Important Dates
- March 9-13- Reading Week
- March 23 – Fall Registration Opens
- March 30-April 3 – VSFL Interviews
- April 3-4- Graduation Retreat
- April 23 – Nyvall Lectures
The Great Mug Clean Out 2020!
We are doing a mug clean out in the Seminary Kitchen! We have found that there are too many mugs and we want to make sure that mugs actually belong to a someone. We are going to put all of the mugs down on the counter this Thursday, February 27th, before chapel. To claim your mug, come by and take your mug off the counter and put it into the cupboard above the handwashing sink. That’s all it takes!
If you are a distance student and have a mug here on campus that you want to save, email SemServices@northpark.edu and we will move it off the counter and into the cupboard for you.
By Friday, March 6th, the last day before Reading Week starts, we will take any mugs left on the counter and donate them. We will also relabel and stock a “visitor” mug shelf.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions!
NPTS Book Club Meets TODAY!
Join us for our seminary book club on TODAY at 6:30 in Olsson Lounge! We will be discussing the first half (pgs. 1-125) of Marilynne Robinson’s wonderful book Gilead, in which an elderly pastor writes a series of letters to his much younger son. It is a beautiful reflection on vocation and ministry, and will give us much to discuss. We will also provide dinner! If you are interested in coming, please let Dave Bjorlin or Elizabeth Pierre know so we can have enough food.
Continuing Conversation Regarding Human Sexuality and the Church- Brainstorming for a New Seminary Course
Tim Johnson and Elizabeth Pierre will facilitate a conversation as a next step in a series of constructive conversations regarding human sexuality and the Church. As its primary concern the Ministry Field is developing a class to empower our students to be effective ministers informed by salient biblical and theological teaching on this topic. We will also discuss the role that race and culture play in these conversations. The focus will be the equipping of our students as good pastoral leaders concerning this topic, whether they find themselves serving in:
- a traditional or a progressive church
- an urban or a rural church
- a homogeneous or a diverse church
As we begin the planning, we welcome input from our students to help determine:
- Composition of the class
- Pedagogy and method
- Timing
Please bring your ideas to this lunch gathering on Thursday, March 19th from 12:00-1:00 pm.
Seminary Visit to the Illinois Holocaust Museum, and a Special Focus on RBG!
Join the NPTS community as we visit the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Educational Center on April 10.
In addition to touring the standing exhibition (Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition) with museum docent and NPTS alum Jonathan Teram, we will visit the current special exhibition, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Transportation will be provided, leaving from campus at 1 pm.
Please direct questions and RSVPs to Alex Macias (via semacademicserv@Northpark.edu) by March 8. Sponsored by the Women in Ministry Committee.
BIBL 6209: Intercultural Readings of the Bible – Summer Elective
Dr. Max Lee and Dr. Dennis Edwards are teaching a summer course on Intercultural Readings of the Bible! It is an on campus intensive offered June 1-5. If you have any questions, please reach out to Max (mlee1@northpark.edu) or Dennis (dredwards@northpark.edu)
Scholarship Opportunity!
Church Mutual Insurance, through their program CM CARES Foundation is offering $5,000 to fifty students studying for ministry roles. This money is to help with tutition, fees, books, or other costs of attending school during the 2020-21 academic year. The scholarship application is open from Febuary 12- April 8. Winners of the scholarship will be announced in June.
For more information, visit this link.
Field Education at Swedish Hospital
Field Education at Swedish Hospital offers a diverse setting, pastoral mentoring and hands-on clinical pastoral experience at an acute care hospital with a faith mission and identity near campus.
The program requires 240 hours over 10 weeks. Included in this is:
- 22 hours of orientation
- 4 hours of group time per week
- 4 hours of individual supervision (at times offered by the supervisor – usually Monday morning hours)
- Two or three – four hour shifts each week on Mondays through Fridays.
