Worship Weblog
Grants
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Grants Colloquium ‘07 Update 4
Update from Grants Colloquium:
In our closing session this morning, we reflected on our time together through a series of questions, one of which was, “How will this gathering change the way we pray, and what did we hear that will become a part of our prayer life?” Here are some of the things recipients said:
- “I will pray for the congregations who said, ‘God is choosing us to be multicultural’ It’s hard enough to become multicultural when you’ve chosen it for yourself; I imagine it would be harder if you hadn’t chosen it!”
- “A line from worship yesterday: that God will continue comforting, challenging, inspiring, disturbing our congregations.”
- “What was said about shifting Vertical Habits from spoken to listening will change the focus of my prayer.”
- “I heard yesterday that failure is a gift from God. I won’t pray for failure, but I do pray for God’s leading in our project, and not just for success.”
- “I’ll pray for the people I met from Blacksburg, Virginia, and their congregation and community.”
- “The prayer this morning about ‘loving our tradition more than being open to God’s pioneering Spirit.’”
Our earnest prayers and deepest gratitude go with all of our grant recipients as they return home to their worshiping communities today and tomorrow.
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Grants Colloquium ‘07 Update 3
Update from Grants Colloquium:
In worship this morning, we heard these words from Isaiah 42, and responded:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.You are the Lord. To you be all power, honor, and glory.
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Grants Colloquium ‘07 Update 2
Update from Grants Colloquium:
Here are just three of the posters I was struck by at the poster session yesterday, and I was blessed to meet their project directors and get a taste of their vision for worship renewal. (While the project directors return home today, you can now have your own poster session at your computer by looking at the list of summaries of 2006 projects and clicking on the church or organization’s name to view their poster.)
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Grants Colloquium ‘07 Update 1
Update from Grants Colloquium:
In worship this morning, we heard these words of assurance from Titus 2:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Looking ahead, this afternoon’s poster session will be a time of learning from each other about worship renewal in a variety of local contexts.
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Monday, June 18, 2007
Chapel Hill News Coverage of Grant Recipient
Grant helps church design baptismal font
Orange United Methodist Church, 1220 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will begin a collaborative design process for planning a baptismal font for a planned new sanctuary.
A ... Worship Renewal Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in Grand Rapids, Mich., will fund the project, along with artistic and educational engagement on the significance of baptism. The year-long project puts the community’s spiritual needs as a priority in its expansion.
The Rev. Andy Keck, the worship leader at Orange United, and a committee of lay leaders from ministries at the church will lead the project locally.
“We are delighted and thankful to receive such a great opportunity to serve our community through the renewal and education of this sacred practice,” Keck said.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Toledo Blade coverage of grant recipient
Montpelier church gets grant to enhance services
MONTPELIER, Ohio — First Presbyterian Church of Montpelier has received a $13,882 grant to enhance its worship services.
The grant was one of 58 totalling $700,000 awarded nationwide by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.
“The proposals we receive from all over North America offer us an expansive education,” said CICW director John Witvliet.
“They show us how prayerful, resourceful leaders in a remarkable variety of contexts are thinking about the needs of the church and opportunities for ministry.”
Deanna Kohlhofer, family life coordinator at First Presbyterian, said the Montpelier church will use the grant to study worship as a congregation, and then in small-group settings.
“The beauty of this project is that the entire congregation will be involved, working to discover what God wants to teach us together,” Ms. Kohlhofer said. “We really desire for worship to be personal, practical, relevant, and applicable.”
More information on the CICW Worship Renewal Grants program is available online at www.calvin.edu/worship.
Related
Worship Renewal Grants Program
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Friday, May 25, 2007
Report from Legacy Christian School: Vertical Habits
Report from Betty Grit:
Vertical Habits at Legacy Christian School:
‘Lord, Please Help’ and ‘How Can I Help?’
As children entered the gym for worship, it was evident that it is their habit to enter this space quietly and reverently on Friday morning. Worship music, played by teacher Joan Stob reminded us that today this space was sacred space and our hearts were prepared for worship.
We were invited to repeat after the teacher, “This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice in it. Let us worship the Lord together.” After a prayer, we were told that the fourth graders would be using two dramas created by Friends of the Groom for the Vertical Habits program of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
The story of blind Bartimeus was told in three ways – that he demanded attention from Jesus, that he only asked for Jesus’ signature, and finally, as reported in Scripture, that he brought his need to Jesus saying, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
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Thursday, May 24, 2007
Coverage of Sardis Baptist grant at CBFNC
Sardis Baptist Church of Charlotte Receives Calvin Institute Grant
Sardis Baptist Church of Charlotte, North Carolina has received a grant for the creative use and adaptation of liturgical resources in Free Church worship. The Worship Renewal grant was awarded by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Renewal project will culminate in a worship conference hosted by Sardis Baptist Church and facilitated by Dr. Michael Hawn, professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, in the spring of 2008. Baptist, Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ congregational leaders from the greater Charlotte area will explore the creative use of liturgy in Free Church worship. “The grant will provide our congregation with a resource library from where we can mix some of the oldest traditions of the Christian Church with worship in the 21st century,” explained Sardis’ pastor, Dr. Tim Moore.
