All posts tagged: Worship

Mad Cool Festival 2026, review – Revellers worship our rock saviours Nick Cave, Lorde and Florence Welch

Mad Cool Festival 2026, review – Revellers worship our rock saviours Nick Cave, Lorde and Florence Welch

Published by Daniella Wilson

If Mad Cool’s name could be distilled to a single gesture, it would be the shaka: that thumb-and-pinkie surfer salute, deployed here without a hint of irony. But move past that and you’ll be rewarded with a lineup this year that is second to none. The festival opens with Wolf Alice, prize-laden leading lights of a generation whose decade-long mastery of genre-fluid rock is unimpeachable. Fusing pristine melodies to snarling guitar work, the London quartet never disappoint. Moving between tenderness and ferocity: Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell (Andre Iglesias) Here, “White Horses” careers from psychedelic verse to canyon-wide chorus; “Yuk Foo” is pure serrated punk fury; “Don’t Delete the Kisses” is a shimmer of glistening space pop so gorgeous that it briefly stops time. Playing to a swooning if slightly subdued crowd, Ellie Rowsell is a hugely charismatic presence, her voice pivoting on a sixpence between tenderness and ferocity. Later, on the main stage, the Foo Fighters grind through their amalgam of classic rock tropes. “Do you love rock and roll music?” Grohl bellows before a …

Brandon Lake, King David and why new worship songs still matter – OpentheWord.org

Brandon Lake, King David and why new worship songs still matter – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

Brandon Lake performing at Charlie Kirk Memorial in Glendale, Arizona in September 2025 Credit: Gage Skidmore, Wikipedia, CC BY 4.0 Brandon Lake, 36, is a popular Christian worship leader, singer and songwriter. His music has been downloaded over four billion times on the various streaming platforms. The six-time Grammy award winner has sold out concerts in his travels across America. Yet the son of a North Carolina pastor doesn’t believe he is called to just entertain, but rather to transform people’s lives. “This isn’t just about entertainment,” Lake said in an interview with CBN. “This is like an encounter. People’s lives are being changed. “They’re walking out better than they came in.” While it is easy to look at the modern Christian music scene as a recent phenomenon, a similar thing was taking place in Biblical times. When King Saul was going through demonic attacks, his advisers felt they needed to bring in a musician to deal with it. David was recommended (1 Samuel 16:18). The person had actually seen David performing. It almost sounds …

End collective worship laws, NSS urges Welsh Government

End collective worship laws, NSS urges Welsh Government

Published by Sam Flores

The National Secular Society has urged the Welsh Government to abolish laws requiring daily acts of collective worship in schools. The law in England and Wales requires children at all state-funded schools to “each school day take part in an act of collective worship”. Even in schools with no religious character, the worship must be “wholly or mainly of a Christian character”. Writing to Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language Anna Brychan MS, the NSS said repealing the laws would be a “welcome step towards inclusion for Welsh people of all backgrounds and beliefs, and a recognition of the demographic reality of Wales today”. The 2021 Census revealed the nonreligious to be the largest religion or belief group in Wales at 47% of the population – a 15 percentage point increase since 2011. Christians are now a minority at 44% of the country – a 14 percentage point decrease in the same time period. The NSS said that, with these trends towards increasing irreligiosity and religious diversity set to continue, imposing Christian prayer …

Dr. David Latimore named executive director of Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Dr. David Latimore named executive director of Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Published by Sam Flores

Experienced academic, church, and business leader will guide CICW into its next chapter by expanding its ongoing work and partnerships in the study and practice of worship. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Calvin University and the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) have announced the appointment of Dr. David G. Latimore as CICW’s next executive director, effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Latimore’s selection follows a comprehensive national search that yielded dozens of candidates. “Dr. Latimore emerged as the candidate who most fully embodies the leadership, vision, and mission alignment we sought,” said Greg Elzinga, president of Calvin University. “His commitment to the Reformed tradition and to ecumenical engagement clearly reflects CICW’s identity and priorities. And his ability to integrate deep theological insight, administrative expertise, and relational leadership makes him uniquely suited to guide CICW into its next chapter.” Dr. Latimore brings extensive leadership experience in a variety of contexts—academic, ecclesial, corporate, and public sector. He currently serves as director of the Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. In this role, he …

These houses of worship are older than America. How they outlasted wars, schisms and lawsuits.

These houses of worship are older than America. How they outlasted wars, schisms and lawsuits.

