1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA

On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2025 91ÁÔÆæ
This workshop was given for those who want a deeper understanding of racial dynamics in today?s churches. Stories and examples from real congregations showed how race within churches is becoming complicated?and creatively reconstructed?through the post-1965 waves of immigration. Most important, we show how various good-intentioned priorities and programs work --and often don?t work-- in racially diverse churches.
This wide-ranging question-and-answer session discussed religious and journalistic trends in the United States with the former religion writer for Time magazine and The Associated Press.
Differing circumstances call forth different liturgical, theological and formational questions and inspire different congregational conversations about what we do in worship and why we do it. The workshop began with a PowerPoint presentation on the history of Christian worship and its relationship to spiritual formation in congregational life, concluding with 'where we are now.' Practices for spiritual formation were described in relation to the congregation's worship life.
Those who work at the intersection of the visual arts and congregational life know from experience how rich, complex, rewarding, and often messy this area can be.
This session explored an ecology of practices designed to deepen youths' participation in the Lord's Supper/Eucharist and to form them to interpret and act in the world eucharistically. Participants learned creative pedagogies for teaching youth about the Eucharist; how youth may be engaged in ministry at the Table; the importance of creating a broad ecology of liturgical and extra-liturgical Eucharistic practices through which youth may be formed; and the means to invite youths? personal and theological reflections on Eucharistic life.
Whether pre-written, extemporaneous, or a combination, the prayer offered in worship on Sunday morning is probably the longest single prayer most people hear all week. As pastors and worship leaders, our public prayers reveal much about our habits of mind even as those prayers have a shaping influence on how the congregation prays all week. This workshop looked at the place of prayer in public worship and will offer practical suggestions for offering prayers that are theologically imaginative and pastorally sensitive.
In this presentation, several contributors to the recent book The Church of All Ages: Generations 91ÁÔÆæing Together explored the issues involved, highlighted some of the findings, and stimulated further reflection.
To help children grow in faith we want our churches to be places where they are nurtured and where they feel that they have a place. We will look at things that churches can do to become more child friendly and encourage faith-nurturing adult-child relationships.
A panel of pastors and artists shared resources created by their congregations to teach "Vertical Habits," and described the fruit that developed in all areas of congregational life.
While funerals have often been seen as family affairs or private activities, the fact is that death impacts entire communities: both the faith community and the community at large.
This workshop discussed what Dallas Willard calls the "elephant in the church" - the general failure of training adult Christians to be dedicated followers of Jesus Christ.
21st-century worship planners are faced with unique exciting challenges as the church answers the Spirit's call to be a place where all nations and cultures are invited to join in praise.
