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 members of various ethnic traditions to lead worship by identifying persons who are proficient in the arts, drama, music and writing for multicultural worship services and offering worship workshops, evening programs and retreats for both adults and children.
To connect a multicultural, multi-class group of children and youth with artists/mentors to learn about and practice various art forms including painting, puppetry/drama, photography, dance and music that will be used in worship.
To develop multigenerational worship services led by multicultural worship teams which focus on the community of faith and engages both children and adults through music from diverse cultures and weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
To develop and nurture children as worship leaders in an urban multicultural congregation through a summer camp and after school program.
To encourage the use and appreciation of multicultural music and liturgy in the worship services of four Lutheran and Reformed congregations located in a multicultural neighborhood through he development of a congregational/ecumenical model for worship renewal.
To renew worship through a process of study, implementing new worship formats, evaluation and sharing with other similar congregations which are multi-cultural, interracial, and intergenerational.
To offer a two-day regional conference and exhibit in worship and the arts for Hispanic churches, focusing on how the arts can be used effectively in worship and evangelism.
To collaborate with neighboring churches by sponsoring numerous sessions reflecting on global worship and the normativity of the multicultural church, implementing music, prayers and rituals of African, Central and South American and Asian Christians in worship, and extending hospitality to people from a variety of cultures.
To sponsor "A Community in Worship Project," a two-day community worship event, bringing together churches across denominational, racial and socioeconomic lines for teaching and learning regarding Christian worship.
To establish an independent, interdenominational Pacific Islanders Worship Arts Institute which will help Hawaiian churches embrace worship that celebrates Pacific island culture and honors the integrity of the Christian faith.
To develop workshops at the Cottonwood Pass Bible Conference, an 80-year-old annual gathering for Native American Christians in New Mexico, that will lead to the development of music and visual arts for worship that are Biblical and contextualized with Native American Culture
To launch a Summer Institute for Liturgical Studies to enable leaders for worship in the ecumenical and multicultural context of today's American culture, particularly in the Pacific region.
