2013 Symposium on Worship to "Sing the Whole Story"

Calvin College will host the 26th-annual Calvin Symposium on Worship from Thursday, January 24 through Saturday, January 26, 2013.

The three-day ecumenical conference has attracted 1,500-plus registrants, including more than 100 international guests hailing from about 30 countries, including Angola, Canada, Egypt, Haiti, Korea, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The theme for this year's conference, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, is woven together through the Symposium's plenary speeches, breakout sessions, worship services and art exhibits.

This year's plenary speakers are Kenneth E. Bailey, a research professor of New Testament at the Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, and Christine Pohl, associate provost and professor of Church and Society/Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary.

The Symposium also offers about 100 different breakout sessions led by more than 80 presenters, on preaching and every aspect of worship of interest to pastors as well as worship leaders in music, drama, and the visual and dramatic arts.

The symposium will feature songs from the forthcoming hymnal "Lift Up Your Hearts," anticipated in June, that will include more than 800 songs from around the world that "sing the whole story" from creation to the end of time. A new feature is the offer of a Hymn Festival planning kit to congregations across North America in order to support telling and celebrating this story in song. See http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/hymn-festivals/

Emily Brink, program chair, said that this annual symposium has generated many requests to co-sponsor international symposia. "The questions people ask in other countries are very similar to the questions people ask here," said Brink. "They're concerned about their youth and about honoring tradition while still being open to how the church is being led in new directions. The context is different, but the basic issues are very similar."

So, Brink says Symposium provides a shared space to talk about these issues and learn from other cultures and traditions. Brink says that both the international and ecumenical nature of the Calvin Symposium opens up doors to stimulating conversation and learning among them all.

"One of the things that makes us smile is when people come from the same city, but different church traditions, and they have never met before. Here is a place they can talk with and learn from each other."

"We're rooted in Reformed tradition, but increasingly the Christian church needs to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us," said Brink. "That emphasis has been a strong attraction, making this conference a place of welcome and inclusivity. We want to be open to all."

The co-sponsors of this year's Symposium, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) and Calvin Theological Seminary's Center for Excellence in Preaching, are also partnering with leaders in other countries around the world on international symposia. In 2013, international symposia will take place in Mexico, Hong Kong and Uganda.

On-line registration has closed, but walk ups are still welcome starting early Thursday morning, January 24. For more info on the conference visit http://worship.calvin.edu or contact Kristen Verhulst at 616-526-6831.

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Received on Fri Jan 18 08:47:03 2013