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North Park offers more than 40 graduate and undergraduate programs in liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies. Classes average 17 students. 84% of our faculty have terminal degrees. Academics here are rigorous and results-oriented.
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“Sing a New Song” Tour Explores ‘New’ and ‘Old’ from a Musical Perspective
North Park's University Choir and Chamber Singers perform throughout the year under the direction of Dr. Julia Davids.
University Choir and Chamber Singers will tour in Minnesota, March 7–12
CHICAGO (February 25, 2014) — 91社区福利’s will tour Minnesota over Spring Break, performing at six churches, the Covenant Village retirement community, and Minnehaha Academy. The tour’s theme, “Sing a New Song,” features both classical and contemporary sacred and secular music, including works by René Clausen, Baldassare Galuppi, and Claude Debussy, as well as arrangements by Moses Hogan and Randall Thompson.
More than 50 North Park students will participate in the tour, representing the University’s undergraduate and graduate music programs, conducted by , director of choral activities and Stephen J. Hendrickson Assistant Professor of Music, and accompanied by Myron Silberstein. For student musicians, tours provide important performance experience, an opportunity to build close relationships with fellow vocalists and faculty members, and a refreshing perspective on music.
“As a vocalist, touring is something that should be essential,” said Ellie Weihsmann, a first-year and alto in the University Choir. She also participates in a that leads services on campus. “When you can travel to see other places and perform for other people, it provides a different atmosphere and outlook on why you sing and what you love about singing for others.”
“This choir tour will offer undergrads and grad students alike more than a refreshing dose of ‘Minnesota nice,’” said Josh Pritchett, a student who will graduate this May. He sings with both the University Choir and Chamber Singers, and has participated in North Park’s . “I find that these tours offer valuable bonding time for students. Many of us are music students, but there are non-music majors, as well, which makes fellowship with other choristers hard to achieve during the school year.”
For both Weihsmann and Pritchett, the Minnesota destination for the tour brings the particular joy of returning home.
Originally from Duluth, Weihsmann’s family now lives near the Harris Covenant Church stop on the tour. “It is an honor to bring a piece of my college experience to my hometown,” she said. “Minnesota will always be “home” for me, and being able to share a piece of my current life in Chicago with my home is such a treat!”
“Minnesota has a special place in my heart,” Pritchett said. Growing up, he moved a number of times between Minnesota and Wisconsin before finally settling in Minnesota. “It is always a joy to return back home.”
The tour’s theme, “Sing a New Song,” comes from a piece the choirs will sing, “Sing Unto the Lord a New Song” by Srul Irving Glick (1934–2002). This contemporary Canadian composer was also a Jewish canter; his work sets Psalms to music in both Hebrew and English, moving seamlessly between contemporary and classical styles. The piece “juxtaposes new and old” in a unique, moving way, according to Davids.
The entire tour repertoire takes up this theme of exploring the journey between ‘new’ and ‘old,’ Davids said. She hopes this strikes close to home for choir members, and helps them reflect on their journey as students and into adulthood. “In so many ways, students evolve throughout their time at university,” she said. “They begin intending to do one thing and may end up doing something completely different.”
“These are not ‘ordinary’ pieces that an ‘ordinary’ choir will be singing,” said Weihsmann. “These pieces are heartfelt and brilliant, and being sung by students who have a lot of passion for what they do.”
While more well known in Canada, Glick’s compositions are less familiar to American audiences. “I think it’s part of the job of a university touring group like ours to bring something new and balance it with what audiences are more familiar with,” Davids said.
According to Pritchett, this tour offers a wide variety of music to audiences, “from 20th century Hebrew to gospel infused choral pieces. What I’m looking forward to singing are three “Ave Maria” pieces, one of which was composed by our own piano professor, Thomas W. Jefferson.”
