Through a structured focus on talent, knowledge and skills SCUPE develops the leadership potential of individuals from schools, churches, community organizations and social agencies that seek to enhance the spiritual, social and physical quality of life for city dwellers.

CORE VALUES

• We are dedicated to educating individuals of all ethnicities and backgrounds in urban ministry, community organizing and community building.
• We value contextual education and design our educational programs to give students the best opportunities to match theory with practice.
• We are committed to ensuring that social justice prevails by preparing students to work as social change agents.
• We constantly create new partnerships and programs in response to the evolving needs of urban communities.

BACKGROUND

Since 1976, SCUPE has been devoted to educating individuals from all backgrounds as effective change agents in urban communities. This need was identified in the late sixties and early seventies, a time characterized by numerous social upheavals. Many urban training programs were created to respond to these urban dilemmas; however, the programs died along with the unique problem. In partnership with five seminaries, SCUPE established a comprehensive pastoral education model to address the volatile issues of urban ministry.

Utilizing the educational and training theories of adult experiential education, SCUPE provides both academically accredited courses and non-academic programs. Our programs are designed for individuals interested in pastoral ministry, community leadership and social justice. These programs engage the urban environment as well as provide leadership development for urban ministers.

Today, SCUPE is comprised of twelve seminaries. We now have over 300 graduates and many more have taken individual courses. Our academic program expanded and now includes, Graduate Theological Urban Education (GTUS), Center for African American Theological Studies (CAATS), Nurturing the Call (NTC) and Master of Arts in Community Development (MACD). Graduates from these programs have assumed numerous leadership positions in local churches and community organizations.

SCUPE Board Members

Ms. Cheryl Hammock, Chair
Chilanta Community Foundation
Chicago, IL

Ms. Lydia Murray, Vice Chair
Civic Consulting Alliance
Chicago, IL

Pastor Ben Dueholm, Secretary
Messiah Lutheran Church
Wauconda, IL

Mr. Case Hoogendoorn, Treasurer
Hoogendoorn & Talbot, LLP
Chicago, IL

Dr. Henry (Hank) Allen
Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL

Rev. Dr. Charles Amjad-Ali
Luther Seminary
St. Paul, MN

Dr. Kenneth W. Bensen
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan
Lansing, MI

Rev. Dr. Tim Douma
Loop Christian Ministries
Chicago, IL

Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar
Common Cause
Washington, DC

Ms. Megan Hunt
Champro Sports
Chicago, IL

Ms. Consuelo R. Miller, Esq.
Law Office of Consuelo R. Miller, Ltd.
Chicago, IL

Rev. Dr. Bruce Modahl
Grace Lutheran Church and School
River Forest, IL

Rev. Herman Perez
Latin Pentecostal Church of God
Lake Station, IN

Dr. Zenobia Sowell-Bianchi
So-Well Dental Associates
Chicago, IL

Dr. Jeffrey Spahn
Leading Leaders, Inc.
Chicago, IL

Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, President
shanta@scupe.com

Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana is president of SCUPE. A Baptist pastor from Sri Lanka, he was most recently the director for the Program Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation at the World Council of Churches (WCC), a worldwide fellowship of 349 Protestant and Orthodox churches based in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to moving to Geneva, Premawardhana served as the Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations at the National Council of Churches of Christ, based in New York. Following seminary education in Sri Lanka and India, Premawardhana arrived in the United States in 1981 for graduate study at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D, in Religion. Continuing to live in the Chicago area, he founded the Chicago Ashram of Jesus Christ, a Christian community with an outreach to South Asian immigrants from many cultural backgrounds and religious traditions and served for fourteen years as senior pastor of Ellis Avenue Church located in the south side of Chicago.

Rev. Carol Ann McGibbon, Executive Vice President
Director of Programs
Graduate Theological Urban Studies (GTUS) Director
Academic Dean
carolann@scupe.com

Rev. Carol Ann McGibbon is executive vice-president and academic dean of SCUPE, and also directs the Graduate Theological Urban Studies program. A SCUPE alumna and for many years the organizer of the Congress on Urban Ministry, Carol Ann is the developer and  founding co-director of the Master of Arts in Community Development program, a degree that was accredited at North Park University in 1998 and  has since transitioned into a new partnership between SCUPE and Loyola University Chicago, offering the Master of Arts in Social Justice and Community Development degree.

