Children and 91ÁÔÆæ Showcase
A showcase highlighting the importance of including children in meaningful ways in worship, both in the main worship space and in other age-appropriate, unique worship spaces.
Let the Children Come
Splitting into age-divided worship each Sunday doesn't necessarily result in kids who go on to choose worship as adults. That's why pastors are talking about intergenerational worship.
Discipleship, Faith Formation, and Belonging in 91ÁÔÆæ: A Conversation with Chris Schoon and Elizabeth Tamez Méndez
In this conversation, Chris Schoon, director of Faith Formation Ministries of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, explores with Elizabeth Tamez Méndez the importance of equipping congregations and parents to embrace children and youth as full image bearers and active participants in worship, for the well-being of the intergenerational community.
A Pastor and Photographer on Creating "God Moments" in 91ÁÔÆæ
When the pandemic prevented in-person worship, First Church of Windsor, Connecticut, learned how to create liturgical art installations and videos that moved hearts and minds even during virtual and hybrid worship.
Writing Hymnkus—Haiku Poetry Set to Music—for Christian 91ÁÔÆæ
Your congregation can make worship the work of the people when you use their words in worship. The hymnku form—haiku poetry set to music—works for in-person, hybrid, and online worship and can involve many ages.
Suzanne L. Vinson on Congregations Creating Liturgical Language
Grace Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, often invites members to write words used in worship. They've found that crafting liturgical language, such as calls to worship or stewardship and psalm or song paraphrases, is an easy way to help more people participate in worship and congregational life.
Sarah Farmer on Courageous Hope in Youth
Practical theologian Sarah F. Farmer offers four promising pathways for African American youth to strengthen capacity for hope infused with courage in the life of the church and community.
Angela Williams Gorrell on the Gravity of Joy for Young People
Practical theologian Angela Williams Gorrell shares how experiencing life's challenges and sorrows is also an opportunity to share in its joy.
Benjamin T. Conner on Friendship and Hospitality that Embraces Youth with Developmental Disabilities
Practical theologian Benjamin T. Conner encourages and challenges congregations and pastors to reorient ministry with youth to fully include and amplifiy the witness of adolescents with developmental disabilities.
Amy Adamczyk on the Influence of Parents in the Religious Lives of Their Children
Sociologists Amy Adamczyk and Christian Smith co-authored the book "Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation," which explores the research results of more than 200 interview with US parents exploring intergenerational transmission of religious faith and practice between the generations.
Engaging in Learning, Growing in Faith
As part of the 35th annual Calvin Symposium on 91ÁÔÆæ in Feb. 2022, twenty guests spoke with about 200 students in various courses and student organizations about the relationship between public worship and their areas of study. The program demonstrates the catalytic connections that can be made and faith formation that can happen through integrating attention to Christian practices in all areas of study.
Toronto Designers on Visual Cues to God's Time
First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto, Ontario, planned a worship grant connecting color and the liturgical year. They invited the congregation into the biblical story by collaborating on a permanent artwork. Then the pandemic prevented them from entering the church building. The landscape architect and the architect who led the grant say that this pivot turned out to be a good thing.