Covenant News

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.

Printable version of this page.