CHICAGO, IL (November 13, 2002) - The decision on whether to come to seminary was what prompted Amy Mark to write East of Canaan, the title track of her debut CD that was released in September.

Mark, a second-year student at North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS), says her inspiration for the CD was a journey that led her from the west coast to the Midwest for training - East of Canaan includes 11 of Mark's original compositions, mostly written in a quieter, contemporary praise style. Her CD recordings include band accompaniment - friends of hers from Fresno, California - although she usually uses piano and guitar in concert.

Mark, the daughter of Covenant missionaries David and Wendy Mark, says she was considering attending seminary when she discovered something while reading a Bible passage in the book of Numbers.

In Numbers 32, some of the Israelites ask Moses if they can live east of Canaan instead of crossing Jordan with the rest of the crowd. "Some of God's people, having looked around at the good things he has already provided, ask God to give them something other than their promised inheritance," Mark explains. She was enjoying her life in Fresno, where she was leading the singles ministry at an Evangelical Free church, but says she felt God calling her to further training at seminary and wrote about the experience. "That was the song that convinced me to come," she said.

Mark, who grew up in Mexico, has been singing most of her life. In high school and at North Park University (then College), she helped lead worship. Even though she pursued a career in education, teaching junior high in the Fresno area, she has continued to be involved in leading worship and cultivating her own musical gifts.

The first song on the CD, "Junk," launched the project. Mark says it started with a joke, "stemming from the outrageous accumulation of junk I was carrying around in my car that led to a simple, yet profound truth about the cleansing work of redemption." After a year and a half, she had a repertoire of songs that she recorded on CD in August 2001.

To obtain a copy of the CD, email Amy Mark at amark@northpark.edu or call her at 773-539-9320.