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Worship Documents from the Christian Reformed Church
Recent History of Worship in the Christian Reformed Church
A useful chart with links to the synodical actions, publications, conferences, and other
influences related to worship from the '60s to today.
1968 Report of the Christian Reformed Church's Liturgy Committee
The 1968 report begins with the historical development of worship from the Old and New Testament, the Medieval Mass, and Reformation, to the Dutch roots of the Christian Reformed Church’s current worship practices. It continues by providing criteria for evaluating liturgy, components of a worship liturgy, and concludes with several model worship services. Though written in the 60’s this report is still relevant for today.
A History of Liturgy in the Christian Reformed Church
John Vriend
In this address from the 1979 Conference on Liturgy and Music, John Vriend examined the liturgical consciousness of the Christian Reformed denomination. Three perspectives were used to organize the speech: systematic, historical, and practical.
A History of Music in the Christian Reformed Church
Bert Polman
Polman's address at the 1979 Conference on Liturgy and Music uncovered the (a) Dutch soil, (b) American planting, and (c) ecumenical flowering of the Christian Reformed music. In his concluding observations, he went after a few weeds and planted a few seeds of his own.
The Hymn Question in the Christian Reformed Church
Bert Polman
In this article Polman addresses the psalms-versus-hymns issue as it arose in the Christian Reformed Church. Originally published in Origins: The Historical Magazine of the Archives at Calvin College (Volume XVI, No.1 1998) Used with permission.
Preaching and Worship According to H.J. Kuiper
James A. De Jong
This article presents an overview of the contributions of Rev. H.J. Kuiper to worship during the 1920s to 50s in the Christian Reformed Church. Originally published in Origins: The Historical Magazine of the Archives at Calvin College (Volume XVI, No.1 1998) Used with permission.
Worship Rumbles
Harry Boonstra
Boonstra provides an overview of the main worship controversies in the Christian Reformed Church up to the 1968 report from the liturgy committee. Origins: The Historical Magazine of the Archives at Calvin College (Volume XVI, No.1 1998) Used with permission.
A History of the Efforts Toward a Uniform Order of Worship in the CRC, 1916-1932
Carl G. Kromminga
A summary of the discussions and decisions from nine synods regarding a uniform order of worship. Following the summary are a number of reports discussed during this period. The page numbers in bold reflect the page breaks and numbers from the original document and are included to assist you with internal cross-references.
The Liturgy, or the Program of Public Worship
Professor S. Volbeda, Th. D.
A commentary on the first part of the synodically approved 1928 liturgy. We are still hoping to find a complete set of Volbeda’s notes. If you know of any please contact the Institute.