1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
CICW has awarded Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants for over 20 years to teacher-scholars and worshiping communities in 45+ states and provinces and across 40+ denominations and traditions—including Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, non-denominational, and other Protestant communities.
While worship styles and practices vary greatly across these traditions, the grant projects typically explore at least one of CICW’s ten core convictions related to worship. Explore the hundreds of projects we’ve funded across both streams of the program.
To engage students at Furman University in weekly student-led worship by equipping student leaders and developing ecumenical liturgical resources.
To encourage spiritual and emotional healing among congregations and clergy by educating church leaders in trauma-informed worship, pastoral care, and other ministry practices.
To make new worship music resources of all styles accessible to worshipers globally by creating an online worship community that participates in training workshops, fosters the creation of new music, and provides access to a variety of worship resources.
To engage in liturgies and educational roundtables that facilitate inclusive attitudes and practices that welcome those who have been historically marginalized.
To explore a theology of the body to provide a foundation for leadership and laity to engage theologically and practically around issues of mental health, race, gender, and ability.
To strengthen those who lead worship by deepening their unity with one another while cultivating skills in planning and leading worship that integrates cultural expressions with the narrative of God’s story.
To engage with science in worship by piloting worship "experiments" in five partner churches involving interviews with worship leaders and scientists and the creation of new worship resources.
To create an expression of worship that increases authenticity, reduces barriers, and provides diverse forms of music and speech by engaging in interviews, focus groups, and team studies that expand theological and aesthetic understanding of worship.
To host an ecumenical workshop series for rural churches in southwestern Ontario to acknowledge the unique challenges of rural communities, embrace a theology of abundance in naming the benefits of rural churches, and encourage one another.
To equip and encourage Asian American women in ministry by hosting a worship conference specifically geared toward equipping Asian American women and by leading two online cohorts to sustain them in ministry.
To help young adults and converts more deeply engage the Orthodox tradition of worship by establishing a training program in chant, iconography, and other liturgical arts.
To develop a worship community resource and learning platform with theologically sound, justice-rooted resources for congregational singing, bolstered by in-person learning events and educational video projects connecting congregational song to strong discipleship.
