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Memorial Service Monday for Pastor John Wiens
DOWNERS GROVE, IL (August 26, 2002) - A memorial service was held at 11 a.m.
today for longtime Covenant pastor John Wiens, who died Friday evening at
Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
Co-pastor Jim Kramer officiated at the service held at the Evangelical
Covenant Church of Hinsdale, Illinois, where the 72-year-old Wiens served
as pastor for 25 years of his nearly four decades of ministry. Wiens'
son-in-law, Tim Heintzelman, and Paul Allen, Hinsdale associate pastor,
also participated in the service. Heintzelman is pastor of Faith Covenant
Church in Westerville, Ohio. Wiens' daughter, Alison, an ordained Covenant
pastor, spoke about her father just prior to Kramer's meditation.
Born September 22, 1929, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Wiens was baptized in the
Mennonite Brethren Church in Leamington, Ontario, in 1946 and traveled to
Chicago three years later to attend Moody Bible Institute. He called
Chicago's Austin Covenant Church his home church, but he felt most at home
in ministry. He once wrote about his vocational journey, "As far back as I
remember, I felt at least some call/nudge to go into the Christian
ministry. I suspect it was the result of the prayer of my parents, who
never talked to me about it, but who later told me that this had always
been their prayer for me . . . many encouraged me to go into teaching
history at college, but somehow the call into the ministry proved too
strong."
Wiens served in the teaching profession for a time. After leaving Moody
with his diploma in 1952, he completed undergraduate work in history at
Wheaton College. He earned two master's degrees from Wheaton where he
taught for three years. He also earned a Master of Divinity degree from
North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) in 1962 and became an ordained
Covenant pastor in 1963. He later earned a doctorate from the University of
Chicago.
Wiens married his wife, Alice, on August 22, 1959, and shortly thereafter
began work as a pastor at Douglas Park Covenant Church in Chicago while
taking classes at NPTS. Wiens also served on the denomination's Urban
Commission while at Douglas Park Covenant and the first of three daughters
was born during his ministry there.
In 1964, Wiens left Chicago to take a pastorate at Salem Covenant Church in
Worcester, Massachusetts, helping the church through a building program
during his four and a half years there.
In March 1969, Wiens began ministry in Hinsdale, Illinois, endearing
himself to his congregation with rich preaching and teaching, competent
administrative skills and a caring manner reflected in many ways. He may
have appeared formal to some parishioners, but he had a love for children
that often revealed itself in the form of a welcoming hug to an
unsuspecting little one.
He retired from Covenant ministry in January 1995, although he served brief
interim pastorates at Bethesda Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois, and
First Covenant Church in Seattle, Washington. He also occasionally assisted
at Bay Indies Covenant Church in Venice, Florida.
"He had a great sense of loving humor," said Kramer, who served with Wiens
during the final two years of Wiens' pastorate in Hinsdale. "He was full of
loving kindness and he was always there for a lot of people at this church.
There were many people he stood up for when they could not stand."
Besides his pastoral work, Wiens was president of the Covenant Ministerium
from 1969 to 1972. He served on the denomination's Board of Publications
from 1983 through 1988, chaired the Commission on Interchurch Relations
from 1976 to 1983 and was on the Presidential Nominating Committee in 1988.
Wiens is survived by his wife, Alice, and three daughters: Colleen
Heintzelman, Alison Wiens and Laurel Wrobbel, who are all currently living
in Ohio. Wiens is also survived by three sisters - Kay, Helen and Esther,
who reside in Canada - and five grandchildren.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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