Photo: Recent NPTS grad Diane Borden participated with Trinity Covenant Church in Manchester’s ScareCrow Festival. This ScareCrow is called “The Little Pumpkins Came to Me.”
Don’t forget! Class Registration for Spring 2020 opens TODAY!
Seminary Book Club
A reminder that we will have our first session of The Bluest Eye book club on Wednesday from 5:30-7 in Olsson Lounge. We will be reading the first two sections of the book: Autumn and Winter. Would you please let Elizabeth Pierre and Dave Bjorlin know if you are planning on coming (and if you’re bringing anyone) so we can plan food accordingly?
Globalization and Diversity (G&D) Committee is Looking for New Members!
North Park University’s Seminary is on-boarding members for the Globalization and Diversity (G&D) Committee. The G&D Committee strives to be an advocate and resource for the values of inclusion and diversity within the Seminary community, while also giving consideration to the larger North Park, Albany Park, and surrounding Chicagoland communities.
For the 2019 – 2020 academic year, the G&D aims to prioritize the facilitation of student- and faculty-centred conversations on both global and local diversity, especially where it concerns ethnic, spiritual, lingual, cultural, and social differences.
The G&D is currently seeking individuals able to volunteer for the following positions:
- Media & Communications Editor
- Secretary
- Program Manager
- Relational Coordinator
Those interested can contact G&D’s Student Chair, Seanna Wong at Sawong-Nyaku@northpark.edu, for more information on the aforementioned positions.
Unsettling Truths Book Launch
Wilson Abbey and InterVarsity Press are hosting a book launch on November 4th from 7-9 pm for Dr. Soong-Chan Rah’s new book: Unsettling Truths.
Injustice has plagued American society for centuries. And we cannot move toward being a more just nation without understanding the root causes that have shaped our culture and institutions.
In this prophetic blend of history, theology, and cultural commentary, Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah reveal the far-reaching, damaging effects of the “Doctrine of Discovery.” In the fifteenth century, official church edicts gave Christian explorers the right to claim territories they “discovered.” This was institutionalized as an implicit national framework that justifies American triumphalism, white supremacy, and ongoing injustices. The result is that the dominant culture idealizes a history of discovery, opportunity, expansion, and equality, while minority communities have been traumatized by colonization, slavery, segregation, and dehumanization.
Healing begins when deeply entrenched beliefs are unsettled. Charles and Rah aim to recover a common memory and shared understanding of where we have been and where we are going. As other nations have instituted truth and reconciliation commissions, so do the authors call our nation and churches to a truth-telling that will expose past injustices and open the door to conciliation and true community.
For more information, please visit this link.
Interfaith Dialogue: Cardinal Blase Cupich, Rabbi Wendi Geffen, Eboo Patel
Fourth Presbyterian Church downtown will be hosting an Interfaith Conversation with Cardinal Blase Cupich Archbishop of Chicago, Rabbi Wendi Geffen Senior Rabbi at North Shore Congregation Israel, and Eboo Patel Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core.
It will be on November 5th, at 7:00 pm, in the sanctuary of the Fourth Presbyterian Church (across from the Hancock).
Parking is available for $8 at the 900 N. Michigan garage (enter at Rush or Walton) for those entering the garage after 5:00 p.m. A validation ticket for that rate must be picked up at Fourth Church at the time of the event.
For more information please visit this link.
Victor Frankl: From Death Camps to Century 21
The Sukkat Shalom Synagogue and the First Congregational Church in Wilmette are presenting three open sessions exploring the influence of Viktor Frankl and his book Man’s Search for Meaning, which was published nine days after the Holocaust ended.
Part 1: Victor and Elly Frankl: Their Love and Lifework
Sunday, November 3, 7-8 pm
Part 2: Holocaust: The Frankl Story and Controversies
Wednesday, November 6, 7:30-9
Part 3: Collective Guilt, The Mystery of Faith, and Prayer
Wednesday, November 13, 7:30-9
All sessions are free and open to all, at the Sukkat Shalom Synagogue,
1001 Central Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, 60091
Christianity Thinks Within Judaism- Fall Shapiro Lecture Hosted by the Catholic Theological Union
From their earliest origins to the present moment, the followers of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism have given shape to their faiths by interacting with and thinking about each other. How has that long history of thought shaped relations between faiths? We’ll ask that question with a particular focus on how Christianity has thought with Judaism. How has that thinking contributed to Christian Anti-Judaism? And what can the study of that history offer the future of Christian-Jewish relations? This lecture will be presented by Dr. David Nirenberg, from the University of Chicago.
The lecture will be on Monday November 4th at 6 pm.
Location: Catholic Theological Union, Room 210,
5146 South Cornell Ave, Chicago IL, 60615
Register for this lecture by visiting: https://ctu.edu/events/
Garrett-Evangelical and Northwestern University to Host Conference Celebrating 50th Anniversary of James Hal Cone’s Black Theology & Black Power
On November 1-2, 2019, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University will host scholars, religious leaders, and activists for “Black Theology and Black Power: Retrospect and Prospect”, a conference reflecting on James Hal Cone’s seminal work, Black Theology & Black Power, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication.
A distinguished alum of Garrett-Evangelical and Northwestern University, Cone is arguably the most influential theologian of the twentieth century. His inauguration of the field of black theology marks a crucial turning point for “theology” and decades later, Cone’s influence, writings, and scholarship continue to shape generations of scholars, religious leaders, and activists working for the dismantling of white supremacy.
At this two-day conference, participants will examine Cone’s metanoia that liberation is the meaning and blackness is the mode of the enslaved who claim to speak of God. Globally recognized keynote speakers, Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry and Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., along with scholars in religion, theology, black diaspora studies, political science, history, literature, gender and sexuality studies, as well as artists will share the impact of Cone’s work on the world. Additional sessions specifically focused on religious leaders and activists are in development.
The conference is free to attend and is sponsored by Northwestern University, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and the Smithsonian Institution, with generous support from the Henry Luce Foundation.
For more information, please visit this website. To register, please follow this link.
We are Resurrecting the Prayers: Joys and Concerns Page
We are bringing back a page dedicated to joys and concerns connected to the seminary. https://nptsnyvallnews.com/community-prayers/ .
As a community dedicated to serving Jesus and each other, it is our privilage to lift each other up in prayer. If you have a joy or concern you would like to add, there is a place at the bottom of the Prayers: Joys and Concerns Page.
Conference to Equip Evangelicals to Engage with Muslims
Kevin Singer is co-founder and co-director of Neighborly Faith, an organization to equip evangelicals to engage with Muslims. Kevin and his colleague Chris Stackaruk will be hosting a conference at Wheaton on November 1-2. ECC pastor Daniel Hill will be one of the speakers at the Conference.
Register here if you are interested in participating in this dynamic ministry.
Pilgrimage to Lindisfarne and Iona 2020
The Center for Spiritual Direction will host its next pilgrimage May 27 to June 8, 2020. We will immerse ourselves in Celtic spirituality through participation in The Abbey on Iona and an historic tour on the island of Lindisfarne. There is also time in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland. For more information contact Ellen Kogstad: ekogstad@northpark.edu.
Don’t forget to check out our Job Board, Digital Archive, and Community Prayers page for updates weekly!
Submit an entry for our weekly notes by filling out this form by 12 pm on Wednesday