General Synod president to speak

The Rev. Dr. Carol Bechtel, current General Synod president of the Reformed Church in America (RCA), will speak at Northwestern College’s Christ Chapel on Monday, Sept. 15, at 10:05 a.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 11:05 a.m. Her visit is part of the college’s Ronald Nelson Scholars and Artists in Residence Program, and the public is invited to attend.

Professor of Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Mich., Bechtel is the first ordained woman pastor to serve as the denomination’s president. She is the author of several books, including Esther: A Commentary for Teaching and Preaching in the Interpretation series, and two devotional collections: Glimpses of Grace and Life After Grace. Bechtel, a frequent preacher and teacher, has also published five Bible study curricula, including Living in Community and Above and Beyond: Hearing God’s Call in Jonah and Ruth. 

Prior to joining Western’s faculty in 1994, Bechtel taught at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education and Yale Divinity School. She has served on the RCA’s Commission on Christian Worship and is a General Synod professor of theology. An Illinois native, Bechtel graduated from Hope College, received a Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary and earned a doctorate from Yale University.