Christian Reformed Churches

Worship in the Christian Reformed Church centers on the sermon but also emphasizes metrical psalms and the participation of families in worship. Worship renewal draws from Catholic, evangelical, and charismatic sources. There is a growing concern to celebrate Communion more frequently and to incorporate praise music at appropriate places in worship.

The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) began in 1857 as a small group of Dutch immigrants with a worship style inherited from the sixteenth-century Dutch Reformed leader Peter Datheen. Today there are approximately 300,000 members in 900 congregations. The psalter, to which were appended the required liturgical forms for the sacraments, was the effective worship book for these churches. The Dutch Genevan Psalter was used until 1914, when the 1912 Psalter was adopted. The CRC has never officially adopted any one form of worship. Considerable discretion has always been left to the elders of each congregation. Yet for the first hundred years the structure of worship was relatively uniform. An attempt to reform and standardize the liturgy in 1928 met with stiff resistance. The first major change in the content of worship was the move from singing only metrical psalms to the acceptance of hymns, which began with the first edition of the Psalter Hymnal in 1934. A new approach to structuring public worship can be traced to the work of a standing liturgical committee appointed in 1964. Their major 1968 Report (Acts of Synod 1968, 134–198) was deeply reflective of both historic Christian worship and the principles of Reformed worship. Their work stands within the broader liturgical renewal movement in mainline Protestantism following Vatican II. More recently, the growing ethnic and cultural diversity within the CRC has resulted in increasing influence from evangelical and charismatic traditions. On any given Sunday, sixteen different languages are used in CRC worship services; after English, Korean, and Spanish are most heard. About 14 percent of congregations can be considered multicultural and/or multiethnic. Traditional Worship Patterns The traditional emphasis of all CRC worship has been exegetical preaching, with a practice of annually preaching through the Heidelberg Catechism as a means of covering the basics of Christian doctrine. Church order requires two services each Sunday. The second service originated as a catechism teaching service and until recently was similar in structure to the morning service. The order of worship inherited from the sixteenth century is still used in some congregations: (Organ Prelude) Votum (Psalm 124:8) or Invocation Salutation Hymn The Law (a reading of the Decalogue in the morning service; the Apostles' Creed in the second service) Offering Hymn Congregational Prayer Hymn Scripture Sermon Prayer Hymn Doxology Benediction (Organ Postlude) In this traditional style of worship, the minister was the only worship leader, and all action took place from the pulpit. The people's actions were limited to congregational singing. Gradually, the role of the people has expanded to include choirs, responsive reading of Scripture, and prayers led by someone other than the minister. Liturgical Renewal The 1968 Report made recommendations for change based on the understanding that a basic dialogic shape has been discernable throughout the history of the church: "Worship in God's covenant community is a meeting between a Person and persons, as it had been from the beginning." The Report presented to Synod three complete models for morning worship. Synod subsequently adopted several complete services for the Word and sacraments. The following order is now typical of much CRC worship: The Opening Organ Prelude Minister: Call to Worship (opening sentences) Minister: Greeting from God Confession and Assurance Minister: The Call to Confession All: The Confession (said or sung) Minister: The Declaration of Pardon All: The Response (Gloria Patri, or another hymn of praise) Minister: The Dedication (reading of the Decalogue or some other scriptural passage) All: Hymn [When baptism is celebrated, it usually comes at this point or is interwoven with the confession and assurance.] Proclamation of the Word Minister or other member: Prayer for Illumination spoken, or sung by all) Minister or other member: Scripture lesson(s) Minister: Sermon Minister: Prayer The Response All: Hymn All: Creed (Apostles' or Nicene) [always recited when the Lord's Supper is celebrated] Minister or other member: Prayer Offering [When the Lord's Supper is celebrated it is placed here after a doxology is sung] The Dismissal All: Hymn (Doxology) Minister: Benediction Organ Postlude The liturgical renewal encouraged by the 1968 Report has continued to spread. Triennial denomination-wide conferences on liturgy and music began in 1979. In 1985 a denominational office of music and liturgy was established, which in 1986 began publishing Reformed Worship, a quarterly journal designed to give practical assistance in planning, structuring, and conducting worship. In 1990, 87 percent of churches had worship committees. A major revision of the Psalter Hymnal (1987) significantly influenced worship, since it included a virtually new metrical psalter and a great variety of styles, including both historic and contemporary hymnody, songs from many ethnic traditions, Scripture choruses, and children's songs. Also included in the hymnal were newly edited liturgical forms and, for the first time, complete services for the Word and sacraments. Liturgical renewal in the CRC is most evident in a more careful ordering of the acts of worship to reflect a dialogic structure, in greater lay participation, and more frequent celebrations of the