Walking the way,
Christ in the center
telling the story to open our eyes;
breaking our bread,
giving us glory:
Jesus our blessing, our constant surprise.

Jesus is risen and we shall arise:
Give God the glory! Alleluia!

- from "Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen" Sing! A New Creation #150

New! Ten Service Plans for Contemporary Worship Volume 2

These ten service plans are the second expansion of the popular column "Notes from the LOFT," written by Ron Rienstra and published in the quarterly journal Reformed Worship. The LOFT (Living Our Faith Together) is a weekly contemporary worship service with a sense of history, held Sunday evenings at Calvin College and led by a team of Calvin students. 

www.calvin.edu/worship/pub/ten_service_plans2.php

New! RSS Feeds from our Website

Now there's a direct way to have worship resources automatically delivered to your computer: RSS feeds. "RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication"—and it is simple! By entering any of our RSS feeds into a free RSS reader, you will automatically receive links to updated resources from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. View complete demos of how this works, and retrieve our RSS feeds.

www.calvin.edu/worship/rss

Vital Worship
Feature stories ...for inspiration, reflection, and group discussion

The Case for Reciting Creeds in Worship

Albert Aymer, president of Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina, grew up on the Caribbean island of Antigua, surrounded by steeldrum and calypso music. But what formed him, he says, is worshiping alongside his parents—an Anglican policeman and a Methodist seamstress, who knew 450 hymns by John and Charles Wesley.

“Where I grew up, we used Cranmer's liturgy every Sunday. We were following the seasons of the church's year from my infancy,” Aymer says. He learned to chant, not sing, the psalm for the day. The words and rhythms of ancient canticles, such as the Te Deum, which follows the outlines of the Apostles' Creed, shaped him.

Aymer has a message for churches doing all they can to make worship relevant and contemporary. “Remember that worship transcends time and space,” he urges.

One of the best ways to do that is to use creeds in worship.

Read more.

www.calvin.edu/worship/stories/creeds.php

Singing the Psalms in Modern Worship: Psalm CDs reviews

"Sing unto the Lord: The Psalms of David for Daily Living.” (Martingale Music, LLC)

Think of this Christian Book Distributors collection as a “greatest hits” of modern psalmody, featuring three CDs of Psalm songs from a wide variety of artists. Some are established artists like Steve Bell and Margaret Becker; others are new voices like Katie Giguere and Jeanne Gere. With so many musical styles you may not warm up to all 36 songs, but for $6.99 you can't go wrong. Many of the songs could be effectively sung by congregations. Let's hope a companion music book becomes available.

More reviews.

www.calvin.edu/worship/lit_arts/psalms_hymns/psalm_cds.php

"Psalms for a Lenten Journey":
Sermon Notes for Preaching the Psalms
Dr. Carl Bosma

We are grateful for the work of Carl Bosma, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary, for providing extensive analysis and reflection on certain Psalms during the season of Lent, as part of our " Psalms for a Lenten Journey" worship service series. To read his notes on the Psalms, click on any of the worship service outlines in this series.

www.calvin.edu/worship/services/series/lent_journey

We invite your comments at our Worship Weblog. Click on Comments under any entry and share your thoughts.

Recent entries:
- Holy Week Worship at Unity Christian High School
- Reflections on Worship and the Christian Year
- Reflections on Worship Renewal Grants Advisory Board

www.calvin.edu/worship/weblog

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