1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2025 91
In a world of anxiety, depression, and fatigue, how do we both explain and invite people into experiences of profound joy, peace, and gentleness? Where do our practices of worship—our preaching, singing, praying, and communing—contribute to our mental health crises? How might these very practices become means of grace that bring healing and hope? And how might this be true for people in very different generational contexts?
In this session panelists share best practices for navigating difficult topics that divide the church and discuss the importance of Christian unity.
The Handlon Tabernacle Choir began in 2016 and has grown to more than forty students from the Calvin Prison Initiative at Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan. Originally started to provide music for the program’s special events, the choir has become an opportunity for students to develop their musical skills and explore what it means to find new life in community. This presentation will include stories and reflections from members of the choir and the choir director about the impact of music in prison.
This first session is part of “Experiencing the Contours of Early Modern 91,” a series of five linked sessions bringing participants into the world of Reformation Europe. What was it like to attend worship in Wittenberg in 1530, Geneva in 1550, London in 1570, or Venice in 1590? When people in different confessional contexts joined in worship and participated in the sacraments in this period, what differences and similarities were there? Join Meeter Center Director Karin Maag in an exploration of congregational worship in early modern Europe from the perspectives of both the clergy and the worshiping community.
Psalm 148 describes a compelling vision of “young and old together” in worship. In every cultural context, there are unique challenges and opportunities in realizing this vision. Come learn from leaders from four continents about how each generation is invited to participate and contribute to worship—and what barriers, challenges, and changes they are experiencing in their contexts. Come away with new questions to ask about your context—and cross-cultural wisdom to share.
It is tempting to think of sermons as a solo “performance”—something a preacher prepares in isolation. What if we changed our vision to think of preaching as a communal activity from start to finish? How does a congregation shape a sermon as it is being preached? How can preachers intentionally engage the congregation as they prepare sermons and when they discuss or reflect on sermons after worship? We’ll discuss proven practices and try to imagine some new possibilities too.
This second session is part of “Experiencing the Contours of Early Modern 91,” a series of five linked sessions bringing current-day participants into the world of Reformation Europe. What was it like to attend worship in Wittenberg in 1530, Geneva in 1550, London in 1570, or Venice in 1590? When people in different confessional contexts joined in worship and participated in the sacraments in this period, what differences and similarities were there? Join Lyle Bierma [professor emeritus of church history, Calvin Theological Seminary] and Karin Maag [Meeter Center] as they present John Calvin's theology of baptism and the practice of this sacrament more widely across the Reformation era.
A conversation with Mark Charles and John Witvliet on the Lord's Prayer.
In this episode, Pastor Lamar Hardwick reminds us that as many worshiping communities seek to become more diverse, celebrating and appreciating the beauty of all types of minds and bodies is an important theme in the life of the church.
In this episode, worship planner and musician Katie Ritsema-Roelofs shares about the importance of thoughtful and intentional ways the whole congregation can join in the formational work of intergenerational, corporate worship.
In this episode, artistic director Mark Doerries tells the emerging story of the Notre Dame Children’s Choir, now ten years old, and the formative process and unifying vision the choir has built as they learn what it means to sing the sacred story of the church across time and space.
In this episode, Christian educator Dr. La Verne Tolbert shares her hopes and desires for renewed connections between parents and the church in the formative work of raising children in the faith and including children in the worship life of the church.