Lord's Supper. Most congregations are beginning to observe the church year and use banners and other visual arts. In 1990 about 25 percent were following the Common Lectionary for part of the year. A few ministers still wear a black Genevan gown (without the white tabs); very few have begun to wear vestments. Anthem choirs are now common, with a few beginning to function as service choirs singing each week. Drama and dance are rare in all but a few congregations. Worship leadership is increasingly diverse, with lay members involved in leading prayers and sometimes in service as liturgists for complete sections of the service. In a few congregations the minister only preaches; the rest of the service is lead by lay members—especially men, but increasingly women and youth as well. Most worship in the CRC stands somewhere between the two outlines given above. Those congregations influenced by the 1968 report, follow the direction of liturgical renewal as seen also in mainline Protestant denominations. Meanwhile, other congregations have been strongly influenced by both the evangelical and charismatic traditions. The increasing cultural and ethnic diversity has also encouraged diversity in worship styles. The praise-and-worship tradition is growing rapidly. The Table CRC congregations traditionally celebrated the Lord's Supper four times per year, the minimum required. A "Preparatory Exhortation" was read the preceding week. The traditional forms, one translated from sixteenth-century documents and two adopted in 1964, are lengthy and didactic. With growing desire for more frequent celebration of the Lord's Supper, the traditional forms have been supplemented by complete services of the Word and sacraments (1981), including seasonal variants based on the principles and structure outlined in the 1968 report. While parts of the service are outlined but not prescribed, several components of the Lord's Supper form "should be read in their entirety and not changed in any way." Those components include the Introduction, the beginning of the Prayer of Thanksgiving (with variants possible thereafter), the Institution, the Memorial, the Preparation of the Elements, and the Communion. The Prayer of Thanksgiving ends with a song, most typically "Holy, Holy, Holy," but with seasonal variants. As part of the Thanksgiving after Communion, Psalm 103 is usually said or sung. Reformed Worship also publishes complete services of word and sacraments as resources. By 1990, 11 percent of CRC congregations celebrated the Lord's Supper the minimum four times per year; 67 percent observed the sacrament from five to seven times, 18 percent eight to twelve times, and 4 percent more than once per month. A couple of churches celebrate weekly. Although a few congregations come forward to receive the elements, most partake in the pews. Some churches serve both wine and grape juice, others just grape juice. Congregational singing is gradually replacing organ music during the distribution of the elements. Admittance to the Table is by public profession of faith, most commonly by young people in their upper teens. At issue currently is the relationship between profession of faith and admittance to the Table for younger children, who increasingly are seeking admittance to the Table. Traditionally, the Table was guarded by elders who interviewed visitors before the service. But in recent decades it has become the general practice to issue an invitation from the pulpit to all who are members of a Christian church and desire to live a Christian life. A record of their participation is still commonly sent to their home congregation. Preaching, Psalmody, and Family Participation The second service is often similar to morning worship but is more informal. It is common for worship to begin with an opening song service followed by congregational prayer requests. The pattern roughly follows the morning structure, with a time of praise and song, the sermon, and the response of prayer and offering. The best attendance at this second service is found in the most traditional congregations and in those exploring the praise-and-worship style, especially when accompanied by strong exegetical preaching. The historic emphasis on preaching is still reflected in the course requirements for the pastoral ministry. The denominational seminary, Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan), has a strong academic program of systematic and historical theology but offers no courses in worship. One of the strong features of Christian Reformed worship is a continuing tradition of vigorous and lively congregational singing. Only metrical psalms were sung in worship until publication of the first edition of the Psalter Hymnal in 1934. After that, hymn singing virtually replaced psalm singing in many congregations. In churches influenced by charismatic traditions, even historic hymnody has given way to a predominance of contemporary popular choruses. Recently, especially in churches beginning to follow the lectionary, there is a return to psalmody. Another characteristic of CRC worship is the strong tradition of faithful attendance by complete families. Attendance does not change significantly on Easter Sunday, for example. In the last ten years, many churches have instituted children's bulletins and a children's message, often with the children coming forward. During the 1980s many congregations began "Worship Center" programs in which young children meet for their own worship experience during part or all of the regular service. The sacrament of baptism always takes place in public worship, at the front of the church. In large churches, infant baptism is celebrated monthly, with children being brought usually within the first three months after birth.