Calvin Institute of Christian Worship features School’s grant project

Interviews with Sally Morris, School of Divinity chapel musician, and Kenneth Pettigrew, second-year Master of Divinity student, were recently featured on the Calvin Institute’s website.

Students at the School of Divinity took a variety of courses on topics such as The Art of Praying in Public, Worship and Music for Pastoral Leaders, Public Reading of Scripture, Worshipping with Children and Youth, and Hymnody as Ministerial Art. These courses were taught by local leaders who serve congregations or who teach and lead music courses or choirs. This gave students the chance to learn and reflect with leaders who are revitalizing worship in their own settings.

Morris, who is an acclaimed hymn author, also serves as the director of music ministries at Parkway Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem. “I hope that students’ increased exposure and experiences will positively influence their leadership experience in chapel and their future parishes,” she said. Read more here.

Pettigrew is a member of the school’s chapel committee, a planning team that coordinates two weekly chapel services, and is a liturgy and worship intern at St. John’s Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem this year as a part of the school’s Art of Ministry program. “The courses taught me the importance of intentionality in worship,” he said. “Every action, word or song selection has a theological implication.” Read more here.

The benefits of the grant are reflected in the liveliness and diversity of the school’s two weekly chapel services and in students’ growing awareness of the vital connections between worship and theology. What students have learned will be realized as they serve diverse faith communities and lead worship that is theologically substantive and spiritually meaningful.

Read more about the grant project here.

Media Contact: Mark Batten; 336.758.3748