The tour will begin with a Friday evening concert at Winnetka Covenant Church in Wilmette, Ill., before the group heads to Minnesota. There, they will perform evening concerts at four churches, as well as participate in Sunday morning worship services at Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton. The group will conclude the tour with an afternoon concert at Covenant Village in Golden Valley. All performances are free and open to the public:
Saturday, March 8, 7:00 pm, at Redeemer Covenant Church, Brooklyn Park
Sunday, March 9, 8:30, 9:50, and 11:00 am, at Salem Covenant Church, New Brighton
Sunday, March 9, 6:00 pm, at Lakeview Covenant Church, Duluth
Monday, March 10, 7:00 pm, at Harris Covenant Church, Harris
Tuesday, March 11, 7:00 pm, at Bethlehem Covenant Church, Minneapolis
Wednesday, March 12, 12:30 pm, at Covenant Village, Golden Valley
On Tuesday, March 11, the ensembles will visit in Minneapolis to conduct a choral workshop for young singers. The choirs will collaborate with the high schoolers to sing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” during a chapel service.
Engineering Degrees Part of North Park’s Commitment to Science
Two new programs launching Fall 2014
CHICAGO (February 21, 2014) — In recent years, 91社区福利 has focused its efforts on meeting the growing demand for science and health education, training students to be leaders of industries that will help shape the future. This has meant a number of things, from to increased opportunities.
The next stage of this scientific focus will launch this coming fall with the expansion of undergraduate engineering programs at North Park. Students interested in pursuing careers in innovation and technology can receive the engineering education they want with the flexibility of .
“Recently I had a student in my office and I asked them what they want to be doing five years from now,” said , assistant professor of physics. “I asked them, 'What is your dream job?' With these three engineering programs to go with our two options, no matter the student's dream, we have a way to get them there. That’s what a smaller school like North Park can do.”
The first new program is an innovative with 91社区福利 and the .
Students will have the opportunity to participate in the full academic and community life of both universities and, in just five years, earn both a BS in engineering from UIC and a BS in physics from 91社区福利. They will be equipped for immediate careers or for advanced research at the graduate level.
“There is a critical need for people who both understand the technology they develop and can appreciate the cultural, political, and economic impact of that technology on our lives and the lives of future generations,” McDonald said. Having the opportunity to learn critical thinking skills in a traditional liberal arts program at 91社区福利, in addition to engineering training in a premier research school at UIC, prepares students to be effective leaders in designing the cities and industries of the future.
Students will major in either civil or mechanical engineering while at UIC, which is continually ranked as one of the top engineering programs in the country.
For students interested in completing an entire engineering degree at North Park, the Department of Physics and Engineering will offer a starting this fall. Either on its own, or as a complement to another undergraduate major, students will explore how science and technology continually engage and shape different disciplines and professions.
North Park will also continue to offer its flexible , which provides a foundation in liberal arts and critical thinking. With this degree option, undergraduates spend their first three years at North Park before transferring to another engineering institution. At the completion of their engineering degree, they receive both their bachelor's in engineering and a BA in physics from North Park.
These three programs are an important component of preparing students for lives of significance and service in the 21st century. As an engineer, or as a professional with an engineering background, North Park alumni will be reay to lead advances in technology and sustainability that reinforce North Park’s commitment to God and to the world.
Students in the new programs will also be a part of the first class to utilize the . Science and health education will have a new home in the state-of-the-art building that puts technological opportunity at student’s fingertips.
“We are proud to provide a range of options in engineering for students that have an interest and an ability,” said , provost of 91社区福利. “This has long been an area of demand and with our new science facilities we can now serve these students with great resources and wonderful faculty.”
To find out more about the engineering programs, .
Use @npunews to . Learn more .
Next Steps
Explore all the available at 91社区福利.
See the of the Johnson Center, scheduled to open in Fall 2014.
Future Students, University Supporters Tour Interior of Johnson Center
Dave Olson, co-president of construction firm W.B. Olson, Inc., led prospective students and their families through the interior of the building in progress, what he and the University envision as a "center of student activity" once it opens for the Fall 2014 semester.
Building set to open this summer
CHICAGO (February 13, 2014) — Future North Park students and dedicated University supporters got a sneak peek inside the on Friday, February 7. Twenty-four select students and their families, on campus to attend a Trustee Award Event, toured the building’s interior in the afternoon. More than 60 members were given a tour in the evening as part of President’s Club Appreciation Events.
Despite Chicago’s cold winter, the construction schedule has been kept on track. “Our goal was to have the building enclosed by December,” said Dave Olson, co-president of construction firm . “We knew if we could get there and get the heat, we’d be just fine.”
