Calvin College will host the 24th annual Calvin Symposium on Worship Jan. 27-29, 2011.
The conference, cosponsored by Calvin Theological Seminary’s Center for Excellence in Preaching and the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, is expected to attract 1,500 guests from 40 countries, including more than 300 students and teachers from 70-plus high schools, colleges, and seminaries around the world.
The conference will feature Calvin philosophy professor James K.A. Smith and Calvin alumna Ruth Padilla DeBorst in plenary sessions, along with about 100 different break-out sessions led by more than 80 presenters.
One highlight of this year’s conference is the expanded number of worship services. This year’s theme, “Every Time I Remember You: The Letter to the Philippians,” is the culmination of this past fall’s campuswide Bible studies, which involved more than 1,800 Calvin students, faculty, and staff studying the letter to the Philippians and using the new book Dwelling with Philippians: A Conversation with Scripture through Image and Word (Eerdmans, 2010).
Karen Campbell, Scott Hoezee, Denise Kingdom-Grier, Trygve Johnson, Ron Rienstra, and Jerry Pillay will be preaching at these services, which are free and open to the public.
In addition to the five plenary services, conferees will be able to attend three of seven vesper services, each with a distinct focus and flavor, and each intended to offer attendees something they can take home for worship in their own congregations.
Emily Brink, program director of the symposium, says that the heart of the event is the fellowship and joy that come from learning and worshiping together with a large and diverse part of the body of Christ.
Check-in and walk-up registration for the conference will be held at the newly renovated and expanded Covenant Fine Arts Center at Calvin. See http://worship.calvin.edu or contact Kristen Verhulst at 616.526.6831.
About the Author
Matt Kucinski is media relations manager at Calvin University.
