Rev. Howard D. Vanderwell (1937–2018) was the resource development specialist of pastoral leadership for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, an instructor at Calvin Theological Seminary, and the author and editor of The Church of All Ages (2007) and Caring Worship: Helping Worship Leaders Provide Pastoral Care through the Liturgy (2017), and co-author of Designing Worship Together.
Last Updated: September 10, 2025
We are very grateful that Howard (Howie) willingly shared the wisdom he gleaned through out his years of ministry with Reformed Worship. Since 1990 he has written over eighteen articles and resources for RW, all infused with his pastoral heart. Howie passed away just before Holy Week and while these are his last words to us here on Earth we look forward to engaging with him again as we worship together in the new heaven and earth. —JB
O God, you are like coffee to me!
. . . I thirst for you in the morning when I wake.
. . . Your warmth continues to travel through me.
. . . I return to you throughout the day and get renewed and refreshed.
The following is a collection of building blocks for a series of worship services based on key themes from the Belhar Confession. This series is adapted from the longer version available on the website of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (worship.calvin.edu.) A few notes:
Philippians has been the focus for Bible study groups on the campus of Calvin College and Hope College in Michigan during this past year. More than 1,500 students participated in small-group Bible studies, which often included a combination of faculty, staff, and students. A number of churches across the country also joined the study.
Certain experiences are pregnant with new insight, usually more than we recognize at the time. One of those experiences gave me new insights on the Lord’s Supper.
This article is adapted from the book Designing Worship Together: Models and Strategies for Worship Planning, (Alban Institute, 2005), by Norma de Waal Malefyt and Howard Vanderwell. It is a collection of their shared wisdom from many years of fruitful collaboration as senior pastor and music director at Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church, Hudsonville, Michigan. This book would make a fruitful study by worship planning teams and worship committees.
Many books and articles are written about worship today, especially about the style of worship. But these three authors and the Alban Institute have found a way to deal with the issues in a very compelling way.
Imagine listening to a conversation in which people identify themselves by numbers. One person says, "I'm a 1." "I'm a 2," says another. Someone else chimes in, "I'm a 1.5"; still another claims to be a 1.2, Everyone laughs.
How familiar are you and other members of your congregation with the Belgic Confession? Although the Belgic is one of the doctrinal standards of churches in the Reformed tradition, its language and format have tended to relegate it to a back shelf when it comes to planning worship. Many Reformed churches have had a long-honored practice of regularly preaching through the Heidelberg Catechism, but few include words from the Belgic in their liturgies.
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