Religions Around The World

In the early morning hours, monks can be seen walking on their alms round in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Showing humility and detachment from worldly goods, the monk walks slowly and only stops if he is called. Standing quietly, with his bowl open, the local Buddhists give him rice, or flowers, or an envelope containing money.  In return, the monks bless the local Buddhists and wish them a long and fruitful life.
Christians Celebrate Good Friday
Enacting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in St. Mary's Church in Secunderabad, India. Only 2.3% of India's population is Christian. 
Ancient interior mosaic in the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora
The Church of the Holy Saviour in Istanbul, Turkey is a medieval Byzantine Greek Orthodox church.
Dome of the Rock located in the Old City of Jerusalem
The site's great significance for Muslims derives from traditions connecting it to the creation of the world and to the belief that the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey to heaven started from the rock at the center of the structure.
Holi Festival in Mathura, India
Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the end of winter. Also known as the “festival of colors”,  Holi is primarily observed in South Asia but has spread across the world in celebration of love and the changing of the seasons.
Jewish father and daughter pray at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel.
Known in Hebrew as the Western Wall, it is one of the holiest sites in the world. The description, "place of weeping", originated from the Jewish practice of mourning the destruction of the Temple and praying for its rebuilding at the site of the Western Wall.
People praying in Mengjia Longshan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan
The temple is dedicated to both Taoism and Buddhism.
People praying in the Grand Mosque in Ulu Cami
This is the most important mosque in Bursa, Turkey and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture built in 1399.
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral of the Savior Monastery of St. Euthymius
Located in Suzdal, Russia, this is a church rite of sanctification of apples and grapes in honor of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is located in Kyoto, Japan
It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. Fushimi Inari is the most important Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice.
Ladles at the purification fountain in the Hakone Shrine
Located in Hakone, Japan, this shrine is a Japanese Shinto shrine.  At the purification fountain, ritual washings are performed by individuals when they visit a shrine. This ritual symbolizes the inner purity necessary for a truly human and spiritual life.
Hanging Gardens of Haifa are garden terraces around the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel
They are one of the most visited tourist attractions in Israel. The Shrine of the Báb is where the remains of the Báb, founder of the Bábí Faith and forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í Faith, have been buried; it is considered to be the second holiest place on Earth for Bahá'ís.
Pilgrims praying at the Pool of the Nectar of Immortality and Golden Temple
Located in Amritsar, India, the Golden Temple is one of the most revered spiritual sites of Sikhism. It is a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religions to worship God equally. Over 100,000 people visit the shrine daily.
Entrance gateway of Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple Kowloon
Located in Hong Kong, China, the temple is dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, or the Great Immortal Wong. The Taoist temple is famed for the many prayers answered: "What you request is what you get" via a practice called kau cim.
Christian women worship at a church in Bois Neus, Haiti.
Haiti's population is 94.8 percent Christian, primarily Catholic. This makes them one of the most heavily Christian countries in the world.

World Religions News

CICW funds dozens of new worship and preaching projects


Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants support worship renewal projects for worshiping communities and teacher-scholars.

In its latest round of Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) has announced grant awards for seventy-nine applicants across the United States and Canada. These one-year grants will promote thoughtful, innovative projects aimed at strengthening Christian worship practices and preaching.

The new recipients include sixty-eight worshiping communities from a range of Christian traditions and eleven teacher-scholars working in various academic disciplines. Grants of up to $25,000 will fund projects beginning January 1, 2026.

“We’re grateful for the large number of grant proposals we received this fall, which included a significant percentage from first-time applicants,” said Kathy Smith, CICW’s interim director and director of personnel and grantmaking programs.

“We look forward to learning with these teacher-scholars and worshiping communities as they explore and nurture worship habits and practices that deepen the healing presence of congregations and worshiping communities, both within and beyond their walls.”

The deadline for the next round of Vital Worship, Vital Preaching grant proposals is April 25, 2026, for projects slated to begin August 1, 2026.

Grants for worshiping communities

The grant program’s Worshiping Communities stream funds projects for organizations such as churches, parishes, denominational ministries, educational institutions, senior living communities, retreat centers, and other nonprofits.

One trend in this latest round of grantees is an increased number of collaborative projects—often ecumenical—involving multiple churches and organizations. Another trend in project design is the use of a “worship lab” to explore the proposed topic, whether that be storytelling, liturgical design, preaching, songwriting, or other creative arts.

Intercultural worship, intergenerational worship, embodied worship, and worship with a “dwelling in the psalms” component are other important themes in this round of worshiping communities grants. Specific projects include:

  • weaving together music, meditation, and psalms to promote culturally rooted, trauma-informed worship that fosters spiritual restoration and belonging;
  • establishing an intergenerational, ecumenical community choir to strengthen spiritual formation and community connections;
  • cultivating the practice of pilgrimage as an act of worship and racial healing in a collective of eight churches;
  • renewing congregational worship by equipping seniors, adults, youth, and children to design and lead worship together;
  • developing biblical frameworks for expressing suffering, pain, and lament in worship in a collaborative initiative of twenty city churches;
  • implementing a spiritual formation program that includes worship modules for children, accessible spaces for people with disabilities, and integration with a digital platform;
  • establishing a multigenerational preaching school for youth and adults;
  • using a collaborative visual arts initiative to transform a worshiping community’s physical space to reflect God’s hospitality, justice, and presence among the marginalized; and
  • bringing together Christian artists and songwriters from the United States and Palestine to co-create songs and liturgies on lament and resistance.

Grants for teacher-scholars

The grant program’s Teacher-Scholar stream recognizes the unique role that researchers in a variety of academic disciplines can play in strengthening Christian worship. Projects in the newest grantee cohort include:

  • examining creative ways to display hospitality in worship as an expression of God’s mission;
  • exploring how Black American spiritual worship practices support healing, justice, and community care within and beyond worshiping communities;
  • transforming how congregations experience dance, music, and sacred architecture by bringing contemporary choreography into sanctuaries;
  • revealing the largely unknown history of the French Huguenot Bible and its role in facilitating worship among Huguenot Christians from France to North America; and
  • exploring how Protestant congregations can more fully include children in corporate worship.

These richly varied projects all aim to deepen people’s understanding of worship and strengthen practices of worship and faith formation in congregations. Projects will be implemented across Canada and the United States, including in four communities in Puerto Rico.

About Vital Worship, Vital Preaching grants

Since its beginning in the year 2000, the Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants Program has awarded more than a thousand one-year grants to worshiping communities (churches, schools, and other organizations) and teacher-scholars in various disciplines across the United States and Canada. The grants fund thoughtful, creative projects that promote renewal in public worship and faith formation at the local, grass-roots level. The Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants program is generously supported by Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc.

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Contact:
Kathy Smith
Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.

Original Source:

https://religionnews.com/2025/12/16/cicw-funds-dozens-of-new-worship-and-preaching-projects/