On Thursday, February 28, 2019 Concordia University Ann Arbor welcomed alumni Rev. Dr. John Nunes ('85) to cap off Black History Month celebrations.
Nunes, President of Concordia College New York (CCNY), returned to his alma mater to encourage messages rooted in honesty and truth in regards to race to the CUAA community.
“It is my experience that most Christans aren’t ready to have honest conversations about race,” said Nunes in Thursday morning’s Daily Chapel service. “Jesus came in real flesh, dies a real death, rises a real resurrection—let’s keep our talk real.”
Prior to being elected the ninth president of CCNY in 2016, Nunes held the Jochum Chair, an endowed interdepartmental professorship, at Valparaiso University. Before his time Indiana, Nunes was the President and CEO of Lutheran World Relief for six years.
“To have (John) back here, to share his heart, is an honor,” said Campus Pastor Rev. Randy Duncan, who first met Nunes as a college classmate at Concordia in the 1980’s. “He’s probably one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard, but also, he’s one of the best people that can bring about a conversation about relationships between races in a Christ-centered way.”
Duncan shared that Nunes’ chapel message from Proverbs 25:23-29 led Concordia students, faculty, and staff to walk away feeling renewed and hopeful for God to do a work among us.
Together with his wife, Monique—whom is also a CUAA alumnus—the two shared a message at a late-night student gathering named Alpha and Omega, a time where students come together for fellowship, food, and to share testimonies of faith.
Thank you, President Nunes, for the encouragement to keep our conversations real as the promises of God are real to us.
— Rachel Thoms served on Concordia University's Strategic Communications team from 2015-2022. Any inquiries about this story can be sent to news@cuaa.edu.
If this story has inspired you, why not explore how you can help further Concordia's mission through giving.