Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers in a monthly blog post.
Institute of Liturgy Studies
An ecumenical conference on liturgical renewal for the church today.
The Feast of Creation – liturgy as creation groans
Valparaiso University, Ind.
April 13-15, 2026
Registration is now is open.
Early Registration: $350, ends Jan. 31, 2026
Regular Registration: $450
See website for other registration categories.
The 77th meeting of the Institute of Liturgical Studies will consider the possibilities of such a festival and season. We will reflect on creation, incarnation, and Jesus’s death and resurrection, all received by us through the created materiality of our sacramental life together. Furthermore, we will examine how petroleum culture has influenced our sacramental life and begin to envision ways to counter its impact. A model lectionary will be used, and sample liturgies will be celebrated.
The schedule, plenary speakers and workshop information are now available.
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Association of Lutheran Church Musicians
ALCM nurtures and equips musicians to serve and lead the church’s song.
ALCM 2026 Conference “Now and Forever”
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
Registration is now open.
In 1986, forty years ago, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians held its constituting convention at St. Olaf College, setting out to become a professional organization that would lift up the role of church music and to equip leaders to be able to lead the church’s song. For more details, visit alcm.org.
Celebrating the 1986 ALCM Constituting Convention
Overlapping with Lutheran Summer Music’s Festival Week!
Featuring Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Bach Collegium Valparaiso, Christopher M. Cock, artistic director. (Made possible through generous support provided by Pauline and John Kiltinen.
Music that Makes Community
Rooted in Christian contemplative and activist traditions, Music That Makes Community envisions a liberative culture that empowers individuals and communities to claim and use the power of singing to heal our spirits, nurture our common lives, and work for justice.
Sign up for Monthly Newsletter for regular updates on resources and events. Read recent issues here.
Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival
Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981.
Nominate Young Musicians for Lutheran Summer Music
Now is the time to nominate students for LSM 2026. Enrollment for next summer is filling quickly, and we expect most remaining spots to be filled by the March 1 Standard Enrollment deadline. At LSM, students connect advanced musical study with worship and the joy of Lutheran church music traditions. We welcome musicians on all instruments—brass, woodwinds, strings, percussion, piano, organ, voice, and harp—to study with nationally recognized faculty in a welcoming and supportive community.
LSM 2026 takes place at St. Olaf College from June 21–July 19. Know a young musician (grades 8–12) who would thrive at LSM? Nominate them today at LSMacademy.org/nominate Questions? admissions@lutheransummermusic.org.
Center for Church Music
offers 2026 Awards for College and Seminary Students. . .
THE 2026 WILLIAM WOLFRAM STUDENT AWARD IN LITURGICAL ART
Recognizes student artists who evidence:
* Commitment to Christian faith and practice
* Excellence in artistic expression
* Commitment to creating pieces purposed for use within worship settings
$1,000.00 prize
Deadline: May 1st, 2026 Submit a single PDF with quality images of your work, one full image and one or two detail images along with title, media, dimensions, year created, and anything else you want the judges to know. Send to Barry.Bobb@CUChicago.edu (Recent grads—since May 2024—may also apply.)
THE 2026 RICHARD HILLERT AWARD IN STUDENT COMPOSITION
Submitted piece must be a church music composition (3-5 minutes in length) – suitable for a liturgical service.
$1,000.00 prize
Deadline: June 1st, 2026 Submit two copies (one with your name and one unattributed). Recordings are encouraged but not required. Send to Barry.Bobb@CUChicago.edu (Recent grads—since May 2024—may also apply.)
