As you may be aware from previous emails and our social media feeds, I attended the Calvin Symposium on Worship a couple of weeks ago in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had heard for many years that this was a destination for many clergy, staff and leadership teams among colleagues in the PCC. This was my first time - here are my impressions in brief: Worship was often and was AMAZING! (as many people have said as I’ve shared that - ‘Well, that should be expected!’).

I can also say that the recordings/livestream (having watched a few of the services upon returning home) just wasn’t the same experience as being there in-person. The content was diverse and I found often that I was internally struggling between choosing one workshop over another. I could see the benefit of going with a group and splitting up the attendance. You will definitely come away with at least a few ideas or things to explore further.

To that end, I’d like to share a sampling of some things I picked up that might interest you as well:

The Hymn Society

Looking for resources and community around Singing - The Hymn Society might be right up your alley!

• Check out The Center for Congregational Song and their Annual Conference.

• Consider subscribing to their journal, The Hymn

• Sponsoring your music director or choir to attend their conferences/events.

Zeteo Preaching and Worship

Looking for a different preaching idea? How about a few thousand. Check out Zeteo Preaching + Worship for all your worship and preaching needs.

About Zeteo

We dug deep so you don’t have to.
Zeteo Preaching + Worship is a place to search for inspiration and information on whatever you’re preaching on.

We help make your service stronger.
We help you easily access a variety of informative resources, helping you to listen, learn, and discern.

We welcome all  Christian traditions.
We have much to learn from each other, even if we don't agree.

Books!

I picked up a couple of books that might prove helpful to our Ministry Forum community…

Lisa M. Allen’s The OneWord Worship Model: A New Paradigm for Church Worship Planning (2023)

The OneWord Worship Model: A New Paradigm for Church Worship Planning offers a clear, concise, and collaborative approach to planning congregational worship using the biblical text as its foundation. The model engages laity and clergy in the true definition of liturgy--the work or action of the people. This text serves as both invitation and instruction for pastors, worship leaders, and congregations to plan powerful, fruitful, and transformative corporate encounters with the triune God.

Valerie M. Grissom, editor, All Ages Becoming: Intergenerational Practice in the Formation of God’s People (2023).

We are in this together―all ages practicing, all ages becoming God's people.

Often, intergenerational initiatives are seen as the next new church trend, or another programming tool for church growth and revitalization. Ultimately, though, intergenerational practice is at the core of what it means for us to be the body of Christ. God intends for all ages to participate in faith formation together; we are formed in our practice of intergenerationallity as we participate in the formation of becoming God's people.

All Ages Becoming brings theologians, practitioners, and ministry leaders, representing diverse denominations, generations, cultures, and geographical locations, together to help us explore this adventure of intergenerational Christian practice. As you consider intergenerational practice in your own faith community, each chapter provides "Theology in Practice" sections with questions designed to help your community reflect, discuss, discover, experiment, reinvent, redesign, and continue in your community of practice.

Intergenerational Worship

One of our Ministry Forum community had been asking me about resources for Intergenerational Worship - so I intentionally attended a panel discussion on this very topic. Interestingly enough, and this was the critique given by the community member who reached out, it was focused on nurturing children in Intergenerational worship. The question we were reflecting on was: Where can we find resources for engaging/inspiring Intergenerational Worship for all ages and stages, not just ‘including welcoming the kids.’ 

The Children’s Spirituality Summit

One of the presenters did share how this conference had sustained them in Family Ministry. I hadn’t heard of it, perhaps it would be of interest to you: The Children’s Spirituality Summit  (it is coming up this May!)

Children's Spirituality Summit: A Christ-Centered Gathering is an ecumenical organization of scholars and thoughtful practitioners dedicated to promoting informed practice regarding children's spirituality. We would love to have you join us for our next in-person gathering!

The Summit is hosted by the Center for Faith and Children at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL

Grant Money Available

Finally, if you are a College, congregation, school, hospital, retirement or long term care residence, or other worshipping community, you may be eligible for a grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) based on proposals about Christian worship practices.

More information is available here: https://worship.calvin.edu/grants/