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Choral Reading Session

Come learn and sing through a selection of choral pieces for use in worship. Packets provided by GIA Publications, Inc.

July 19, 2023
Listening to Pauline Shame

In this session, Te-Li Lau will contrast the current culture's understanding of shame with the biblical framework, suggest ways to rehabilitate our fractured understanding, and draw out the implications of a renewed understanding for public worship.

July 19, 2023
Discerning Leadership with Students

How can mentors help students discern the leadership roles God has called them to in the church and on campus? In this seminar, Joanna Wigboldy will walk through the process she uses in the ministry leadership class at Calvin University to help students find ways to practice leadership, build community, and love the church. The seminar will center the voices and stories of Calvin students who have been through this discernment process and will honestly explore the ways it helped them enter specific leadership roles as well as what learning gaps they had when they entered those roles. Responses by Angela Williams Gorrell.

July 19, 2023

Lessons for Leading Singing

Join the twenty-minute University worship service and then gather with the Calvin University Worship Apprentices, who will reflect on their chapel planning process and share lessons learned about leading congregational singing.

July 19, 2023
Worship Music from Africa and the African Diaspora

What a gift to have in a single conversation leading experts on the rich history of Christian worship music in the continent of Africa as well as from African diaspora communities in the United States and England! What treasures and insights from this rich history should be more celebrated and cherished? What misunderstandings should be corrected? How can we learn from this rich history without misappropriating it? What signature examples of congregational song should we all learn more about and from? How can we all continue to learn more and explore more deeply connections across continents and Christian traditions?  

July 19, 2023
Glocal Perspectives on Contemporary Praise and Worship

Every Sunday, thousands of worshiping communities in the United States and all over the world rely completely or partially on contemporary praise and worship [CP&W] in corporate worship. How has CP&W evolved, what are the movement’s main trends, and how is it experienced around the world? How is CP&W shaping Christians’ understanding of God, themselves, and the world? Join us to learn from renowned scholars in the field.

July 19, 2023

Lamentation as Pedagogy

This panel will discuss ongoing research on the practice of lamentation in the Black church tradition as a formative pedagogical tool for both theological education and the broader community. Special attention will be given to the value of embodied learning with a cohort of seminarians, religious practitioners, scholars, and faith leaders who have visited sites where massacres and atrocities against Black life have occurred.  

July 19, 2023
Singing Psalms in Modern Worship

The psalms were written to be sung. But if your church favors guitar and band-led modern worship, how do you sing the psalms? Songwriter Wendell Kimbrough answers this question through the use of short antiphonal psalm refrains that are singable and memorable for his congregation and provide a musical entry point into a psalm. They have become a beloved staple in his home congregation’s worship. In this workshop, Wendell will share some favorite psalm refrains, discuss the mechanics of their use, and respond to questions from attendees. The goal is for all attendees to go home with a plan for regularly incorporating musical psalms into their worship services.

July 19, 2023
Writing and Choosing Songs for Singing

What makes a song singable? Meet with Paul Ryan and Wendell Kimbrough as they discuss the morning worship service held in the chapel [10:30–10:50 a.m.] and the qualities of congregational song that help the church join its voices as one.

July 19, 2023

An Orchestra at Your Fingertips: Organ Possibilities in Worship

This session is for organists, aspiring organists, the curious, and the inquisitive. No one person has as many sounds at their disposal [or as many keys and buttons!] as an organist. Let's discover new sounds together in this session by listening to new organ music for worship, learning ways to incorporate the organ into your services [even if you don't have a regular organist], and exploring some of the many tonal possibilities the organ has to offer.  

July 19, 2023
Preaching and Teaching in Low-Power and High-Power Distance Cultures

In this video series, María Eugenia Cornou defines the cultural value of power distance and the implications of low-power and high-power distance contexts for preaching and teaching.

May 8, 2023