Iris Alvarado, Administrative Assistant
Advanced Latin@ Theological Education (ALTE)
iris@scupe.com

Ms. Iris Alvarado is administrative assistant for SCUPE’s Advanced Latino/a Theological Education (ALTE) program. In her short time on the job, she has become a critical communication link between ALTE’s leadership staff and students who are inquiring about the program. Her key responsibilities include reception duties, administrative support, financial assistance, record-keeping, and registrar activities. Iris has previously worked in the medical field–for an orthopedic surgeon and at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital. She is a member of Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal in Chicago’s Humboldt Park community.

Dody Finch, Registrar
dody@scupe.com

Ms. Dody Finch is currently SCUPE’s registrar and assists with various operational tasks. She has served in that role since 1999. But her working relationship with SCUPE dates back to 1976 when she was one of SCUPE’s first volunteers. In 1980 she began nearly five years of full-time work with SCUPE – assisting with records, development, and financial operations. For the next 15 years she served as the administrative assistant/financial secretary at two different churches in Evanston. Dody is a 1982 graduate of Northeastern University, B.A. in Psychology. In 2006 she completed 14 hours in graduate studies at North Park Theological Seminary and received a certificate in Christian Spirituality.

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Delk, Interim Director
Center for African American Theological Education (CAATS)
yvdelk@aol.com

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Delk is the interim director of SCUPE’s Center for African American Theological Studies. She served as the founding director of the Center for African American Theological Studies and is known internationally for her social justice work. Rev. Yvonne V. Delk, has been a strong ally in the fight for human and civil rights for people of color, children and the poor.  She has served as teacher, educator, preacher, executive, organizer and author in the United States and in the wider global community. Dr. Delk has served as the executive director of the Community Renewal Society, a faith-based Chicago metropolitan urban mission agency that is active in social justice and public policy advocacy work. She has held numerous denominational leadership positions in the areas of Christian education and social justice within the United Church of Church. In 1974, she became the first African American woman ordained in the United Church of Christ and later, the first African American woman to head the Office for Church in Society in the United Church of Christ. She has since pioneered many social justice and Black church education projects and received many awards acknowledging her contributions as a trailblazer and as a prophetic voice for the marginalized. She has a Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Seminary and a Master of Religious Studies from Andover Newton Theological Seminary in Newton Centre, Massachusetts.

Toylee Green-Harris, Cohort Recruiter
Master of Arts in Social Justice and Community Development (MASJCD)
toylee@scupe.com

Ms. Toylee Green-Harris is the student recruiter for the Master of Arts in Social Justice & Community Development (MASJCD) program, a joint partnership program between SCUPE and Loyola University. She also works as Student Assistance Resource Specialist for Prevention First Student Assistance Center. Toy holds the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Chicago State University, the Master of Arts in Community Development from North Park University, and a Paralegal Certification from John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Mark Hannan, Congress Director
Manager of Communications & Marketing
mark@scupe.com

Mark Hannan is the Director of the Congress on Urban Ministry and Manager of Communication & Marketing at SCUPE. Mark is a graduate of SCUPE’s Graduate Theological Urban Studies (GTUS) program, interning with the Faith Community of Saint Sabina. He has a M.A. in Urban Ministry from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN and has done thesis work on Globalization and the Jubilee tradition. Previous to SCUPE, Mark worked for four summers in outdoor ministry and for six years as director of Youth & Family Ministry in the congregation.  He is a musician, recording artist, and lover of all instruments with strings and frets.

