Worship Symposium To Focus on Beatitudes
Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount will be woven through many of the plenary speeches, breakout sessions, worship services and art exhibits at the 26th annual Calvin Symposium on Worship.
The complete sermon, contained in the book of Matthew chapters five, six and part of seven, offers some of the most quoted verses in Scripture such as,“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
Many faculty members and students on the Calvin College campus in Grand Rapids, Mich. have been studying the sermon for the last year.
The first morning of three-day gathering, which runs from Jan. 24-26, will include a seminar titled “The Sermon on the Mount: Preaching, Teaching, and Living in Righteousness.”
Hosted by Rev. Cornelius Planinga, Jr., the seminar will be presented by 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 two will help symposium participants “to understand themes from the sermon and to consider their power and beauty for preaching, teaching,” says a description in the program booklet for the symposium.
In a letter published in the same program booklet, Rev. John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, welcomes the participants who will be coming in from all over the world.
He also writes, “We are a blessed people—blessed to be able to gather here and to worship together as sisters and brothers in Christ.
“The language of blessing will be an important part of our time together, since our focus in worship for the next three days will be on the Sermon on the Mount, including the Beatitudes— words of blessing from Christ to believers of every time and place.”
The three-day conference will bring in 1,500-plus registrants, including more than 100 international guests hailing from about 30 countries, including Angola, Canada, Egypt, Haiti, Korea, Nigeria and Pakistan.
In total, the symposium 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 new hymnal resources.
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 the symposium provides a shared space to talk about these issues and learn from other cultures and traditions.
"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."
The co-sponsors of this year's Symposium, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship 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 the for the symposium at Calvin, but walk-ups are still welcome starting early Thursday morning, Jan. 24. For more info on the conference visit Worship Symposium or contact Kristen Verhulst at 616-526-6831.
