Reconciliation leader to speak at NWC

On Monday, Feb. 4, at 10:05 a.m., he will speak on “The Story of Jesus Through a Multicultural Lens.” On Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 11:05 a.m., he will speak on “The Story of a White Dutch Boy Through a Multicultural Lens.” Both chapel services are open to the public.

During his time on campus, DeYoung will also lead an intercultural simulation for students, speak in a religion class and meet with members of Northwestern’s Multi-Ethnic Resource Team.

DeYoung is a professor of reconciliation studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn. He previously served for 17 years in urban multicultural settings in Minneapolis—as the president of the Twin Cities Urban Reconciliation Network, executive director of the City Gate Project and senior pastor at a multiracial congregation. An ordained minister in the Church of God, he also worked at the Covenant House Times Square shelter for homeless and runaway youth in New York City and served congregations in New York and Washington, D.C.

DeYoung has written five books, including Living Faith: How Faith Inspires Social Justice, United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation as an Answer to the Problem of Race and Beyond Rhetoric: Reconciliation as a Way of Life. He has traveled to South Africa nine times to speak about reconciliation and the multiculturalism of the Bible. He has also visited Palestine and Israel twice to learn about the area’s conflict and develop networks with people who are working for peace, reconciliation and human rights.

Originally from Michigan, DeYoung earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas, a Master of Divinity degree from Howard University and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana’s Anderson University.