Knox College receives Calvin Institute of Christian Worship ‘Vital Worship’ Grant
The Rev. Dr. Sarah Travis, Minister of the Chapel at Knox College, will serve as lead researcher for a project exploring worship and institutional identity at Knox. The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) has granted $17,300 for this project as it seeks to: 1) revive worship so that it supports the formation of community in the midst of diversity; and 2) incorporate worship practices that more adequately nurture a cultural climate that meets the community’s spiritual needs and expectations. The CICW announced the 2017-2018 grant recipients this week.
“Due to various cultural differences and a predominantly part-time student body, the Knox College community enters the worship space without a collective experience and expectation of worship,” Dr. Travis wrote in her project proposal. “Worship at Knox College occurs at the intersection of identities – personal, cultural, denominational, vocational, as well as historical. The diversity of the Knox College community gifts us with the opportunity for a unique group to worship together, and to practice living out the realities of a diverse, global church. . . . We are called to ‘live into’ a new era for worship – without really knowing how to proceed.
“This proposal emerges out of a sense that we need time and space to intentionally observe, name, and share those realities which constitute our worship life. . . In concrete ways, this project will help us to increase our self-understanding, open possibilities for nurturing the quality and impact of our worship that we have not yet realized, and lead us into deeper engagement with one another. The hope is to fully encounter one another in worship, so that we may more fully encounter the presence of the Triune God,” wrote Dr. Travis.
In support of this proposed project, Principal Dorcas Gordon wrote, “It is my judgment that a project such as this is long overdue. Its two-fold intention – to revive worship so that it is more supportive of community formation, and to explore worship practices that relate to the spiritual needs and expectations of the community – is commendable.”
This project is one of 33 worship renewal projects funded for 2017-2018 as part of the CICW’s Vital Worship Grants Program. Each grant will fund a year-long project (beginning in June) that promotes vital worship and faith formation. This year’s awards range from $6,000 to $18,000 per project.
This year’s recipients are from around North America and include 20 congregations, one high school, four colleges and universities, three seminaries, and five other organizations. They also represent congregations and schools from 18 denominations, 19 states, and two Canadian provinces.
Since it began in the year 2000, the Vital Worship Grants Program has now awarded 784 grants to churches, schools, and organizations across North America for projects that generate thoughtfulness and energy for public worship and faith formation at the local, grass-roots level. An advisory board of pastors and teachers from a variety of backgrounds assisted in the grant selections, and the program is generously supported by Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. For more information on the grants program, including a complete list of this year’s grant recipients, see www.calvin.edu/worship.