CICW Emeriti Staff

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  About Emily R. Brink

  Emily R. Brink

  Emily R. Brink (b. 1940) served as a senior research fellow, program director, and resources development specialist for congregational song at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) until her retirement in 2021. She joined CICW in 2002, after spending twenty years as music and liturgy editor for the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) and nearly as long as founding editor of the quarterly journal Reformed Worship. Brink is known for her love of congregational song and her study of the heritage of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs from all times and places. She has traveled globally, especially in Asia, as a worship and church music consultant.

  Brink was the editor of five hymnals: Psalter Hymnal (1987); With Heart and Voice: Songs for All God's Children (1989); Songs for LiFE, a children’s hymnal (1994); Songs for LiFE Leader’s Edition (1995); and Sing! A New Creation (2001), a joint songbook of the CRCNA and the Reformed Church in America. She has written, edited, or contributed to several other publications, including Authentic Worship in a Changing Culture (1997), Psalter Hymnal Handbook (1998), Prayers of the People (2004), The Worship Sourcebook (2004), The Worship Sourcebook, Second Edition (2013), and Wise Church (2013).

  Brink began her career as an educator, teaching music in Montana, New York, and Illinois (Trinity Christian College and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) before moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to join the CRCNA staff. She later also served as an adjunct professor of church music and worship at Calvin Theological Seminary.

  Brink has been an active member of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, an organization for whom she served as the first female president from 1990 through 1992. In 2004 she was named a Fellow of The Hymn Society in recognition of distinguished service to hymnody and hymnology. Hymnary.org lists Brink as composer, arranger, harmonizer, adapter, translator, or versifier of dozens of tunes and texts. She has also served in local and national offices of the American Guild of Organists. Brink has a bachelor’s degree in music from Calvin College, a master’s degree in organ and church music from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in music theory from Northwestern University.

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  About Dale Cooper

  Dale Cooper

  Dale J. Cooper (b. 1941) is chaplain emeritus of Calvin College (now University), a position he held for thirty years, starting in 1979. The chaplaincy, he said, offered the best of three worlds—the opportunity to teach, to preach, and to be a pastor to 4,000 students. Cooper—known to decades of students as “Coop”—initiated the LOFT worship service on campus in 1996.

  In 2008, after retiring from his role as chaplain and religion professor, Cooper joined the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship as a resource development specialist for liturgical spirituality. His contributions included a four-year run as author of Coop’s Column, featuring spiritual reflections on Christian worship. Cooper also became an adjunct faculty member in Calvin’s department of Congregational and Ministry Studies, where he has served as a pastoral mentor in the Jubilee Fellows program. With the advent of the Calvin Prison Initiative in 2015, Cooper also began teaching at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility.

  Cooper’s writings over the years have included a study guide to the Psalms, meditations for the Calvin journal Dialogue, and a twelve-part series highlighting John Calvin’s teachings for The Banner. Cooper was ordained in the Christian Reformed Church of North America in 1972. Before joining the Calvin College faculty in 1976, he worked for five years at Calvin Christian High School and Unity Christian High School.

  In recognition of his extensive impact on campus and beyond, Cooper was named the recipient of Calvin’s Faith and Learning Award in 2017. He also received the Calvin Theological Seminary Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.

  Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College (1964), an MDiv degree from Calvin Theological Seminary (1968), and a doctorandus degree from the Free University of Amsterdam (1971). His family has established the Dale and Marcia Cooper Family Scholarship to benefit international students at Calvin. His stated life's aim: To live faithfully as Jesus' disciple for the world to see.

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  About Norma de Waal Malefyt

  Norma de Waal Malefyt

  Norma de Waal Malefyt is an organist and music educator who served the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship as a resource development specialist in congregational song from 2002 until her retirement in 2019. Her role included developing training resources and curriculum, participating in worship planning, and presenting at institute-sponsored events. During these years she also served as an adjunct instructor in organ and piano for worship in the Calvin University music department.

  Publications by de Waal Malefyt include Global Songs for Worship (2010) and Designing Worship Together (2004), the latter coauthored with Howard Vanderwell. Before joining the CICW staff, de Waal Malefyt worked in congregational music ministry for many years. She spent nearly three decades at Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan, where she served as director of music, organist, choir accompanist, and handbell choir director. In this context she began designing worship with Vanderwell, who served as Hillcrest’s senior pastor; he later also joined the CICW staff.

  Following her time at CICW, de Waal Malefyt became principal organist at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

  De Waal Malefyt earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and organ performance from Calvin College. Hymnary.org lists her as the arranger of seventeen tunes.

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  About Barbara J. Newman

  Barbara J. Newman

  Barbara J. Newman, née Bandstra (1962–2020), a pioneer in inclusive education, served as a program affiliate for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW), leading seminars and presenting at the annual Calvin Symposium on Worship. Her work with CICW focused on helping churches expand hospitality and engagement for all people, regardless of their abilities, disabilities, and needs. Topics included universal design and responsive design for worship, inclusive worship, and building an interdependent church community. The lasting benefits of her work extend even to those without an identified need for support.

