NORTHFIELD — “Restore: A New England Convocation” brings guests and activity to the former Northfield Mount Hermon School campus today.
The event, which is being organized by an informal association of churches and ministries called New England Alliance, will be held from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and will feature history tours, music, workshops, seminars and group prayer.
According to Jonathan Friz, a member of New England Alliance and a key organizer of the event, the purpose is to “gather Christians for worship, for prayer and to celebrate the legacy of D.L. Moody.”
Famed evangelist Dwight L. Moody founded the campus in 1885 and held internationally attended conferences, turning the school into a social and scholastic hub. The campus was divided into a girls school in Northfield and a boys school in Gill, until 2005, when Northfield Mount Hermon School consolidated to its Gill campus. The Northfield campus has been closed ever since.
Today, the school’s presence as a social and scholastic hub within the community will be revived after years as a largely vacant campus. Friz expects between 800 and 1,200 guests based on other New England Alliance events.
The schedule of events is listed below:
10 to 11 a.m. — Pre-event coffee and doughnuts in the C.S. Lewis Study Center, located on the corner of Main and Moody streets.
11 to 11:45 a.m. — Emmanuel Haqq presents “C.S. Lewis: Chiefly on Prayer” in the C.S. Lewis Study Center.
11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. — Historic campus tours, led by Historian and Executive Director of Plymouth Rock Foundation Paul Jehle, meet hourly at the Round Top grave site.
Noon to 12:45 p.m. — Emmitt Mitchell presents “The Moody Center: Vision and Hope” in Hibbard Hall, located on Winchester Road.
1 p.m. — Guided tour of the C.S. Lewis Study Center.
1 to 1:45 p.m. — Christopher Lucey presents “PRIME: Innovative Missions (Moody and Today)” in Hibbard Hall.
2 to 2:45 p.m. — Tom Savastano presents “Sustaining Revival: As Moody Did” in Hibbard Hall.
2 to 2:45 p.m. — Peter Weis, archivist for Northfield Mount Hermon, offers an informal Q&A concerning campus history.
3 to 6:30 p.m. – Guests gather in the auditorium on Winchester Road for worship led by United Night of Worship Founder Zenzo Matoga, a message by Roberto Miranda of Congregación León de Judá, and a historical perspective by Paul Jehle.
A detailed events schedule can be found at http://www.10days.net/restore.