Indiana Wesleyan University received this week a $15,000 Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) for the 2018-2019 academic year.
The grant will allow project director Dr. Anne Greeley, professor of Art History, and her team to implement a visual arts project in the IWU Chapel that intends to strengthen the communal nature of campus worship by engaging visitors in disciplined intercessory prayer on behalf of the IWU-Marion community. This collaborative effort between the students and faculty of the Division of Art + Design and the School of Theology and Ministry will be supported by the Chapel Office through a varied program of guest speakers, who will educate the campus about the formative nature of worship, the importance of spiritual disciplines – particularly prayer – and the role visual arts can play in enriching and facilitating Christian worship.
“We're immensely grateful to the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship for funding this project,” said Greeley, “and are very excited to see our vision come to fruition.”
In addition to Greeley’s project, the CICW funded 43 other projects as part of its Vital Worship Grants Program. Funded projects have a variety of emphases—visual arts, music, intergenerational relationships, contemplation, movement, and more—but have as a common purpose a desire to both deepen people’s understanding of worship and strengthen practices of public worship and faith formation.
This year’s recipients include 27 congregations, one high school, six colleges and universities, one seminary, and nine other groups, including two community organizations, three denominational organizations, a retreat center and a retirement community. They also represent 17 Christian denominations, 25 states and two Canadian provinces.
Greeley will join the other project directors on Calvin’s campus on Wednesday, June 20 to dialogue not only with CICW staff, but also with the recipients of the 2017 grants.
For more information about the IWU Division of Art + Design, visit www.indwes.edu/undergraduate/division-of-art-and-design/.