NBTS receives Worship Grant
October 27, 2019
New Brunswick Theological Seminary is one of three seminaries in North America chosen as part of the Vital Worship Grants Program from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) in Grand Rapids, Mich., for the 2019-20 academic year.
NBTS will use the $15,000 grant to conduct a year-long project to facilitate meaningful, active participation of the whole community in worship by exploring the role of worship in theological education and methods of digital accessibility as a laboratory space within the chapel community.
The project will be overseen by a team of faculty including Dr. Beth Tanner, Academic Dean and the Norman and Mary Kansfield Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, Dr. Faye Taylor, Director of Field Education and Director of the St. John’s Campus, and Dr. Andrew Wymer, Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship and the Director of the Chapel at New Brunswick Theological Seminary.
The purpose of the project will be to help the seminary community re-envision ways of rendering our current worship life digitally accessible and create new, supplementary digital worship resources. Goals for the project include increasing communal knowledge and awareness on the purpose and nature of Christian worship, reflecting together on the institutional vison for worship, exploring and implementing digital accessibility for changing constituencies such as students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community partners, and collaborating with students and faculty to envision and implement supplementary worship resources and events that are digitally accessible. Such goals will be accomplished through conversations, retreats, gatherings, and community resources.
“We are very grateful to the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship for funding this project that will help our seminary community to both envision ways of rendering our current worship life digitally accessible and create new, supplementary digital worship resources for our students. We believe this process will help us reimagine our chapel worship in ways that ensure that it will continue to ground theological education at New Brunswick Theological Seminary in shared, rich spiritual practice”, said Dr. Andrew Wymer, director of the chapel.
In announcing the 2019-2020 Vital Worship Grants, Kathy Smith, associate director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and program manager for the Institute’s grants programs, said, “We are delighted to join with another group of churches, schools and organizations to learn about and engage in new practices of worship. We were grateful for a large number of excellent proposals and are eager to facilitate their learning and ours, regarding worship across North America.”
For more information on the Vital Worship Grants program, including a complete list of this year’s grant recipients, please see worship.calvin.edu/grants.
The grant program is made possible through the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.
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About New Brunswick Theological Seminary
Founded in 1784, NBTS is the oldest seminary in the United States. It is one of two seminaries affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA), and offers an exceptional seminary education, a flexible academic schedule, and a spiritually rich community for students of many Christian denominations and backgrounds. The NBTS mission is to educate persons and strengthen communities for transformational, public ministries in church and society. We fulfill this mission through creative, contextual, and critical engagement with texts, traditions, and practices.
The Seminary offers Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.), and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degrees, as well as Professional Certificates to enhance the work and training of special ministers, church officers, and other Christian leaders.
The seminary is located in New Brunswick, NJ, and operates a satellite campus at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. To learn more about New Brunswick Theological Seminary, please visit nbts.edu.