Dr. Emily R. Brink was the founding editor of the print journal Reformed Worship until 2006. She served as program director and senior research fellow for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship beginning in 2002, then in 2014 she transitioned to semi-retirement and became resource development specialist for congregational song until she completely retired in 2021. She was editor of the Psalter Hymnal (1987) and Sing! A New Creation (2001), the first CRC/RCA joint songbook. She is active in the American Guild of Organists, having served in both local and national offices, as well as in the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, serving as president from 1990-1992; in 2004 she was named a fellow of the Hymn Society in recognition of distinguished service to hymnody and hymnology. Dr. Brink has a graduate degree in organ and church music from the University of Michigan and a PhD in music theory from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Last Updated: September 10, 2025
The authors have taken a very simple approach to teaching children the backgrounds to thirty hymns. The hymns themselves are not included; rather, two pages are devoted to each hymn story, including a craft idea to prepare ahead or to involve children in a class or home activity.
Whether or not your congregation follows the lec-tionary, your worship planning team—and congregation—will benefit greatly from these excellent ideas for involving children in congregational worship. Each Sunday of the Christian Year is given three pages of creative and helpful suggestions.
"Resurrection RCA doesn't have a lot of baggage in the way of traditional expectations for worship services," admits Pastor Paul "Bud" Pratt. "So we have been free to develop our ministry based on the needs we see. And our ministry to the family has been very intentional."
There is no "Hymn of the Month" in this issue. Instead, we present the results of the first hymn competition held by Reformed Worship. In RW 29 (September, 1993) we announced that a number of churches in Edmonton, Alberta, had collected funds to underwrite a competition. Joachim Segger, director of music at West End Christian Reformed Church, wrote:
The three songs in this issue are all built on short repetitive refrains. None are in the typical hymn structure; two are simply refrains, and one is intended for leader and congregation.
One of the appeals of short refrains and choruses is that they are easily committed to memory. All three songs are short enough so that most worshipers will find themselves singing them during the week, long before the month is over. All three will also be included in Songs for LiFE, the new children's hymnal to be published this fall by CRC Publications.
If you are looking for help in planning and organizing your worship services for the next year, this handy lectionary-based calendar may help you a great deal. Two pages are devoted to each Sunday from September 1994 through August 1995. For each Sunday the resource includes:
I don't know who first "discovered" Kierkegaard's contribution to the nature of worship, but a lot of people have been referring to it. Here's how it goes: Imagine a worship service as a drama. Who is the audience? Who are the actors? At first glance, most would say that the congregation is the audience, and the minister is the actor. But no—Kierkegaard supposedly claims that God is the audience, the worshipers are the actors, and the minister is the prompter.
This ninety-minute service was prepared for a 1993 Reformation Hymn Festival at Third Christian Reformed Church Kalamazoo, Michigan The service was designed by Emily R, Brink, editor of Reformed Worship, who read the commentary. The men who did the readings each wore black robes and hats, similar to the ones shown here.
What is a ritual? What is the place of ritual in Reformed worship? How can we be sure that the rituals we use in our worship are living rituals?
Those were a Jew of the questions we challenged Reformed Worship council members to wrestle with last fall during a round-table discussion on the needpr living rituals in worship. The pages that follow contain an edited version of their thoughts and reflections on the subject of ritual.
Our guide for worship is Paul's letter to the Colossians. This epistle celebrates the lordship of Jesus Christ, reminds us of our "Freedom to Serve," and calls us to live in the fullness of our union with Christ. The order of worship mirrors the outline of this epistle, with hymns and prayers that serve to help us live into the truth of Paul's message.
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