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Local Psalm Festivals

As part of the Dwelling in the Psalms year, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has provided resources to support Psalm festivals around Canada and the United States. These events are open to the public and many will be livestreamed. 

July 9, 2026 | 4 min read
Deeper Church: Preaching and Worship to Shape Us as Communities of Tenderness (A Jazz Homily)

An evening of music and spoken word with Mark Glanville, accompanied by a jazz trio, reflecting on how preaching and worship can form deeper churches in a post-Christian context.

July 8, 2026 | 78 min video

I Will Give You Rest

“Trauma” is not a word we are likely to find in any Bible translation, but it has seemed to frequently appear everywhere else in recent years. Perhaps that began in 2020 with the COVID pandemic. Resonances of that trauma reverberated through churches, too, while many denominations were already facing internal difficulties and the loss of members and congregations. Pastors have been wounded, and many have had to leave beloved ministries. The global political scene seems more fiercely riven than any other time in our memory. Just watching the daily news these days can feel traumatic.

July 7, 2026 | 2 min read
Psalm Festival Reflections

In the fall of 2025, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship invited worshiping communities to join together in dwelling in Psalms, the prayer book and songbook of the Bible. Each psalm festival that resulted is unique and crafted for its individual context. What follows are examples of psalm festivals from these communities. These examples are for your inspiration and encouragement. If you borrow ideas, litanies, or music from these resources, please provide proper attribution and make sure those items are not copyrighted. You must secure your own permission to use any copyrighted material from these examples.

July 2, 2026 | 2 min read

Seeing Christ in the Face of the Other: Singing the Psalms for Reconciliation with Karen Campbell

In 2020, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland published the book Considering Grace, which narrates the stories of 120 people and their proximity to the troubles in Northern Ireland. Though clergy were applauded for often acting as first responders to the victims, wider questions regarding the denomination were raised. Could they have spoken up more and been a prophetic voice? In response, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland commissioned Karen Campbell to convene groups to produce a suite of songs, prayers, and liturgies from the psalms of lament to be used in congregational settings to voice lament, confess complicity, and raise deeper questions surrounding justice. This workshop will discuss the process involved and the questions raised and will include some of the songs, liturgies, and prayers that were produced.In 2020, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland published the book Considering Grace, which narrates the stories of 120 people and their proximity to the troubles in Northern Ireland. Though clergy were applauded for often acting as first responders to the victims, wider questions regarding the denomination were raised. Could they have spoken up more and been a prophetic voice? 

June 29, 2026 | 87 min video
How to Preach and Hear the Psalms

A workshop which shows participants how to preach genre-conscious sermons from the book of Psalms. Attention will be given to historical, literary, and theological issues with the aim of improving hermeneutical, generical, and homiletical practice. Participants, including hearers of sermons, will expand their knowledge of the psalms as a genre, develop genre-conscious forms and structures, and cultivate new strategies for homiletical practice.

June 23, 2026 | 82 min video
Ryan Turnbull on Anglican Poetics and Worship

Studying Anglican poetics helped Anglicans in Manitoba, Canada, enter more deeply into worship and liturgical life. It also helped them connect with non-Anglicans as they explored shared human experiences through metaphor, imagination, and writing poems.

June 23, 2026 | 7 min read

Peter Levenstrong on Living Stories Sermons

Imagine if people came to worship asking not “What will the preacher say?” but “What will we discover together?” Living Stories Sermons is a collaborative preaching model that brings new life to worship and helps people feel as if they belong. It involves exegesis, wondering questions, and small-group reflection, and it trusts that the Holy Spirit can speak through everyone, not just the preacher. 

June 16, 2026 | 9 min read
Tiempo ordinario, mes de julio: En las crisis de la vida, la esperanza nos renueva

Los salmos de este mes, a la luz de la resurrección de Jesús y del triunfo de la vida sobre los poderes de la muerte, nos recuerdan realidades que no podemos soslayar. Los sufrimientos diarios pueden sobrellevarse a partir de la memoria de lo que Dios ha hecho por nosotros, como pueblo y como individuos (Salmo 77). En las grandes crisis nacionales, el Señor está con su pueblo como refugio seguro (Salmo 48). Si es cierto que los jueces humanos se venden al mejor postor, y la justicia parece ausente de nuestros pueblos, tenemos la esperanza de que Dios juzgará a quienes juzgan en la tierra (Salmo 82). Y cuando desesperamos ante la soberbia y la prepotencia de quienes gobiernan el mundo, la palabra profética nos da una firme esperanza de que tales personas serán desarraigadas de la tierra (Salmo 52). Así, cultivamos la esperanza recordando que la vida tiene la última palabra. Jesús, el Mesías, ha vencido, y con él somos más que vencedores.

June 10, 2026 | 15 min read
Psalms for Every Tribe and Tongue

Drawing inspiration from Revelation 7:9, Terry and Darlene Wildman will lead this workshop exploring how the First Nations Version: Psalms speaks into—and flows out from—the hearts of Indigenous North American cultures today through storytelling, songs, and interactive activities. Participants will experience how these ancient prayers continue to inspire worship that celebrates cultural diversity and unity in Creator’s Sacred Family.

June 4, 2026 | 79 min video