Chicago, Aug. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)<\/a> — North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) has received a one-year $18,000 Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, which will support the enrichment of its weekly Community Worship services. The number of proposals this round was atypically large, and NPTS was one of 77 selected to strengthen Christian worship practices and preaching.<\/p>\n The project, titled “Centering Down: Contemplative Practices for Diverse Communities,” will expand and deepen the Community Worship services, which are the main community formation event for NPTS students, especially those who are local.\u00a0They are open not only to the entire North Park community but also to the surrounding neighborhood. Services begin at\u00a04:30 p.m.\u00a0each Tuesday\u00a0at\u00a0Isaacson Chapel<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0the North Park campus.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the general seminary student population has evolved from individuals freshly out of their undergraduate programs to pastors who have already been in ministry for years, Community Worship has evolved alongside it,\u201d said Associate Professor of Worship Dr. David Bjorlin\u00a0BA ’06, MDiv ’11\u00a0who was part of the NPTS Spiritual Formation Committee that developed the project.\u00a0\u201cWhile\u00a0still providing hands-on preaching experience, it now also serves as an intentional time of spiritual nourishment through worship and interactive services.\u201d<\/p>\n Seminary Administrative Coordinator Kara Shroyer,\u00a0who is an NPTS student herself, said, “These services are essential to seminary education because they integrate class and worship in\u00a0an intentional\u00a0setting, strengthening the connections students have with one another. The weekly rhythm of gathering also helps students and employees alike continually center on their ‘why.'”<\/p>\n Made possible through the grant, NPTS will invite guest speakers to share differences in\u00a0contemplative\u00a0worship styles across\u00a0cultures\u2014such as meditation or drum circles\u2014so that students can broaden their perspectives. The practitioners will join students in their worship course one week to teach about their\u00a0contemplative practice,\u00a0then lead the Community Worship chapel service the following week so that students can see it in action. Immediately following the chapel service, the practitioners will\u00a0facilitate\u00a0a reflective conversation over dinner about the service and how students can apply it within the context of their congregations.<\/p>\n This is the seminary’s second time receiving a Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant. The first was in 2017 for its “Worship Across” project, which explored worship across cultural divides, such as politics, technology, and abilities.<\/p>\n This program is made possible through a\u00a0<\/i>Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant<\/i><\/a>\u00a0from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.<\/i><\/p>\n About North Park University and North Park Theological Seminary<\/b> Frequently Asked Questions<\/b> What will the grant fund at NPTS?<\/b>\u00a0It funds “Centering Down: Contemplative Practices for Diverse Communities,” a project that brings visiting practitioners to NPTS’s weekly Community Worship services. These guests will teach a worship course, lead a chapel service\u00a0demonstrating\u00a0their style, and facilitate a reflective dinner conversation with students afterward.<\/p>\n When and where do Community Worship services take place?<\/b>\u00a0Services are held every Tuesday at\u00a04:30 p.m.\u00a0at Isaacson Chapel on the NPTS campus\u00a0and are open to the entire North Park community as well as the surrounding neighborhood.<\/p>\n Is this the seminary’s first time receiving this grant?<\/b>\u00a0No. NPTS previously received a Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant in 2017 for its “Worship Across” project, which explored worship across cultural and political divides.<\/p>\n How many organizations received this grant in\u00a0<\/b>the current round?<\/b>\u00a0NPTS was one of 77 organizations\u00a0selected\u00a0from\u00a0an unusually large\u00a0applicant\u00a0pool\u00a0this cycle.<\/p>\n The $18,000 Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant will support visiting practitioners for the seminary\u2019s weekly community worship services and community meals. Chicago, Aug. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) has received a one-year $18,000 Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, which will support the enrichment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[57166],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-425887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-globenewswire"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailybanglanewspapers.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
North Park University is city-centered, intercultural, and emerging as the model for Christian higher education in 21st-century America. Its seminary, North Park Theological Seminary, provides a holistic theological education that prioritizes compassionate dialogue, contextual learning, and spiritual health. Follow NPU on Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, and\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0Follow NPTS on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n
What is the Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant?<\/b>\u00a0It’s\u00a0an $18,000, one-year grant awarded to North Park Theological Seminary\u00a0(NPTS)\u00a0by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., to support the enrichment of Christian worship and preaching practices.<\/p>\nCONTACT: Kennedy Murphy\r\nNorth Park University\r\n(773) 244-5772\r\nkmurphy@northpark.edu\r\n<\/pre>\n
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