Crews working to complete the Johnson Center’s interior structure have progressed from installing and insulating miles of conduit and plumbing piping to placing drywall and painting classroom and office spaces. With lab equipment arriving later this month, mechanical connections beginning, and floor completion scheduled for March, the building is on pace for a July move-in and to open for classes in August.
Incoming students got a feel for how the Johnson Center will be a University hub, with floor-to-ceiling windows in classrooms, labs, and gathering areas offering impressive views of the campus and city. “We envision that this will be a center of student activity,” Olson said as he led the tour through the building’s two-story atrium lobby.
Vice President for Student Engagement walked students through her vision of how the Johnson Center, which will house new Center for Student Engagement Offices, will facilitate campus collaboration among many areas of student service, including , , , and . “We’re excited to partner with science faculty to be able to serve you inside and outside of class,” she said.
Koslow Martin explained that all students will be able to use the Johnson Center as a resource in many different areas of community life, made easier by its physical location in the center of campus. She encouraged them to visit the Center for Student Engagement when they stop by the Johnson Center’s café. “Grab a bagel, then come see us.”
Professor of Chemistry led students through classrooms and labs, describing the cutting-edge equipment that students will be able to use. “You’ll be able to attend lectures together in the classroom, then do your lab work in smaller groups at laboratories in the same building,” he said. Labs for the , , , and programs were designed in consultation with faculty, Rienstra-Kiracofe said. The department will also move into the Johnson Center.
Students and their families stood in the future lecture hall in the Johnson Center as they learned about the many ways advanced technology will be incorporated into their learning experiences in the building.
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In addition to interactive display screens, HDTVs, and smart display podiums, Rienstra-Kiracofe said, the Johnson Center’s labs and classrooms will include lecture capture technology that will allow class lectures to be recorded, then posted online for students’ further review. A new advanced anatomy cadaver lab will include a hospital-grade dissection light and camera.
Touring groups were also given a glimpse of the building’s energy-efficient design and construction process. The Johnson Center has submitted for LEED Gold-level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, said Olson, and he expects to exceed those goal standards. The design and construction teams meet monthly on the status of LEED submittals and progress.
The LEED goal is for 10 percent of materials being used in construction of a building to be manufactured from recycled material, with 40 percent of materials mined or manufactured within 500 miles. To date, nearly 23 percent of construction materials for the Johnson Center are made from recycled materials, and nearly 48 percent of materials are mined or manufactured regionally. Eighty-two percent of the construction waste generated by the building has been diverted from landfills; the project goal is 75 percent.
Next, Olson said, he is eager to resume outside activity on the Johnson Center, which should begin again in two months. “The public spaces have to wow users of the building. The lobby area and the café—the places where people are going to hang out are going to be great,” he said. “But one area people are going to be thrilled by is the outside area,” he continued, looking to spring. “It’s pretty elaborate landscaping out there, and it’s hard to envision with all of the snow.”
I Go On Singing: Paul Robeson's Life in His Words & Songs
An Evening with Anthony Brown, Baritone
Thursday, February 13, 7:30 pm
Anderson Chapel, 91社区福利 5159 North Spaulding Avenue
A lost American hero re-discovered through his music and archival video.
As an All-American athlete, recording artist, and star of the stage and screen, Paul Robeson was once the best-known African-American entertainer in the world. After his emergence in the 1930s, Robeson became an early champion of civil rights. He traveled the world promoting peace, but trouble lay ahead, and ultimately he sacrificed his career and everything he’d accomplished by challenging the dominant culture’s status quo.
The story of this all-but-forgotten American hero will come alive on February 13 at 91社区福利 in a rousing new 90-minute song-filled presentation, I Go On Singing: Paul Robeson’s Life in His Words & Songs, performed by the gifted American baritone and international promoter of peace, Anthony Brown. Accompanied by faculty member on piano, Mr. Brown will reveal Robeson as an American patriot and towering figure of the 20th century. Told in Robeson’s own words, using many first-hand accounts from his autobiography, Here I Stand, the show traces his humble beginnings as a preacher’s son in Princeton to his international celebrity and as tireless fighter for human rights. The late folk legend Pete Seeger makes three video guest appearances discussing his friendship with Robeson and the music they shared.