- 4 overnight on-call shifts (4:30pm to 8:00 am)
- 5 – eight hour weekend day shifts (Saturdays, Sundays or holiday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm)
- Preaching and worship leadership at Covenant Home and Wesley place – one or two Sunday mornings
Field Education is anticipated to be June 1 and August 15. Hospital Orientation is the first Monday of the month. (If you are unable to attend June 1, you can opt for May 4.) Some summer schedule flexibility is required.
Contact Swedish Covenant Hospital Pastoral Care Department with questions: 773-878-8200 X5365.
Attention: Class Registration Will No Longer Be Through WebAdvisor. We are Transitioning to Student Planning
Student Planning is a new module in Self Service that will allow students and advisors to more actively engage in the registration and advising process. WebAdvisor will no longer be used for registration.
Student Planning went live for graduate/adult students in Self Service, www.northpark.edu/selfservice, on Friday, February 14. Summer registration will open on February 24, and fall registration will open on Monday, March 23. Check out a brief demo video about Student Planning, along with some FAQs to help you get familiar with the new system, at www.northpark.edu/registration. You will LOVE it! Questions? Please contact your academic advisor.
Questions? Please contact your academic advisor! Common questions and answers regarding Student Planning can be found here.
Theology and Mission Lectures- Northern Seminary
Northern Seminary is hosting a series of lectures on June 4th, 2020 @ 7-9pm and June 5th, 2020 @ 10:00 am-12:30 pm. The title of the lectures series is The Gospel & Mission: The Good News of the Crucifixion For The Church On Mission. Rev. Fleming Rutledge will be giving both lectures and Scot McKnight will be responding.
Registration is required. However, Northern is providing a discount code to make it free for graduate students. Please contact Seminary Student Services for more information.
MNST 7190 Peace and Reconciliation in the Middle East
Every other year Bethlehem Bible College, a ministry partner of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) and NPTS through the Center for World Christian Studies, hosts Christ at the Checkpoint, a conference which addresses issues that contribute to the deep division between peoples living in the Holy Land. The conference provides the opportunity to hear how followers of Jesus seek to live like Jesus amid that conflict.
Following the conference, we will travel around Galilee where Jesus lived and ministered. This will provide some space for reflection as well as the opportunity to experience some of the significant places of the Gospels. We will then return to Bethlehem where we will spend time with a rabbi who works with Muslims to dialogue about issues critical to all who live in Israel/Palestine. We will also visit Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum) in Jerusalem and hear from the Jewish community. And we will be led through a process of reconciliation by the founder of Musalaha, another ministry partner of the ECC.
Although this is not a typical “tour” as one would often think of when visiting the Holy Land, we will see a sampling of the key biblical sites including Bethlehem Church of Nativity, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes, and the Old City of Jerusalem including Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Dates: June 3-14, 2020
Instructors: Rev. Andrew Larsen and Rev. Jeff Anderson. Both are global personnel working in the MENA (Middle East North Africa region for the ECC)
Locations: Bethlehem and Jerusalem
Cost: $2,300-$2,500 (this is an approximate) — covers transportation, room & board, other in-country expenses. Tuition and personal costs are an additional amount. The money can be fundraised through the North Park Global Studies Fund.
Assignments: Some pre-travel readings and group preparation, as well as post travel reflection assignments.
If interested in attending this course, please email cwcs@northpark.edu or elennard@northpark.edu for an application.
Mental Health First Aid Training
Faculty, staff and students are invited to register for Mental Health First Aid, an 8-hour training opportunity that teaches how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Student Engagement staff will lead this free training on Wednesday, April 1st and Wednesday, April 8th, 1-5pm in Johnson Center 206. Participants must attend both dates (full 8 hours) to receive the certification, which is good for 3 years. Register/More Information
Writing Center Graduate Student Drop In Hours
The Writing Center welcomes graduate students to attend drop in hours on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5-10 pm. Work with a professional writing coach on any paper at any stage of your process. Meet in the Writing Center Commons on the first floor of Brandel library. For more information, contact mpavlik@northpark.edu.
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