature story exploring relational words that expand worship language.
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Stories Pastoral Care Planning Worship

Christian Funerals: Going to be with God

Thomas Long makes a case for classic Christian funeral traditions. Howard Vanderwell and Leonard VanderZee offer pastoral considerations for planning funerals and memorial services. A feature story exploring the planning for Christian Funerals and Memorial Services.
David M. Bailey
Podcast/Audio Psalms/Scripture

David M. Bailey on Righteous Anger in the Psalms

In this episode, David M. Bailey, executive director of Arrabon, an organization dedicated to equipping and empowering organizations for reconciliation, talks with John Witvliet about righteous anger that directs people on a path of formation and Christian discipleship.
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Article Faith Formation

Singleness and Trying to Find It Good - Mark 3, John 12

The fourth service plan in a series entitled "Chapters of Life." This service focuses on singleness--those who are unmarried--and aims to keep them and their needs in front of the entire worshiping community.
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Article Faith Formation Theology

The Chapter of Great Resources - Philippians 4

A service plan focused on Philippians 4 and the assurance and peace we can have in times when life requires great strength and courage. This is part of a series called "Great Chapters of the Bible."
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Stories Intergenerational

Tod Bolsinger on Worshiping as the People of God

God calls us into a relationship that is intensely personal, but never private. This is an important distinction, yet one that many Christians miss. A feature story exploring our Worship as the people of God.
photo of open hands
Stories Intergenerational Pastoral Care Planning Worship

Kate Strater on Ministry with and by People with Intellectual Disability

Churches sometimes ignore or separate children and adults with intellectual disability from general church worship and congregational life. But schools, service agencies, and churches can expand one another’s imaginations about what’s possible for and with people with intellectual and development disabilities. Even small congregations can experience the joy of learning to include all abilities in the body of Christ.
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Article Intergenerational Faith Formation Teaching

Studying Worship on Seminary Campuses: Seminary Chapel Survey

In the spring of 2007, a questionnaire was sent to all ATS-accredited Protestant seminaries in the USA. The purpose of the study was to begin to map the range of practices and policies at the nation’s seminaries surrounding community worship. Thus, the questionnaire asked simple questions and invited reflection and feedback. The questions were divided into four primary categories: Leadership, Liturgy, Community, and Curriculum.
Art by Solomon Raj
Video Psalms/Scripture

Blessed Are the Meek

A YouTube Video Premiere worship service led by Jerry Pillay based on Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
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Video

Cultivating an Ecclesiological Understanding: An Interview with C. Michael Hawn led by John Witvliet

An interview on the occasion of Michael Hawn's retirement from the Vital Worship Grants Board in May 2021.
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Resources

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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

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