Important Dates
December
3 Advent Retreat: REST, 9am–noon (Nyvall)
8 Christmas Party (follows Community Worship)
14 Study Day: No Classes
15-16 Exam Days
16 End of Semester and Fall Commencement
Contemplative Prayer Retreat
Saturday, December 3, 9 am-noon in Nyvall Hall
We invite you to join your seminary community for a time of quiet reflection and prayer. Our December retreat will draw on the theme of Advent, that time when we consider how God is birthing something new in us and in the world. In this season of shorter days and longer nights, of gray and cold and semester endings, you are invited to pause to notice what new gifts God may be offering you.
Seminary Christmas Party
Join us for a Seminary Christmas celebration! We will be meeting in Olsson Lounge after Community Worship on December 8th for good food and a White Elephant gift exchange-bring a $5 gift on the theme “Surviving Seminary”!
Community Worship This Week
Worship Planners: Lynnea Miller, Mary Spriggs, Marcos Gray, Natalie Swanson, and Drew Edstrom
Join us this week for an Advent service!
Join us in Isaacson Chapel or online! To join chapel via zoom click here or use:
Meeting ID: 874 8442 5677
Passcode: 665369
Community Dinner will feature Game Night facilitated by our very own, Austin White!!
Feather Bricks Volume 14: Oct/Nov 2022
On behalf of North Park Writing Advisors/School of Restorative Arts Student Co-editors Wendy Denzler, Karin Hargrave, and Latasha Kennedy and SRA Alum/Teaching Fellow/Senior Editor Johnny Marizetts, please enjoy Feather Bricks Volume 14, theme “Shatter the Silence” (Cover Art by Efrain Alcaraz):
Catalyst on Campus: Film Screening of “AND SO I STAYED”
Wednesday, November 30th, 2022 12:30-2:30 p.m. in JC314
Co-sponsored by the Writing Center and North Park Theological Seminary’s School of Restorative Arts (SRA)
Trigger warning: Abuse, Incarceration
For our final Catalyst on Campus event of the semester and to help raise awareness of North Park University Seminary’s Stateville and Logan Correctional Center campuses, the Writing Center and North Park Theological Seminary’s SRA will all be co-hosting a film screening of the documentary movie, AND SO I STAYED. North Park has over 40 trained Writing Advisors and 100 alumni/students in total, housed at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, IL, and Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, IL, all who are earning or have earned an MA in Restorative Justice/Christian Ministry. This film will be screened for students at Stateville and Logan with the opportunity for cross-campus, follow-up discussions.
AND SO I STAYED is an award-winning documentary about survivors of abuse fighting for their lives and spending years behind bars. These women paid a steep price with long prison sentences, lost time with loved ones, and painful memories. Formerly incarcerated survivor-advocate Kim Dadou Brown, who met her wife while incarcerated, is a driving force in the passage of New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA), a new law meant to prevent survivors from receiving harsh prison sentences for their acts of survival. Nikki Addimando, a mother of two young children, suffered the consequences when a judge didn’t follow the law’s guidelines. Tanisha Davis, a single mother whose son was ripped away from her in 2013, is hopeful that the new law is her way out of a harsh prison sentence.
Although this film evokes painful scenarios impacting many lives, the sponsors of this event hope the film challenges our campus community to see beyond harmful stereotypes and reductionist solutions. Because of the sensitive topics addressed in the screening, a virtual option to view the event will not be available.
Kudos to Adham!
Congratulations to NPTS student Adham Alaraj for winning the Rev. Gordon Forbes Just Peace Preaching Award for an outstanding sermon focusing on the United Church of Christ Declaration on the Requirements of a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel!
Assistance for Students Attending Midwinter
Are you an ECC student who is graduating this year? Do you need financial assistance with attending the Midwinter Conference? The ECC Ministerium has graciously provided some funds to use to help seminary students attend the conference. If you would like to apply for assistance, please contact Luke Palmerlee.
Mental Health First Aid Training – January Dates Added!
