Judson University Founders' Day 2017 to introduce new voices in church history
Judson University is preparing for the 2017 Founders' Day celebration on Friday, Oct. 20. Each year, this event commemorates the university's rich history, humble beginnings and visionary and leaders.
It began as a college in 1913 as the undergraduate arm of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and was named for Adoniram Judson, the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma. Judson established its Elgin location in 1963 and became a full-fledged university in 2007.
This year's Founders' Day festivities will celebrate the rich legacy of the Baptist movement, here and abroad; and it will introduce the names of Christian pioneers that were busy about God's work during the 19th century.
The opening convocation, led by guest speaker Doreen Morrison, an ordained Baptist minister, author and historical theologian, will begin at 10 a.m. in Herrick Chapel at the university, 1151 N. State St. in Elgin.
Morrison was born in Birmingham, England, to Jamaican parents and received her master of divinity degree from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctorate in theology from the University of Birmingham (England). She has been trained as a clinical chaplain and spent time as a managing chaplain, probation officer and prison chaplain. Yet, her heart has been to help Caribbean youth imprisoned in England. While working on her doctorate, she studied the history of George Liele, the first African American Baptist minister and a pioneer of Baptist work in Jamaica. Her postdoctoral work resulted in her introducing Liele and his work with Ethiopian Baptists to the Baptist World Alliance Gathering in Jamaica in 2013.
Her groundbreaking book, "Slavery's Heroes: George Liele and the Ethiopian Baptists of Jamaica 1783-1865," was released in 2014. Morrison is a member of the Baptist World Alliance Heritage and Identity Commission and a prolific writer and speaker on 19th-century Jamaican and British Caribbean church history. She currently lives in England.
During the Founders' Day luncheon this year, the university will rededicate the Betty Lindner Dining Hall and celebrate university founders, along with those who continue to make an impact on Judson's future.
Judson University is a fully accredited, private Christian institution representing the church at work in higher education. Judson is home to more than 1,280 students from 37 states and 20 countries.