I Go On Singing, written by Andrew Flack, delivers equal parts historical documentary with a live concert experience. Musical numbers range from Spirituals to Broadway, and include original arrangements of Robeson favorites like Ol’ Man River, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Shenandoah, Scandalize My Name, It Ain’t Necessarily So, All Through the Night, Joe Hill, Deep River, and many others.
This concert experience is free and open to the public, and is in conjunction with this year's , "What Is Peace?" as well as 91社区福利’s celebration of Black History Month.
About the Artist
Anthony Brown
Internationally acclaimed baritone Anthony Brown is a promoter of peace and goodwill around the world. Anthony uses music to promote peace and reconciliation in countries where peoples’ lives are torn by war and civil strife.
His peace work has taken him to political hot spots such as Bosnia, Northern Ireland, China, Japan, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Uganda, South Korea, Ethiopia, and Colombia. In each venue, Anthony’s stirring performances connected people across race, language, religion, and culture—and helped them focus on how all one in the family of humanity.
In addition to his international peace work, Anthony is one of today’s most dynamic performers who sings a wide range of crowd-pleasing vocal repertoire, from musical theater and African American spirituals, to opera, oratorio, and art song. He is artist in residence at Hesston College, Hesston, Kan., and represents the college at various events across the United States.
Additional Events
In addition to the Thursday evening presentation, Mr. Brown will participate in several other campus events during his visit:
Chapel Service
Wednesday, February 12, 10:30 am
Anderson Chapel
Honoring the Ancestors: Taking the African American Spirituals Around the World
Wednesday, February 12, 7:00 pm
Anderson Chapel
(Workshop with members of the 91社区福利 ; open to the public)
Performance and Social Change
Thursday, February 13, 1:30–3:00 pm
(Undergraduate class; open to the public)
For more information, please contact Karen Dickelman via email or by calling (773) 244-5265.
A collaboration among North Park Theological Seminary and partner international schools visited ancient Greek sites in January, including the Greek amphitheater in Epidaurus.
North Park Theological Seminary in Greece
CHICAGO (February 4, 2014) — There are three ideal spots onstage at the Greek amphitheater in Epidaurus. It is one of the best-preserved theaters, built in the fourth century B.C., and its pitch-perfect acoustics have not been able to be replicated with modern technology.
A group of students and faculty traveled to the amphitheater last month and spread out in the audience around circular stone bench seats.
The tour guide asked if anyone wanted to sing, hoping to show off the acoustics of the theater. The class immediately volunteered three people, including Nilwona Nowlin, a North Park Seminary student who will earn her master of arts in Christian formation and master of nonprofit administration in May. Nilwona hesitated as she had a cold, but finally gave in, and stepped to one of the three perfect spots and sang a rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
“Normally when you sing on a stage you have to think about projecting and all of the muscles that go into it,” Nilwona said, “but I didn’t have to force anything and people all the way in the back could hear clearly.”
One of the people in the back was Nilwona’s teacher, , associate professor of New Testament at North Park Theological Seminary. “We were stunned about how advanced they were back then in terms of technology and it made the ancient world that much more real. It made the world of Acts come alive.”
From January 3 through 11, Nilwona and Dr. Lee journeyed to Greece along with 15 students and two additional faculty members from the Seminary for a Greece and Early Christianity course. It was collaboration with IFFEC, the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches. Joining North Park were 16 international participants from IFFEEC schools in Sweden, Norway, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, China, and Brazil.
“We got to converse with our sister churches, and hear what’s happening in their ministry,” Dr. Lee said. The group gathered at night for worship and prayer led by North Park’s Dr. Carol Noren, Wesley Nelson Professor of Homiletics. “We heard the challenges the churches are having, and had a renewed sense of communion among the diverse group.”
Students prepared for the trip with a series of readings on Greco-Roman history, religion, and culture, as well as study of Acts and Paul's letters to the Corinthians. The Greek Bible Institute in Athens hosted the group, who stayed in dorms and spent the first day in seminars preparing for the week.
But most of the trip was reserved for traveling around to significant sites in early Christianity, including the Roman Forum in Athens, the Parthenon and Acropolis, Epidaurus, Naflplion, Delphi, and Corinth.
One of the first sites the group visited was Areopagus, known to many as Mars Hill, the site where Paul delivered a sermon to the Stoics and Epicureans recorded in Acts 17. , North Park’s Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies, had a student read the sermon aloud. They heard the words of Paul, “The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands.” In the background stood the Parthenon, the impressive Greek temple and center of Athenian worship.
