A Time to Dwell in the Psalms

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) is inviting worshiping communities in the United States and Canada to spend time Dwelling in the Psalms during the rest of 2025 and throughout 2026. 

Communities participating in the program will have opportunities to focus on the Psalms locally and regionally through various events and by linking with presentations offered through CICW, said Kathy Smith, interim director of the institute.

CICW will provide a range of resources to all who participate in the program.

“The Psalms are for all seasons. You can come to them in your own unique way,” said Smith. “We would like to see people dive into the Psalms. I’m encouraged by the energy and positive responses that already seem to be building around this.”

By offering this program during the coming year, said Smith, CICW will pause the annual Calvin Symposium on Worship in 2026 and discuss future plans for that event in the meantime.

In lieu of the symposium, CICW will hold Psalms 150: A Conference Experience on Feb. 5-6, 2026, at Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary. Registration for this conference will open in the fall.

“The conference offers opportunities to learn from guest speakers, musicians, and artists and to participate in a psalm festival worship service and other times of prayer and reflection,” said Smith. 

In addition, this emphasis on the Psalms will be included in the various celebrations taking place in the 2025-2026 academic year to mark the 150th anniversary of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary.

“There are 150 psalms, and we thought that could tie in nicely with the anniversary,” said Smith.

The concept of Dwelling in the Psalms developed from many discussions on different ways in which CICW can reach and teach people about methods and approaches to worship. Given the institute’s longtime emphasis on Psalms, a focused effort at this time makes sense, the organizers reasoned.

“Our work at CICW over the years has connected us to many people engaging in thoughtful and imaginative work around the Psalms,” said Smith. “We are eager to build on those connections and to encourage more new and ancient ways to dwell in the Psalms.”

A community taking part in this opportunity might be a congregation, a school, a college or university, a seminary, a retirement community, a nursing home, a prison congregation, a new or old church, a big or small church, a church plant, a home church, or an urban, suburban, or rural congregation. All are invited to apply, said Smith.

By joining in this effort, added Smith, communities will receive a range of resources to help them better understand and discover ways to allow this rich group of biblical poems, songs, and prayers to become part of their everyday lives.

“The Psalms contain praise, lament, repentance, thanksgiving, confession – many of the human emotions,” said Smith. “There are so many ways to engage with them.”

As part of this program, communities that apply will be encouraged to host a public psalm festival worship event that features congregational singing based on the Psalms. 

For groups interested in holding a psalm festival, said Smith, the institute will send them a starter kit that includes five copies of Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship. This worship resource contains many musical settings of all 150 psalms, most in multiple formats. If parties are interested in obtaining additional copies of the songbook, CICW will send a discount code (good through Dec. 2026) for purchasing more copies of Psalms for All Seasons.

Also in the kit will be two free copies of En la escuela de los Salmos / At Psalms School, a bilingual intergenerational picture book that explores the role of the Psalms in Christian worship and teaches about listening to and talking with God through the Psalms. In addition, CICW will promote each community’s event on its webpage and on the CICW Facebook page.

By signing up, communities agree to . . . 

• host a free worship event anytime before Dec. 31, 2026, that features congregational singing of psalm settings, and
• submit a feedback form after the event to the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship reflecting their insights and learning surrounding the event.

For more information, explore the Psalms in Worship page on the CICW website, including links to many articles, recordings, and books.

In addition, visit the following:

• Zeteosearch.org to learn more about the Psalms.
• Hymnary.org to listen to audio clips from Psalms for All Seasons. 
• ReformedWorship.org for practical resources on the Psalms. 
• PsalmsforAllSeasons.org, the companion website for the songbook, to find resources that support the use of the songbook.

“We see Dwelling in the Psalms as a great way to learn more about the Psalms as well as to engage with the Psalms and with each other in times of worship throughout the coming year,” said Smith.