Her resignation is effective at the end of the spring semester. Barrymore has been the campus pastor since 2001.
“I have recently become aware that God is calling me to do some embracing and letting go in my professional pastoral life,” Barrymore states in her letter of resignation. “More specifically, I am being called to embrace a new role and to let go of my current one.”
The church that she will co-pastor with a married couple, The Emmaus Community, conducted its first official service on Easter. She describes it as “a unique fusion of post-modern worship and a celebration of historic African American worship traditions.”
“She has had a tremendous impact on the North Park Community,” says Mark Olson, the university’s dean of enrollment and director of church relations. “Her brilliant and insightful preaching has addressed concerns and issues of young adults today with courage and compassion. In groundbreaking ways, she has worked hard and successfully to broaden respect, deepen understanding, and build community among students with very different backgrounds and life experiences.”
Olson says that although she will be missed, “I know she will continue to be a friend of North Park University and the Covenant.”
University Ministries has expanded significantly under her direction. Most recently, it has partnered with North Park Theological Seminary to establish a new program in which seminary students serve as interns in various campus ministries. The program was made possible by the Making Connections Initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment.
Barrymore’s work was a major reason the university received the grant, says Mary Miller, director of the Making Connections Initiative. “God has given Alise Barrymore enviable ministry gifts – inspiring preacher, skilled organizer, loving pastor and strategic supervisor.”
Barrymore’s gifts have been recognized nationally. Attendees at CHIC 2003 said Barrymore’s participation was one of the highlights of the large youth event. She also gave keynote sermons at the Youth Specialties annual fall conferences for youth pastors in 2004 and 2005.
In 2001, African American Pulpit Journal named her one of 20 outstanding young African American ministers under age 40 who are playing a major role in shaping the future of the African American Church.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Barrymore attended Yale University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in African and African American studies with a history emphasis. She received her Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Her academic honors include the Jesse Haley Award for Imagination in Preaching, the Ellen and James Taylor Award in Preaching, and the Arthur A. Hays Fellowship in Church History.
As campus pastor, she is responsible for the weekly chapel services, provides pastoral care for the undergraduate population and larger academic community, and contributes to the academic life of the campus through writing and adjunct lectures. She also provides regular worship services at a center for developmentally delayed adults. Before coming to North Park, Barrymore served as minister for youth spiritual life at New Faith Baptist Church in Matteson, Illinois.
Editor’s note: to read the full text of Barrymore’s letter, please see Barrymore.