“It was a really great moment for all of us when we could see the Parthenon,” Dr. Lee said. “We could see the temple of Nike, and here we could see with our mind's eye Paul pointing directly to the temple and saying: 'God does not live in shrines made by human hands.'”
“Now when I approach the Bible, I have this culture and these sites in mind,” said Nilwona Nowlin, who with the class visited sites including the Roman Forum in Athens, the Parthenon and Acropolis, Corinth, and Erechtheion, a Greek temple (above).
Nilwona added, “Now when I approach the Bible, I have this culture and these sites in mind.” She talked about visiting locations of athletic competitions, and being reminded of Paul’s words of “running the race” and “finishing the course.” Paul used that language to speak directly to the people and their culture. “Seeing this helps not just as I’m studying the Bible, but also how I’m communicating it to other people,” Nilwona said. “I came home asking what are cultural examples I can use as I’m communicating.”
“I didn’t get these kinds of opportunities growing up,” Nilwona said. “Experiencing these kinds of things allows me to take these stories back to my community and encourage young people to want to do these kind of things and want to travel and experience other parts of the world.”
North Park Theological Seminary’s commitment to developing women and men as faithful ministers of the Gospel is enhanced through travel learning. Yearly trips around the world to places like South America, Europe, and the Middle East allow students to experience a variety of cultures and engage scripture and theology from new perspectives.
“A lot of what people experience most of the time in Seminary is very cognitive,” said Dr. Lee, who has been . “They read, they go to class, and that is a tremendous way to learn. But sometimes there are insights born from being there that cannot be born from just being in the classroom.”
University Commemorates Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings, associate professor at Duke University, spoke during Monday's worship service.
Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings asserted that living in King's legacy means to unmask and speak truth to power
CHICAGO (January 21, 2014) — Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings, associate professor of theology and black church studies at Duke Divinity School, told an audience in Anderson Chapel on Monday that the world is in desperate need of religious and Christian intellectuals.
“By definition a Christian intellectual is an activist intellectual,” Dr. Jennings said. “It is a person who has the courage to unmask and speak truth to power. Our goal is to change the world because we serve a God who has changed it.”
Dr. Jennings’ message was part of 91社区福利’s annual worship and service day celebrating the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Jennings admonished the smoothed and polished symbol of Dr. King etched into stone monuments, and told the audience to reclaim the legacy of a man rooted as a “black Baptist preacher of the Church and of the South” who “carved his voice out of suffering and out of pain.”
“If the civil rights movement taught us anything,” Dr. Jennings added, “it is that fear normalizes oppression. It normalizes the absurd. And right now in this country we are normalizing the absurd.” Citing issues of racial injustice, economic disparity, and health deprivation, Dr. Jennings said he can no longer ignore that this country from its founding has been addicted to greed and violence. The only question that remains is whether we are going to challenge that addiction.
A number of voices reflected on Dr. King’s message of justice during Monday’s service, from the North Park Seminary Gospel Choir to a group of young people from Second Baptist Church and Beth Emet The Free Synagogue in Evanston. That group recently journeyed on together, a six-day trip to major Civil Rights sites in the south, reflecting on issues of race and privilege. During Monday’s service the group related their journey to the call of Isaiah 58 to “loose the bonds of injustice.”
Other faculty, students, and area community members shared reflections on what Dr. King means for their vision of justice, including Randa Kuzies, a Muslim leader from . She shared excerpts from Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” emphasizing that time is neutral, and can be used either constructively or destructively.
Later Monday afternoon, , director of the and assistant professor of at North Park, continued the discussion of what Dr. King’s legacy means today with an interfaith and intercultural discussion panel. Members of , Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders, along with area youth discussed issues of race, religion, and gender.
Workshops and webinars for nonprofit professionals now open for registration
CHICAGO (January 16, 2014) — Career paths for nonprofit professionals, fundraising to fuel social change, recharging volunteer programs, project management, program evaluation, and budgeting are just a few of the exciting topics to be covered in the upcoming spring workshops and webinars presented by the at 91社区福利.
