New Ministry Resource Center
Have you ever wondered where to go for the most helpful materials to plan a worship service, lead a small group Bible study, or develop an outreach program? Or wished you could compare leading programs and their related materials, some of which cost hundreds of dollars and require weeks of seminar training to obtain? You will soon have a place to find all the resources you will need for congregational ministry. Calvin College is pleased to announce the development of a new Ministry Resource Center located in the northeast corner of the fourth floor of Hekman Library. Designed to serve the body of Christ, the Ministry Center will open in January 2003. It will contain the best of print, digital, and audiovisual materials for all aspects of congregational ministry.
A permanent addition to the Calvin library, the center will offer a carefully monitored collection of biblically and theologically sound resources for Calvin students serving in Christian ministry leadership positions and for students in several grant-funded programs. In addition it will serve seminarians, Calvin staff and faculty, and church leaders.
The Ministry Center is part of the Lilly Vocation Project, made possible by a major grant from the Lilly Foundation. It will be managed by Dr. Edward Seely, an ordained pastor who has specialized in the educational aspect of church ministry for more than thirty-five years. He comes to Calvin after twenty-four years as minister of education at Christ Church, Oak Brook, Illinois. Previously he served as minister of education at Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and as minister to youth at Second Reformed Church, Zeeland, Michigan.
The Ministry Resource Center will continually add the latest and best of materials to its collection. In addition to its location on Calvin’s campus, it will be available for worldwide use through its Internet connection (www.calvin.edu/worship). The center will also contain computers with Internet access along with guides to the best online resources for ministry all over the globe. Staff will be available to assist worship leaders and others in the most effective use of the center and its resources.
Reformed Worship Index Goes Online!
We’re delighted to announce that the content of the Reformed Worship Index is now available online. Many of you have ordered the print version of our cumulative index that we update every year. But now the index will be available to everyone on the Web without charge. Here is the kind of information you’ll be able to access:
• Subject headings: Under more than 100 subject headings, you will be able to look for all the titles of articles and resources we’ve published on each subject since the first issue. Looking for a banner? A Pentecost service? Ideas for Thanksgiving? Here’s where you will find what is available in back issues of RW.
• Authors: You can search by author to see the titles of whatever an author wrote and what issue it appeared in.
• Exact titles: This feature moves beyond our print index.
We’re very grateful to the Hekman Library at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary for including Reformed Worship in the CRC Periodical Index (CRCPI), a large database created and currently maintained by the Hekman Library staff and volunteers from around North America. The CRCPI provides access to articles from various periodicals that are of interest to members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
We’ve long hoped for an online Index, so we’re thrilled to be included in this larger project. To access the index, simply go to www.reformedworship.org and click on “RW Index” on our home page.
For other periodicals included in the larger CRCPI project, go to www.calvin.edu/library/database/crcpi.
Some of you have asked about getting the contents of back issues online. We’re also dreaming and hoping that might become a reality in the future. But for now, we’re very happy to have the Index available. We’ll continue to prepare the print index for another year or two while we make the transition. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for improvement.
February 1, 2003, Deadline for Worship Renewal Grant Applications
Has your church or institution considered applying for a worship renewal grant? What kind of project would help to renew worship in your congregation? What kind of contribution could you make to encourage others in developing their worship leadership gifts?
Wondering how to start? Begin by visiting the Institute website (www.calvin.edu/worship). Discuss ideas, hopes, and dreams at your next worship planning meetings. If you have a project idea you’d like to discuss, call Cindy Holtrop, director of the Worship Renewal Grants program (616-957-6822), or e-mail her at worshipgrants@calvin.edu. The deadline for applications for 2003 grants is February 1, 2003.
In 2002, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship awarded sixty-one grants ranging from $5,000-$15,000. The Institute recently received additional funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. that will continue the Worship Renewal Grant Program until 2006.
Help for Musicians Serving Small Congregations
In 1988, leaders in the Episcopal Church, concerned about the diminishing number of qualified musicians willing to serve as music leaders, developed a curriculum and workshops to support and encourage musicians in small churches. The program seeks to prepare capable and confident music leaders who will enable their congregations to sing well and take their part in worship leadership.
Small congregations often include people who have talent but little experience or training in
musical, pastoral, and leadership skills. In 1999, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined, and the partnership gave rise to a revised curriculum: “Leadership Program for Musicians Serving Small Congregations” (LPM). Other denominations are also considering becoming partners.
Marti Rideout, consultant-coordinator for LPM, writes:
The local LPM program is open to anyone. I know that we have had musicians from the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, UCC, Congregational, Russian Orthodox, Baptist, and Missouri Synod churches take part in local programs in various parts of the country.
Seven courses are offered over a two-year period, each a combination of lecture, application, and reflection. Participants worship together, receive instruction, and build relationships with others in their geographic area.
Though two courses are more directed to Episcopal and ELCA traditions, the remaining five are applicable to any denomination.
If you would like to develop your worship leadership skills as an organist, pianist, or guitarist, check whether a program is available in your area by visiting LMP’s website (www.lpm-online.org) or contact Marti Rideout at martirideout@juno.com.
Correction
The song “Child of Christmas Morning” (RW 65, p. 31) has an incorrect key signature; there should be only one sharp, which is F#. C# should never be used; it destroys the Nepalese style and creates a totally different song.
Excerpt
COLAM 2004
July 9-12, 2004, in the Colorado Rockies!
Mark your calendars!
2003 Conferences
Grand Rapids, Michigan,
January 10-11
Symposium on Worship and the Arts at Calvin, sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Thursday pre-conference all-day seminars on drama and on the theology of worship. Many national and international leaders, including Robert Batastini, Dennis Dewey, Donald Hustad, I-to Loh, Jorge Lockward, David Peterson, Matt Redman, Pablo Sosa, Barbara Brown Taylor, and many more. For more information and to register online, contact: www.calvin.edu/worship.
Edmonton, Alberta, January 23-25
Just Worship? A conference to explore the relationship between worship and justice. Speakers include Alison Adam from Iona, Pablo Sosa from Argentina, and Nicolas Wolterstorff from Yale. Contact: Roy Berkenbosch: rberkenbosch@kingsu.ab.ca.
St. Catharines, Ontario, March 28-29
The Arts in Worship: “Unleashing Christ’s Light,” with workshops on blended worship, banner making, team worship, dance, drama, worship songs, choir, youth in worship, organ, stained glass, multimedia, sound, and more. Sponsored by Jubilee Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, with a grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. Contact: www.artsinworshipniagara.org; 905-938-9446;
info@artsinworship.org.