Upcoming Event
A Reformation Sunday worship service commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Accra Confession
October 27, 2024, 5:00 PM
Toronto Designers on Visual Cues to God's Time
First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto, Ontario, planned a worship grant connecting color and the liturgical year. They invited the congregation into the biblical story by collaborating on a permanent artwork. Then the pandemic prevented them from entering the church building. The landscape architect and the architect who led the grant say that this pivot turned out to be a good thing.
April 19, 2022
Tenebrae Service: A Service of Shadows for Holy Week
The service of Tenebrae, meaning “darkness” or “shadows,” is a prolonged meditation on Christ’s suffering. Readings trace the story of Christ’s passion, music portrays his pathos, and the power of silence and darkness suggests the drama of this momentous day. As lights are extinguished, we ponder the depth of Christ’s suffering and death; we remember the cataclysmic nature of his sacrifice as we hear the overwhelming sound of the “strepitus”; and through the small but persistent flame of the Christ candle which departs until Resurrection morning when we celebrate the ultimate victory.
April 13, 2022
Mary Aluel Garang: The Charles Wesley of South Sudan
Since the mid-1980s, Mary Aluel Garang's theologically rich hymns have helped Sudanese Christians maintain faith and hope in God despite decades of war, conflict, and hardship. Her songs are known and sung beyond her Dinka people, her Episcopal tradition, and her nation of South Sudan.
March 31, 2022
Karen Campbell on Dinka Gospel Songs
Meeting Dinka Christians and musicians decades ago in East Africa made a lasting impression on Karen Campbell, a pastor and musician. She reflects on what we can learn about God through the lens of other cultures.
March 28, 2022
Dinka Christian Infrastructure: Song and Prayer Ministries
During decades of Sudanese civil war, the Jol Wo Lieech song ministry and Thiec Nhialic prayer ministry gave refugees and refugee congregations a sense of family and purpose. Both still work to unite Christians, whether or not they belong to the Dinka tribe or still live in South Sudan.
March 28, 2022
Carol Arend on the Art of Accompaniment
Accompanying people on their faith journey is an art that can be learned, according to Pope Francis. When St. Thomas More Catholic Community committed itself to the art of accompaniment, it learned principles that nearly any worship community can apply, Catholic or not.
February 14, 2022
The 'Jazz' of Worship Planning
Convictions and suggestions for planning public Christian worship services that welcome and make room for all
January 20, 2022
Jon Terry and Liuan Huska on Liturgies of Restoration
Au Sable Institute developed its Liturgies of Restoration workbook to help university students in summer field science courses connect Christian worship and creation care. Now small groups and churches are using the workbook to cultivate habits of worship, community, earthkeeping, purposeful stewardship, and hope.
January 5, 2022
Brandon Helder on The Gift of the Cross Holy Week Devotional for Children
Brandon Helder's elementary students and his own children responded to tactile Jesse Tree devotionals during Advent, but he couldn't find similar Holy Week resources. To help children and families anticipate Easter, Helder wrote The Gift of the Cross: Celebrating Christ Through Holy Week and designed Resurrection Blocks.
December 9, 2021
Blessed Are You When People Insult You
A worship service led by Darrell Delaney, and Nate Glasper Jr. on Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We give special thanks to André Thomas for his contributions as a consulting director and his encouragement of our student musicians.
November 17, 2021
Christ the King Sunday Worship Planning
Marking the kingship of Christ makes a healthy transition that leads directly from Ordinary Time into Advent, the Christmas cycle, and the remainder of the Christian year.
November 17, 2021
You are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World
A worship service led by Kevin Adams and Pearl Shangkuan based on Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” We give special thanks to André Thomas for his contributions as a consulting director and his encouragement of our student musicians.
November 17, 2021