Workshops and webinars take place between January 29 and April 23, and are a valuable resource for nonprofit professionals in the greater Chicago area. Industry experts, including representatives from Heartland Alliance, LinkedIn, and Silk Road Rising, will present on a variety of timely topics relevant to management and leadership of nonprofit organizations. Past participants have praised Axelson Center workshops for their outstanding, informative and relevant content, as well as their incredible value, calling them “a cost-effective method of staff training” and “a great reminder of what it takes to be successful in this [nonprofit] business.”
Half-day workshop registration fees are $80; full-day fees are $160. Members of YNPN Chicago, Donors Forum, United Way and several other affiliate groups are eligible for registration discounts. 91社区福利 students, alumni, and participants affiliated with organizations with budgets under $1 million are also eligible for discounts. Registration closes at noon Central Time the day prior to the event.
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The Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management at 91社区福利 is the source for informative and engaging nonprofit professional development in the Chicago region. Through regular workshops, webinars, and an , the Axelson Center delivers a superior educational experience for nonprofit managers, leaders, and frontline staff, covering a vast array of topics from program evaluation to strategic planning, and communications to financial management. The valuable information presented through these programs enhances the impact of both the nonprofit sector and its professional staff. Visit for more information, including a full schedule of upcoming events.
Chemistry Department Receives $17,000 Grant for Two Instruments with Biomedical and Food Applications
“We wanted to give our students the most modern experience possible in the lab and give them the hands-on experience they’ll need for graduate school and jobs in the industry,” said Dr. Anne Vázquez, assistant professor of chemistry, of the new equpiment that will soon arrive for students.
New equipment funded by the Max Goldenberg Foundation will allow students to use advanced analytical techniques in classes and research
CHICAGO (January 3, 2014) — The Max Goldenberg Foundation has awarded a $17,000 grant to the 91社区福利 Department for two state-of-the-art instruments that will allow students to use advanced analytical techniques in laboratory work and research, which will better prepare them for future careers in the field.
“We wanted to give our students the most modern experience possible in the lab and give them the hands-on experience they’ll need for graduate school and jobs in the industry,” said , assistant professor of chemistry. “Students will use the equipment multiple times throughout their college career and will integrate the instruments into their undergraduate research experience because we want to give our students the best opportunities available.”
With biomedical applications that include the ability to detect cancer, the Agiltron PeakSeeker Raman Spectrometer is an important instrument in the health sciences. It is used to identify substances, and will enable students to monitor the progress of chemical reactions and observe how these reactions become products. Starting sophomore year, chemistry majors will gain experience with the equipment in a variety of courses, including analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry, as well as through faculty and student-led research.
The —which is used to measure changes in energy, including calories in foods—will be incorporated into research and several courses as well, including general chemistry, physical chemistry, and others. This equipment is notable for its ability combine both bomb and solution calorimetry and will help faculty to better connect what students are learning in lectures to what they are doing in the lab, Professor Vázquez said.
The Max Goldenberg Foundation has funded other , including Lab Quest hand-held data acquisition PDAs, reflectance spectrometer, flash chromatography system, and a compact NMR spectrometer. “They’ve always been generous and made a difference in our students’ education,” Professor Vázquez said of the foundation, which supports educational, religious, and medical groups.
The department expects to receive and include the $9,000 raman spectrometer and the $8,000 combination calorimeter into classes and research during the spring semester. The equipment will then move to the new , which is scheduled to open in Fall 2014. Ultimately the addition of the instruments will help the chemistry department improve the student lab experience and prepare them for work after graduation.
“A benefit of being at a liberal arts college is that our students get hands-on experience and use the instrumentation themselves, so when they get to graduate school and start a job, they won’t be intimidated by the equipment,” Professor Vázquez said. “That’s something we really value.”
TIME Cover Story Focuses on North Park Theological Seminary Graduate
Rev. Wilfredo De Jesús is a 2006 graduate of North Park Theological Seminary.
Rev. Wilfredo De Jesús, pictured, quoted in April 15 issue
CHICAGO (April 9, 2013) — , who earned a in 2006 from , the graduate theological school of 91社区福利, is prominently featured in the April 15, 2013, cover story in , "¡Evangélicos!" De Jesús is senior pastor, , Chicago, the country's largest Assemblies of God congregation.
