“Worship is the beating heart of the Christian church,” reflected Professor Carol Penner, who teaches practical theology at Grebel. Carol and a team of six volunteers across Canada and the US have spent the last two years creating a website of worship resources with an Anabaptist Mennonite approach designed to aid leaders in the Mennonite Church.
The website, Together in Worship, aims “to support leaders shaping thoughtful and creative worship through easy to access and free online resources.” It will include lyrics, prayers, and visuals that reflect diverse cultures and languages, as well as information for the mentorship of individuals interested in growing their understanding and practice of Mennonite worship.
The project received $18,000 US of funding from the 2019-2020 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Teacher-Scholar Grant. This grant allowed Carol and her committee to hold a bi-national working meeting and to hire four students “to find, curate and input worship resources from a variety of Anabaptist perspectives.” One of these students was part of a Supervised Experience in Ministry course in Grebel’s Master of Theological Studies program. Shantz Mennonite Church’s Bequest Earning Disbursement Fund also contributed to the website. This $10,000 will be used for graphic design and further website development. Carol reported that these grants have been integral to the website’s progress. “The Together in Worship working group is extremely grateful for the funding we received. This project could not have gotten off the ground without the generous support of these organizations.”
The website will launch in fall 2020 at togetherinworship.net