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — On Ash Wednesday this year, about a dozen people attended a noon service at Boston’s Old North Church, founded in 1723. Two days later, a handful of worshippers took part in a Shabbat service at Newport, Rhode Island’s Touro Synagogue, dedicated in 1763.  Congregations participating in sacred rituals — it is something both houses of worship have been doing longer than the United States has existed. Such places of worship are rare. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research estimates that of the 370,000 religious congregations in the U.S. today, only about 1% existed at the country’s founding. When the country declared independence in 1776,  there were 3,228 houses of worship across the Colonies. The U.S. was already religiously diverse. Congregationalists led the pack with about 670 congregations, or just over 20% of the total. Presbyterians weren’t far behind (18%), followed by Baptists and Episcopalians (each about 15%), and Quakers at nearly 10%. Methodists had a following at 2%, Catholics were just under 2%, and there were a handful of synagogues and more than a dozen Mennonite …

How worship music became the soundtrack of today’s political right

How worship music became the soundtrack of today’s political right

Published by Sam Flores

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — It’s just after 8:30 on a Sunday morning in Nashville, and the worship band at Woodmont Christian Church is getting warmed up. After tuning her Taylor guitar, worship pastor Andra Moran jumps into a familiar song. “How great is our God / Sing with me / How great is our God.” The song has long been one of her favorites. It is easy to sing, gives people a bit of transcendence and lets them know they are not alone. “Inviting people in — that’s something important to me as a song leader,” said Moran. If you’ve been to church in the U.S. over the past two decades, chances are you’ve heard “How Great Is Our God.” First recorded by Chris Tomlin in 2004, the song is a favorite at big-box megachurches and tiny congregations alike. In mid May, it was #10 on the list of top songs sung in churches, compiled by the CCLI, which licenses songs for congregational use. But in recent years, “How Great Is Our God” and other …

Religious leaders, lawmakers push for billion to secure houses of worship : NPR

Religious leaders, lawmakers push for $1 billion to secure houses of worship : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Eric Fingerhut, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, speaks at an event in D.C. on May 18, 2026. JFNA organized an advocacy fly-in of more than 400 Jewish leaders to Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to support more funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which offers funding to strengthen security at houses of worship. Photo courtesy of the Jewish Federations of North America hide caption toggle caption Photo courtesy of the Jewish Federations of North America At a recent Shabbat service in West Bloomfield, Mich., Rabbi Jen Lader shared plans to lobby Congress to pour more funding into a federal program that strengthens security at houses of worship. “We are not asking Congress to just protect Jews – we are asking Congress to protect every community of Americans that gathers to pray. And we are asking with the full weight of what we have just lived through behind us,” she said, referencing the March attack on her congregation of Temple Israel.  The fact that no one was killed other …

New schools report underlines urgency of RE and collective worship reform – Humanists UK

New schools report underlines urgency of RE and collective worship reform – Humanists UK

Published by Sam Flores

A new report from Stranmillis University College, Faith in our Schools, has laid bare the scale of Christian influence in Northern Ireland schools. The report comes just months after the UK Supreme Court ruled in the landmark JR87 case that exclusively Christian Religious Education (RE) and collective worship were ‘indoctrination’. Northern Ireland Humanists said the findings add further weight to the need for urgent reform to both RE and collective worship. The report, which was commissioned by Scripture Union Northern Ireland, explores how churches and Christian groups engage with schools across Northern Ireland. It found that: 94% of school leaders reported links with at least one local church 73% of school leaders reported partnerships with Christian organisations.  The report also found serious gaps in transparency and parental awareness of church involvement in schools. Only 38% of parents surveyed felt sufficiently informed about activities involving churches or Christian organisations. Only one third of pupils knew they could opt out of these activities, with many saying they feared stigma if they did so. In its ruling on …

New schools report underlines urgency of RE and collective worship reform – Humanists UK

New schools report underlines urgency of RE and collective worship reform – Humanists UK

Published by Sam Flores

A new report from Stranmillis University College, Faith in our Schools, has laid bare the scale of Christian influence in Northern Ireland schools. The report comes just months after the UK Supreme Court ruled in the landmark JR87 case that exclusively Christian Religious Education (RE) and collective worship were ‘indoctrination’. Northern Ireland Humanists said the findings add further weight to the need for urgent reform to both RE and collective worship. The report, which was commissioned by Scripture Union Northern Ireland, explores how churches and Christian groups engage with schools across Northern Ireland. It found that: 94% of school leaders reported links with at least one local church 73% of school leaders reported partnerships with Christian organisations.  The report also found serious gaps in transparency and parental awareness of church involvement in schools. Only 38% of parents surveyed felt sufficiently informed about activities involving churches or Christian organisations. Only one third of pupils knew they could opt out of these activities, with many saying they feared stigma if they did so. In its ruling on …

Attending multiple places of worship is the norm for many Americans

Attending multiple places of worship is the norm for many Americans

Published by Sam Flores

(The Conversation) — Most U.S. adults who attend religious services attend multiple congregations, at least occasionally, according to our new research. As sociologists who research congregational life in the United States, we fielded a nationally representative survey in 2023. We asked over 2,000 adults across many religious affiliations, and those with no religion, a variety of questions about their religious beliefs and activities. Our analysis, which was published in the Review of Religious Research, found that roughly 12% of all adults who attend services go to multiple congregations “regularly” and 45% attend multiple congregations “occasionally.” Of those who attend multiple congregations, 73% attend two congregations and 27% attend three or more, at least occasionally. Adults who attend multiple congregations are more likely to be politically liberal, whereas political conservatives are more likely to always attend one congregation. We also found that evangelical Protestants are less likely to attend multiple places of worship than Catholics. About 17% of those attending a single place of worship identified as evangelical Protestant, versus only 10% of people who attended …