The article notes that large numbers of people who are Latino are joining evangelical Protestant churches. Similarly, the numbers of enrolled at 91社区福利 are increasing, comprising more than 16 percent of the diverse undergraduate student body, according to University figures. North Park is affiliated with a growing and diverse Protestant church, the , based in Chicago.
New Life Covenant Ministries has grown from a congregation of 100 members in 2000—when the congregation first called de Jesús and his wife, Elizabeth—to more than 17,000 members who attend one of the congregation's four campuses each Sunday, according to TIME. New Life offers 11 weekly services, nine in English and two in Spanish, the magazine said. "If one Evangélico church has made the leap from immigrant barrio to booming American megachurch, it is New Life Covenant Church in Chicago," the magazine reported.
De Jesús grew up in Chicago's neighborhood. When he began his ministry at New Life, the congregation bought a farm and converted it into a home for recovering addicts and prostitutes, and purchased a nearby liquor store, converting it into a café. The congregation started English services to reach third-generation Latinos, added services in Spanish for first-generation Latinos, and began streaming services online. "New Life didn't just grow—it exploded," the TIME article noted.
New Life has "over 135 ministries that reaches the poor in every place in the city of Chicago," De Jesús said in an . The congregation also has a number of international ministries in India, Africa, Peru, Haiti, and Santo Domingo, he added.
The article states that more than two-thirds of the 52 million Latinos in the United States are Catholic, and the percentage is expected to grow considerably by 2030. Many are now joining evangelical Protestant churches, created a "Latino Protestant boom (that) is transforming American religious practices and politics," TIME reported.
De Jesús is at least the second North Park graduate to be featured in a TIME cover story. Another North Parker featured by the magazine was , who earned an associate's degree from North Park in 1949. Carlson later became a medical missionary with the , and was killed in 1964 by rebel insurgents in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Carlson was featured on the of TIME in December 1964 as part of its report, "The Congo Massacre."
Use @npunews to . For further information or resources, contact John Brooks, Director of Media Relations and News, or at (773) 244-5522. Learn more .
University students to perform in first-ever festival concert in Chicago
CHICAGO (April 16, 2013) — 91社区福利 will host a at 2:30 pm, May 5, at the University's Anderson Chapel, the first time a festival performance will be held in the city of Chicago. The North Park concert—featuring works by the renowned German Baroque composer —will include performances by University musicians as well as professionals from the and .
The is an annual event held in the Chicago area in spring. Now in its 40th year, the festival is a signature blend of solo, concerto, orchestral, and choral performances in concerts, according to a Bach Week news release.
"The North Park School of Music is honored to collaborate with the Bach Week Festival to present this concert," said , dean of the University's and professor of music. "This event is a wonderful example of the advantages that North Park music students have to experience the artistic excellence so prevalent in Chicago—right on the campus." Johnson added that all undergraduate School of Music students will be able to attend and hear the musical excellence offered by the Bach Week performers.
The North Park concert features Margaret Martin, University organist. Making her Bach Week Festival debut, she will open the concert with Bach’s Toccata in F Major, BWV 540. Her spouse, Christopher Martin, principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, will perform in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, BWV 1047. Cellist Katinka Kleijn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform Bach’s Suite No. 3 for solo cello, BWV 1009.
The finale will be Bach’s Magnificat in D, BWV 243, a 12-movement work for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Among the soloists is , who will make her debut with the Bach Week Festival. Davids directs the University's choral activities and holds the Stephen J. Hendrickson Endowed Chair in Music. The 91社区福利 , directed by Davids, will perform with the festival chorus and orchestra, directed by , director of music and organist at Boston's historic , and the festival's music director since 1975. This will be only the second time in Bach Week history that a guest ensemble has sung with the festival’s own chorus, and the first time for a student group, according to festival organizers.
The Chamber Singers' participation "adds a touch of historic resonance" to the festival’s first Chicago concert, Webster said. "Bach himself conducted ensembles of local university students, professionals, and guest artists at weekly public performances at Zimmermann’s Coffee House in Leipzig, Germany. This collaboration honors that tradition and will be a wonderful experience for performers and audience alike," he added.
The 2013 Bach Week Festival also features concerts April 19 and April 21 at , Evanston, Ill.
Use @npunews to . For further information or resources, contact John Brooks, Director of Media Relations and News, or at (773) 244-5522. Learn more .
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