Roger Johnson, Church Relations Coordinator
roger@scupe.com

An urban ministry veteran, Roger Johnson has served as editor of CityVoices newsletter, as an urban church planter, and as communications director for International Urban Associates.   He and his wife, Ruth, live in Chicago’s Belmont-Cragin community and are members of Jehovah El Buen Pastor Lutheran Church. Roger  holds degrees from Wheaton College, North Park Theological Seminary, and is currently completing the M.A. in Evangelism and Leadership at Wheaton Graduate School.  An avid cycler and kayaker, Roger was recently elected to a third term on the board of the Northern Illinois District – Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

Cynthia R. Milsap, Associate Director of Graduate Studies
Nurturing the Call (NtC) Director
cynthia@scupe.com

Cynthia R. Milsap is Director of the “Nurturing the Call” certificate in urban ministry program and also coordinates faculty and student services at the Center for African American Theological Studies. She teaches the “Cross-cultural ministry and Interfaith dialogue” course in SCUPE’s  Graduate Urban Theological Studies program.  She has served as executive director of The Night Ministry, a nonprofit organization which provides healthcare, youth shelter, pastoral counseling, and housing advocacy for youth and adults in Chicago.  She is concerned about the educational needs of women and her dissertation centers on women in ministry and the challenges they face as they enter ordained ministry.  Cynthia is on the ministerial staff of Second Baptist Church in Evanston, Illinois.  She has also recently co-edited a book, “Slamming on Concrete: Poems by Homeless Youth in Chicago.”

Rev. Dr. Ramon Nieves, Director
Advanced Latin@ Theological Education (ALTE)
ramon@scupe.com

Rev. Dr. Ramon Nieves is an ordained United Methodist Minister in the Northern Illinois Conference.  His present appointment is to Humboldt Park United Methodist Church where he serves as the senior pastor.  He is also Director of the Advanced Latino/a Theological Education, a program of SCUPE.  Other appointments have included; Executive Director of Tuesday’s Child, Executive Director of UMCOR’s 911 program in New York and Vice President of Childserv.

Nancy Renick
Director of Operations/Director of Development
nancy@scupe.com

Ms. Nancy Renick is director of development and operations at SCUPE. She has experience as a planning consultant in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Her previous work includes service as chief operating officer and executive director at interfaith agencies. Nancy holds a MBA degree from Northwestern University and has held senior financial management positions at the American Medical Association, Soft Sheen Products and Borg-Warner Corporation. Nancy is a founding board member of a tutoring agency for underserved Chicago youth, and is a member of First United Methodist Church of Chicago. She has extensive lay leadership involvement at both local and conference levels of the United Methodist Church.

Rev. Felisa Roman, Program Coordinator
Advanced Latin@ Theological Education (ALTE)
felisa@scupe.com

Rev. Felisa Roman is program coordinator of the Advanced Latino/a Theological Education (ALTE) program.  Committed to theological education in Latino churches, she has also served as the director of the Instituto Bíblico Ebenezer for the Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal. Rev. Roman holds degrees from Valparaiso University, McCormick Theological Seminary, and the University of Chicago. An active member of the Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal – Emanuel in East Chicago, IN. Felisa is also an ordained chaplain. She sees herself as a “bridge” between various sectors of the church as well as the church and academia.

Angela Samuel, Accountant
angela@scupe.com

Ms. Angela Samuel serves as SCUPE’s accountant. Angela views her position at SCUPE as a ministry of financial management and stewardship, one that enables SCUPE to responsibly serve its multiple audiences: students, churches, and communities. A native Chicagoan, Angela also has other hidden skills. When she is not working with numbers; Angela enjoys being a camera operator for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition live broadcasts and was formerly a member of the video team for Salem Baptist Church of Chicago’s television ministry. Angela is a graduate of Roosevelt University (Chicago).

Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary
Elkhart, IN

Christian Theological Seminary
Indianapolis, IN

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evanston, IL

Institute for Pastoral Studies at Loyola University
Chicago, IL

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Louisville, KY

Luther Seminary
St. Paul, MN

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
Chicago, IL

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA

Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University
Richmond, VA

Western Theological Seminary
Holland, MI

The success of our ministry at SCUPE depends on generous contributions from committed churches, foundations and individuals. If you have questions about making a donation, please feel free to call the SCUPE office at 312.726.1200 and speak with Nancy Renick, nancy@scupe.com

Donations can be mailed to:

SCUPE
Attn: Nancy Renick
200 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 502
Chicago, IL 60601

Or donate online now:

SCUPE also values the time given to our ministry by dedicated volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering opportunities, please call us at 312.726.1200 or e-mail us at urbanmin@scupe.com.

Thank you for your consideration, prayers and support.