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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.

    Learn More

    Calendar of Events

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

    Symposium on Worship

    Engage in inspiring worship and workshops to enhance your worship practice. Join thought leaders and practitioners for enriching discussions.

    Upcoming Event

    2025 Black Religious Autobiography Seminar
    The office of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School is sponsoring a week-long seminar exploring the autobiographical writings of Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Howard Thurman, Ida B. Wells, and other Black autobiographers and memoirists who used their life stories as weapons in the quest for freedom and humanization. 
    July 19 - 26, 2025
    Durham
    , 
    North Carolina
    View Event
  • About

    About

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

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    Mission

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

    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

    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.

    Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary offer many options for learners and students of all ages and contexts.

    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

    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.

    Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary offer many options for learners and students of all ages and contexts.

    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
    • Symposium on Worship

  • About
    • Mission
    • What We Do
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Partners
    • Staff Directory
    • Learn at Calvin
      • 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 and Calvin Theological Seminary

    © 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship


Search Results

Article Cultural Diversity Faith Formation History

Indigenous Christian Worship Resources: Where to Start

Many congregations are beginning to realize that they live, work, and worship on land taken from Indigenous people. Learning about First Nations and Native American Christians can help worshipers from other cultures see the gospel with new eyes.
salt of the earth
Article Cultural Diversity Interdisciplinary Planning Worship

Decades-Long Spiritual Formation

An international pastoral leader, a public theologian, and a young scholar explain how the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has impacted them—and made room for them to influence CICW and others.
Article Universal Design Preaching

Tom Hoeksema on a Bibliography of Disability and Inclusion

Too many pastors and churches fail to see the wholeness of people who live with disability. Tom Hoeksema recommends books that can help preachers and churches become more inclusive.
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Article Theology Faith Formation Preaching

Green Congregations Celebrate God’s New Creation in Worship

Christians often remind each other that worship is more about God’s beauty and glory than about us.
Article Cultural Diversity Faith Formation Leadership

Arbin Pokharel on Shepherd Leadership in the Nepali Reformed Churches

The Nepali Reformed Churches are learning about biblical ecclesiology and shepherd leadership to become more Christ-centered and to prepare for a potentially turbulent future. Churches around the world can apply this learning in their own contexts.
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Article Intergenerational Teaching

Peer Learning Groups: Putting your heads together to change hearts

Several Christians learning together as peers will accomplish far more than one enthusiastic reader can do alone--especially when these study groups look for the Holy Spirit's guidance. A feature story exploring the benefits of Peer Learning groups.
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Article Planning Worship Music/Song

It's All About Grace: A Hymn Festival in South Haven Michigan

This hymn festival took place at Hope Reformed Church in South Haven, MI on October 6, 2013.
cosmos
Video Christian Year Music/Song

For God So Loved the Cosmos . . . A Service of Lessons and Carols

The Old Testament unfolds the cosmic nature of God’s promised redemption “far as the curse is found.” Reflecting back on the coming of Messiah, Paul not only testified that it was in Jesus Christ that all things were created, but also that in Jesus Christ, God was at work to “reconcile to himself all things.” [Col. 1:15]. In this service of lessons and carols, sung by the Calvin University choirs, hear texts celebrating this all-creation vision of redemption.
Article Interdisciplinary Faith Formation Preaching

Worship in the Season of Creation and Earth-Themed Sundays

Green congregations around the world celebrate the Season of Creation, emphasize earth keeping throughout the Christian Year and plan other earth-themed Sundays.
Article Preaching Teaching

CICW Awards Grants for 62 New Projects in Worship and Preaching

Vital Worship, Vital Preaching grants fund diverse projects for worshiping communities and teacher-scholars.
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Resources

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Events

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  • Symposium on Worship

Grants

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  • 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 and Calvin Theological Seminary

© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

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