Transcultural Worship

CALVIN INSTITUTE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP ANNOUNCES GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2011

May 6, 2011— Oak Creek United Church of Christ has received a grant for the purposes of integrating multicultural music, language and practice into the Sunday worship experience.  The Worship Renewal grant was awarded by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

            “This grant money will allow us to experience worship outside of our own comfortable traditions,” states Rev. Terri Tyson, associate pastor of Oak Creek UCC and project director for this grant.  “It is easy to forget that others might find a more hospitable welcome if we consciously teach ourselves to worship God in a space and culture that is different from our own.  It was only 50 years ago that our own services were held in German, so in engaging in multi-cultural, multi-lingual worship, we are actually rediscovering our own roots.”

            This year, the program’s twelfth, CICW will award more than $400,000 to support a variety of worship renewal projects in 37 churches and organizations across North America.

           “These projects have much to teach us about how prayerful, resourceful leaders in a remarkable variety of contexts are thinking about the needs of the church and opportunities for ministry,” says CICW director John Witvliet.  “We are eager to learn from them.”

            For a complete list of this year’s grant recipients and summaries of their projects, see the Grants section of the CICW website, www.calvin.edu/worship.

            For 2011 grant recipients, learning begins in earnest this June when project directors gather at Calvin College to dialogue with 2010 recipients and CICW staff.

           “This ecumenical gathering of church leaders provides an opportunity for learning and conversation that encourages and provides resources for worship renewal,” says Betty Grit, Program Manager of the Worship Renewal Grants Program.  

           This year, CICW received proposals from 18 denominations and 28 states and 2 Canadian provinces. An advisory board of pastors and teachers from a variety of backgrounds assisted in the grant selection.

           Grant recipients for 2011 represent congregations and schools from 14 denominations in 19 states and 2 Canadian provinces. 

           The Worship Renewal Grants Program is generously supported by Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. Founded in 1937, the Endowment’s major areas of concern are community development, education, and religion.

           The next application deadline for the Worship Renewal Grants Program is January 10, 2012. For an overview of the grants program and information about the application process, see the Grants section of the CICW website, www.calvin.edu/worship.

Oak Creek (OCUCC) is one of 89 churches in covenant with The United Church of Christ through the Southern Ohio Northern Kentucky Association (SONKA).  Worship services are on Sundays at 8:30 and 10:30.  Among the various community services offered at OCUCC are: childcare five days a week for infants six weeks through children twelve years of age; a food pantry for struggling families on Thursday evenings at from 6:00-7:00 PM; and a variety of other outreach and community ministries.  For more information, please visit our web site at www.oakcreekucc.net.