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to register for this free training opportunity that is designed to teach how to approach, assess, and assist a person who may be experiencing a mental health challenge or in a mental health crisis. Request training here, or visit the Counseling Support Services webpage. Participants must complete self-guided pre-work (approximately 2 hours), as well as attend 5 hours of live instruction to receive the Mental Health First Aid certification, which is good for 3 years. January training dates are Fri 01/06/23 & Mon 01/09/23 – both trainings will be held virtually. Additional training dates will be offered during spring semester.
Questions can be directed to counseling@northpark.edu
Apply for the Hispanic Summer Program’s Summer Session Latinx Discernment Workshop
The pandemic has made plain how “normal” did not work for everyone. Indeed, year after year students with dependents, students who worked full time, and students who for a myriad of reasons could not travel in the Summer months were consistently barred from our programming.
In the hopes of serving all of our students, then, the HSP has made the decision to host two fully online courses at the HSP 2023 Summer Session that will run concurrently with six in-person courses held at Candler School of Theology.
Among those six in-person courses is a never before offered Doctoral Seminar on “The Prosperity Gospel in the Latinx Context” taught by HSP’s very own Executive Director, the Rev. Dr. Daisy L. Machado!
Where: Online or In-Person at Candler School of Theology at Emory University
When: June 18 – July 1, 2023
Applications Due: December 1, 2022
Tuition Fee: Fees vary depending on Course Selection and Sponsoring School Status. Visit our website for more information.
January & Spring Term Course Schedules are Up!
Course schedules for January term and Spring term are now posted on the Student Resources page. On October 24 registration will open through Self-Service, and draft syllabi will be added.
As you plan for your spring courses, remember the following resources:
- Your academic advisor! Your advisor will be reaching out this week—and is available to you at any time in the semester. Don’t hesitate to email questions and/or schedule an advising meeting.
- Degree planning core sheets
- Progress tracking in Self-Service
Field Education
If you are looking for internships or ministry opportunities (some of them paid) while you attend NPTS, please see this list. It will be updated as more opportunities are made available. If you have any questions, please contact Bret Widman, Director of CALL
Fall Counseling Support Services
Counseling Support Services is offering a variety of counseling support options for students this semester free of charge. If you are experiencing unmanageable anxiety, sadness, difficulty adjusting, problems in relationships, or if you are hurting due to the many challenges before us, Counseling can help. We also offer Mental Health First Aid Training so that you can learn how to help friends and family that might be experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis.
Individual Counseling Support – Free, confidential, short-term individual counseling support is available via telehealth and in-person. Request counseling via the counseling request form at northpark.edu/counseling, or by walking into our offices at 3317 W Foster, #24 on the campus map.
Group Counseling Support –
Seminary Women Coming Together
A support group devoted to exploring and addressing the concerns and issues for women in the seminary. Open to all current female-identifying seminary students. Mondays at 10:00am, Virtual group, Starts September 26, 2022
For registration and inquiries: counseling@northpark.edu
TAO – TAO is an anonymous, self-service digital mental health support tool that is available free 24/7 to all current North Park students, faculty, and staff. Information and registration link at TAO
Let’s Talk – In collaboration with campus partners, Let’s Talk is an informal, walk-in support service that offers confidential meetings with a North Park counselor free for all NPU students at various locations around campus. Students can drop in (no appointment necessary) to speak with a counselor.
All Let’s Talk sessions are 11:00am-12:00pm
Mondays: Helwig Recreation Center, 2nd Floor
Tuesdays: Brandel Library, Helwig Conference Room on 1st Floor
Wednesdays: Health & Counseling Office, 3317 W Foster Ave
Thursdays: Health & Counseling Office, 3317 W Foster Ave
Fridays: Health & Counseling Office, 3317 W Foster Ave
Additional information at Let’s Talk
Mental Health First Aid – Students, faculty, and staff are invited to register for this free training opportunity that is designed to teach you how to approach, assess, and assist a person who may be experiencing a mental health challenge
Seminary Shenanigans
Courtesy of our very own @nptscampus account. Be sure to like and follow on Instagram or TikTok!