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Friday, May 04, 2007
Happy 25th to the Meeter Center for Calvin Studies
This morning we joined the staff of the Meeter Center and other well-wishers in a reception for the 25th anniversary of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, a research center in the Calvin College library (located one floor directly above our central office here at CICW) that is devoted to John Calvin and Calvinism. While the Meeter Center celebrates this milestone, they are gearing up for another one: John Calvin’s 500th birthday in 2009. For more on John Calvin and worship, see John Witvliet’s Worship Seeking Understanding, especially chapters 5, 6, and 9. Related Reformation Worship and the Psalms: Symposium 2007 session led by the Meeter Center John Calvin on the Ascension Search CICW for resources related to John Calvin
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Report from visits with grant recipients: Worship Renewal at Work
Report from Betty Grit:
Entering Muskegon Christian School early Friday morning, I sensed a warmth and community that pervades the halls, classrooms and gym where we gathered to worship. Through a 2006 Worship Renewal Grant, staff and students have designed worship and curriculum that emphasizes the unity of the body of Christ and the richness of differing worship styles across racial and cultural lines with a monthly focus on Vertical Habits. Clear acrylic signs hang in the hall, each with a habit such as “Thank you” and “I’m Sorry” in three different languages. (For photos, see Muskegon Christian’s website.) Middle School students, Anneke and Juwan who were greeted by smiles and hugs from young students as they gave us a tour of the school, described the mentoring, tutoring and small groups within the school which have been created to foster relationships across grades, ages and cultures.
Worship was focused on the Vertical Habit of the month – Blessing. Music, prayer and Scripture reminded us of God’s blessings to us and the ways we can share those blessings with others. We give thanks for Tara Macias and Mary Kuiper Vermeulen who have led the project to teach and practice Vertical Habits to help connect worship with life in their classroom and outside of school. Leaving the school, the sign read “Go Vertical” – a reminder to continue our relationship with God outside the school building.
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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Prayers for Blacksburg
From Betty Grit:
Through the Worship Renewal Grants Program, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship meets church leaders throughout North America who seek ways to help people worship more deeply. Two grants awarded in Blacksburg, Virginia introduced us to this beautiful city.
Luther Memorial Lutheran Church received a 2006 Worship Renewal Grant for a year-long ecumenical process of worship renewal. Led by Project Director Samantha Quesenberry, representatives of each congregation met regularly to study worship and to report on the ways worship renewal was impacting their congregation. One of the ecumenical projects that came out of the grant was a prayer walk during the last week of Lent. The walk led people through the town prompting prayer about various issues. Each day during the week a designated person led the walk, but if people chose not to go as a group the brochures were available in each church to allow individuals or families to walk alone or together. Brochures were taken to shut-ins and people who can’t walk so they could pray without walking.
The events of this week in Blacksburg have touched the congregations and stretched them in ways they could not have imagined. They share this Holy Week Prayer Walk with the hope that it will help all of us better understand the community, the churches and the individuals who call Blacksburg home. We ask that you join us in praying for them as they cope with profound loss in their own lives and seek to bring comfort and healing.
Related
Holy Week Prayer Walk from worshipers in Blacksburg
Earlier
Visit to Blacksburg
Also see
Calvin College Stands With Virginia Tech in Prayer
Resources
- For prayers for healing, comfort, and lament, see pages 224-234 of The Worship Sourcebook (pp. 62-72 of Prayers of the People)
- Worship Resources in Response to the Tragedy at Virginia Tech from TextWeek.com
- Response to the Virginia Tech Tragedy from the PCUSA
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Friday, March 16, 2007
Unity CRC conference report and audio
Worship Renewal Grant recipient Unity CRC in Prinsburg, Minnesota, hosted a worship conference last month called “If These Walls Could Talk,” featuring CICW’s Betsy Steele Halstead and frequent Symposium speakers and consultants William Dyrness and Mark Torgerson.
Unity’s website now includes a report with photos and audio files from this conference.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Prayers leading up to Symposium
We are eager and joyful for Symposium to begin (officially right about now, as we start to check in our guests for tomorrow’s seminars!)
But our hearts were also weighed down with these griefs this week:
http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/worship/more/preparing_to_pray_at_symposium_2006/
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Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Nicholas Wolterstorff on space and worship at Second CRC
Report from Betty Grit about worship at Second Christian Reformed Church, a Worship Renewal Grant recipient:
Setting the Table of the Feast of Worship – how physical space affects worship - was the title of a recent workshop at Second Christian Reformed Church in Grand Haven, Michigan. On Sunday evening, about 150 people of all ages gathered to hear Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff speak about space and worship. He stated that the goal of church architecture is to provide a space that enables and benefits a congregation’s practice and understanding of communal Christian worship. Beginning by understanding a congregation’s practice and understanding of worship is essential in thinking about worship space. He presented a brief history of Reformed worship and the influences that have shaped our thinking about space and worship. He challenged us to consider what is done in worship, rather than personal preferences about space.
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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Worship at New Community Church
Report from Betty Grit about worship at New Community Church, a Worship Renewal Grant recipient:
It is a cold Friday evening as we are warmly greeted at New Community Church. Just weeks before Christmas, we had driven past busy malls with people rushing to finish their shopping. Here people had come to worship. As we enter the worship space, there is energy and a sense of anticipation in the room.
Community Recovery, led by Pastor Mark Vander Meer has been offering worship, small groups and fellowship on Friday evenings for more than seven years to people whose lives are broken by addictions. Many who gather this evening are in residential treatment facilities. Others come because they know this is a place of acceptance and healing.
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