  Newman spent forty years equipping schools and churches to welcome, engage, and embrace people of all abilities. A 1984 graduate of Calvin College (now University), Newman was a church and school consultant and speaker for All Belong Center for Inclusive Education, formerly known as the Christian Learning Center and the CLC Network. She was the creator of All Belong’s church division, which later merged with Friendship Ministries to form With Ministries. For three decades, Newman also led and taught in the inclusion program at Zeeland Christian School.

  Newman wrote more than a dozen books, including Worship as One: Varied Abilities in the Body of Christ (2021), Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Worship (2016), Nuts and Bolts of Inclusive Education (2013), Body Building: Devotions to Celebrate Inclusive Community (2009), Autism and Your Church (2006), and Helping Kids Include Kids with Disabilities (2001). In addition to her writing, Newman was a frequent speaker at educational conferences, churches, and seminaries across the United States, and she served for years as her church’s children’s ministry director.

  As a leader in inclusive education and advocacy, Newman was the recipient of several local and national awards, including the Ability Award from the Disability Network Lakeshore in 2017, the Henri J.M. Nouwen Award from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in 2015, and the National Leadership Award from the National Council on the Handicapped (now the National Council on Disability) in 1988. Zeeland Christian School created the Barb J. Newman Legacy Award in her memory.

  Newman earned a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College and a master’s degree from Grand Valley State University, the latter in early childhood education and early childhood developmental delay, with a concentration in autism spectrum disorder.

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  About Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

  Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

  Cornelius (Neal) Plantinga Jr. (b. 1946) is a writer, preacher, and theologian who is president emeritus of Calvin Theological Seminary (2001–2011) and an emeritus senior research fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (2012–2024). His prior roles within the Calvin community include professor of systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary (1979–1996) and dean of the chapel at Calvin College, now University (1996–2001).

  Plantinga was ordained in the Christian Reformed Church in North America in 1971 and served as pastor of Webster CRC in Webster, New York, from 1971 through 1975. He has been an active preacher and speaker throughout his career, including appearances at Calvin’s January Series (1993, 1997, 2013) and frequent participation in the Calvin Symposium on Worship and the Calvin Festival of Faith & Writing.

  Plantinga is the author of several books, including Gratitude (2024), Under the Wings of God (2023), Morning and Evening Prayers (2021), Reading for Preaching (2013), Engaging God’s World (2002), Beyond Doubt (2001), and Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be (1996).

  For more than a decade while on staff at CICW, Plantinga co-hosted a summer seminar for preachers in conjunction with the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. These seminars led to the publication of Reading for Preaching, one of three of his books—along with Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be and Engaging God’s World—that have been named Book of the Year by Christianity Today.

  Plantinga has had more than 230 articles and essays published in periodicals such as The Banner, Reformed Journal, Perspectives, Theology Today, The Thomist, First Things, Christianity Today, The Christian Century, and Books & Culture. He has served in editorial roles for Books & Culture, Calvin Theological Journal, and First Things.

  Plantinga earned an AB degree from Calvin College (1967), a BD degree from Calvin Theological Seminary (1971), and a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary (1982). He has also been a visiting scholar at St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge.

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  About Howard D. Vanderwell

  Howard Vanderwell

  Howard D. Vanderwell (1937–2018) was a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church for 40 years, serving four congregations in Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan between 1962 and 2002. After retiring from congregational ministry, he joined the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW), where he worked as a pastoral resource specialist until shortly before his death in March 2018. His roles with CICW included teaching worship- and ministry-related courses at Calvin Theological Seminary (in a complementary role as adjunct professor of worship), mentoring seminary students and staff, presenting at national and regional workshops and conferences, and writing and editing books, articles, and website resources.

  During his time at CICW, Vanderwell wrote or edited four books: Letters to Growing Pastors (2018), Caring Worship (2017), Living and Loving Life: Devotional Reflections (2011), and The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together (2007). He was also a member of the development team for The Worship Sourcebook, Second Edition (2013). He had previously authored Proven Promises (1990), Now That You Are an Elder (1990), and Preaching That Connects (1989, 2018). His writings also include articles for the quarterly journal Reformed Worship.

  Vanderwell served on several ministry-related boards and committees, including the Faith Formation Committee of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. He served as president of the annual synod of the Christian Reformed Church three times. In 2017, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Calvin Theological Seminary. Throughout his ministry, he was an advocate for intergenerational faith formation, effective church council leadership, and preaching and worship leadership as expressions of pastoral care.

  Vanderwell earned a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College, MDiv and ThM degrees from Calvin Theological Seminary, and a DMin degree from Westminster Seminary California.