It’s not too late to sign up for this year’s Pastors and Spouses Conference, a free one-day event held at Northwestern on Tuesday, March 25. Registrations are due Friday, March 14. E-mail Mary Beltman in the advancement office or call 712-707-7106. The Rev. Roger Nelson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Reformed Church in Oak Forest, Ill., will present “Pastor to Pastor: The Letters to Timothy.” The conference begins at 8 a.m., concludes at 3, and includes lunch.

How have places shaped people? How have people shaped their communities and regions? What are the connections between place and history, religion, literature and scientific discovery? Those questions are the focus of April’s Minding Place week at Northwestern. Events will include:

• Writing and oral history workshops by author Jim Heynen and oral historian Charles Morissey on Saturday, April 5; register by March 17
• Readings and comments by Kathleen Norris, the award-winning author of Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, on Wednesday, April 9
• Over 20 place-themed workshops on Wednesday, April 9

For a complete Minding Place schedule, visit www.nwciowa.edu/mindingplace or request a brochure at 712-707-7100.

Northwestern’s Drama Ministries Ensemble will hit the road again for eight weeks this summer, performing “Goliath and Other Foes: Ancient Plays of Israel,” leading enacted prayer, and presenting story and worship workshops. Plans are to travel throughout the Midwest. The tour schedule is wide open, so get your request in early. E-mail Kelly Van Marel, the tour coordinator, or call 712-707-7257 if you’re interested in hosting the DME at your church.

For the second consecutive year, Northwestern has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll—one of only 10 colleges chosen from Iowa. The award is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Last year, more than 630 NWC students were engaged in various forms of community service. Another 200 were involved in academic service-learning, putting classroom knowledge into practice by helping area agencies and businesses. All told, Northwestern estimates its students engaged in more than 9,000 hours of service in 2006–07.

Barb Dewald, associate dean of spiritual formation, is the 2008 recipient of the Dana Walling Award for Excellence in Campus Ministry, presented by the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. A member of Northwestern’s campus ministry staff since 1995, Dewald has directed nearly all the college’s campus ministry efforts, including Bible studies and ministry teams meeting on campus and serving throughout the region, Spring Service Project teams sent out during spring break, and individual students serving overseas each summer. As a member of the national Fellowship of Short-Term Ministry Leaders, she co-authored the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission, a common set of standards that ensure individuals or teams sent as missionaries by U.S. organizations receive excellent training so they can be as effective as possible.

Moms in Touch, an international network of mothers who pray for students and their teachers and administrators, is active at Northwestern. Mothers, grandmothers and other supporters of the college are invited to meet for prayer every Monday from noon to 1 p.m. in the Franken Center for Faith, Learning and Living on Northwestern’s campus. Or you can sign up to receive the college’s prayer requests via e-mail by sending your address to Barb Hibma.