Howard Vanderwell is a resource development specialist for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; he was previously the pastor of Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church, Hudsonville, Michigan.
Articles by this author:
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Writing Your Own Psalm
O God, you are like coffee to me!
. . . I thirst for you in the morning when I wake.
. . . Your warmth continues to travel through me.
. . . I return to you throughout the day and get renewed and refreshed.
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Unity, Reconciliation, Justice
A Series on the Belhar ConfessionThe following is a collection of building blocks for a series of worship services based on key themes from the Belhar Confession. This series is adapted from the longer version available on the website of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (worship.calvin.edu.) A few notes:
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Dwelling with Philippians
Five Services on Joyful LivingPhilippians has been the focus for Bible study groups on the campus of Calvin College and Hope College in Michigan during this past year. More than 1,500 students participated in small-group Bible studies, which often included a combination of faculty, staff, and students. A number of churches across the country also joined the study.
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"Flee to the Eucharist"
The Lord's Supper as Soul-CareCertain experiences are pregnant with new insight, usually more than we recognize at the time. One of those experiences gave me new insights on the Lord’s Supper.
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A Case for Collaboration: Practical Advice for Planning Worship Together
Norma de Waal Malefyt (norma.malefyt@calvin.edu) and Howard Vanderwell (howard.vanderwell@calvin.edu) are Resource Development Specialists at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. This article is adapted from their new book (see box) based on many years of fruitful collaboration as senior pastor and music director at Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church, Hudsonville, Michigan.
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Books: Prayers in Times of Crisis & Prayers During the Night
Liturgy Training Publications, Archdiocese of Chicago, Ill., 2003. 57 pp. $4.00. www.ltp.org.
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Book and Video: How We Seek God Together: Exploring Worship Style
Linda Clark, Joanne Swenson, and Mark Stamm. The Alban Institute, 2001. www.alban.org. Book (137 pp.) and video.
Many books and articles are written about worship today, especially about the style of worship. But these three authors and the Alban Institute have found a way to deal with the issues in a very compelling way.
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One Faith, Many Cultures: Orange Korean Christian Reformed Church, Fulerton, California
Imagine listening to a conversation in which people identify themselves by numbers. One person says, "I'm a 1." "I'm a 2," says another. Someone else chimes in, "I'm a 1.5"; still another claims to be a 1.2, Everyone laughs.
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The Belgic Confession in Q&A Format page 1 to 3
The questions and answers that follow were prepared by Howard D. Vander Well. For his ideas on how to use these Q & As in worship, see RW 58, pp. 36-37.
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Using the Belgic Confession in Worship: Q & A's make this classic confession accessible
How familiar are you and other members of your congregation with the Belgic Confession? Although the Belgic is one of the doctrinal standards of churches in the Reformed tradition, its language and format have tended to relegate it to a back shelf when it comes to planning worship. Many Reformed churches have had a long-honored practice of regularly preaching through the Heidelberg Catechism, but few include words from the Belgic in their liturgies.
