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

On the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary
© 2025 91ÁÔÆæ
Daily work, paid and unpaid, consumes our lives, energy, and minds—even when we are in church. Here are ways to plan worship so people see themselves and their work as instruments of God.
This workshop focused on practical ways to involve people's stories, songs, and gifts in our corporate worship times—all with the goal of unity in diversity.
This presentation focused on the multiple avenues through which the supports and relationships available within congregation can meet real needs in the lives of people with disabilities and their families throughout the week.
91ÁÔÆæ and fellowship are sometimes difficult for people with mental illness because few people understand their experience and their needs in worship.
To worship in line with the Lord’s Prayer—on earth as it is in heaven—requires making room in worship for stories, songs, and gifts from many cultures. Doing so depends in part on how churches form their views about refugees and immigrants.
Churches often shy away from conversations about white supremacy or which lives matter. A Presbyterian elder and a worship leader explain how to pastorally move toward effective reconciliation ministry.
Seeing violence and racism up close is ugly. Two Presbyterians discuss how to help congregations prepare for and respond to divisive events.
All over the world, Christian churches are struggling to obey the Bible’s clear commands to welcome the stranger, to displace the fear that leads to exclusion, and to both extend and receive mutual hospitality as gifts of God’s Spirit.
Teaching an intensive songwriting class in a North Carolina prison for women made Susannah Long and Michael Conner reflect on gaps in what churches sing about.
A songwriting class in a North Carolina prison taught eight women to write biblical songs that touch congregations inside and outside prison walls.
Sessions related to mental health are not a common feature of many conferences on worship. Yet mental-health-related concerns affect as many as one in five people at any given time, with one of every twenty-five people living with serious mental health challenges. More than four in ten people in the United States experiences a psychological disorder in their lifetime. What we say or fail to say about these challenges in worship settings can be profoundly formative for how Christian communities respond to these challenges
We hear a lot about using person-first language. Yet it is still common to label people with their mental health diagnosis. Christians and churches can offer another way to describe our common human identity.
