Public Worship and the Christian Life

Practical theologian Angela Williams Gorrell shares how experiencing life's challenges and sorrows is also an opportunity to share in its joy.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Almeda M. Wright shares about her research that explores the spiritual lives of African American youth and points to a complex picture of both the fragmentation and integration in their spiritual lives as they learn to balance experiences of suffering while persisting along pathways to life more abundantly in Christ. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Amanda Drury talks about the integral role testimony plays in the worshiping community, especially as young people learn how to narrate their faith in a variety of spaces and ways and join the intergenerational faith community in long-term Christian living. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Andy Root explores how narrative and joy spark the imagination and provide a framework to minister in Christ and for young people in deeply formative ways. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Montague Williams shares about the opportunities churches have to support and nurture young people of color as they navigate the joys and complexities of their lives in the 21st century.   Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Patrick Reyes shares his story of growing up in borderlands where he cried out to survive, found guideposts in familia and community, remained present in suffering, and found pathways in and through community to a calling from God to life. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Richelle B. White shares her passion for drawing from the wisdom of the Bible along with Black history, Black culture, and Black music as rich, relevant, and necessary sources in nurturing in faith the lives of Black youth. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Najla Kassab, ordained minister in the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon and president of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, speaks with Maria Cornou about the fear and sadness that COVID-19 brought to the Lebanon and the healing power of God's grace through worship and new ways of seeing injustice and being community for Christians in the Middle East. Co...

In this episode, Palestinian Christian, professor, and pastor Munther Isaac shares with John Witvliet how the use of technology brought worship into homes and opened up new possibilities for services, Bible studies, and more during the during COVID-19 crisis for the worshiping community of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, pastor and church planter Arbin Pokharel talks with Maria Cornou about the vibrancy of the body of Christ in Nepal--land of Hinduism, birthplace of Buddha, and a caste system society--as they draw from the well of grace and practice their Christian faith so everyone can flourish. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, pastor-theologians Angelique and Marnus Havenga share with Maria Cornou about what they are learning about pastoring and serving the community as a whole in the Dutch Reformed Church, located in city-center of Stellenbosch, one of the most unequal towns in the country of South Africa.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Philip McKinley, co-founder of Discovery Gospel Choir, an intercultural ensemble that reflects the new-found cultural and ethnic diversity in Ireland, shares with Maria Cornou how the pandemic created new opportunities for unity and blessing among the people of Ireland and beyond in unimagined ways.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, Yvette Lau, worship leader and chief executive of Anabas Ministry for worship renewal based in Hong Kong, shares with Maria Cornou about leading worship and the wisdom and discerning spirit that is needed to shape worship and pastor God's people during these urgent times.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

In this episode, father and son Valdir Steuernagel and Marcell Silva Steuernagel share with Maria Cornou about the witness, embodiment, and community of the Lutheran church in south Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis. This conversation was recorded in the fall of 2020 as part of a global worship course Prof. Cornou taught at Calvin Theological Seminary. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Methodist School of Music aims to equip and edify worshipers and the church through music and the arts. Staff members Judith Laoyan-Mosomos and Justin Chan talk with Maria Cornou, an associate director at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, about their worshiping communities and practices and issues highlighted in COVID-19.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Mitri Raheb is a theologian, public figure, widely published author, and—for 30 years—senior pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. In this episode, Rev. Raheb talks with John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the worshiping community in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.e...

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David M. Bailey, executive director of Arrabon, an organization dedicated to equipping and empowering organizations for reconciliation, talks with John Witvliet about righteous anger that directs people on a path of formation and Christian discipleship.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Rich Villodas, lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a multiracial church in one of the most diverse zip codes in the US--Queens, New York--talks about what it means to be deeply formed in Christ.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Justo Gonzáles takes us into his book "The Mestizo Augustine," which offers a fresh look at the life of Augustine of Hippo, son of an African mother and a Roman father. How does Augustine deal with this mestizo identity in his life and his theology, and what insights does that provide for us today?  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Fuller Theological Seminary professor Vince Bantu talks around his passion of bringing together cultural identity and faith and the timely reminder that Christianity has always been a global religion. Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Western Theological Seminary professor David Stubbs talks about the multiplicity of meanings of the Eucharist and what it means to bring our whole selves to the Lord's table.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Deanna Thompson of St. Olaf College talks about her 2016 book "The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World," which was written from her experience of living with cancer and now takes on additional meaning in our COVID-shaped world.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Carla Zastrow, teacher at Zeeland Christian School, talks about how 80 seventh graders and their teachers engaged the Biblical psalms during the COVID-19 crisis.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu

Pastor and songwriter Glenn Packiam shares about Christian hope in contemporary worship.  Contact Us | worship.calvin.edu