We will gather for our first Leadership Institute class in 2017 on January 2. At the beginning of the New Year, having recently celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, we will be filled with the fresh hope of our Lord, who is living in our world and reborn in our hearts. This evening we will celebrate the faithfulness of all Friends in the Institute, and honor our Friends who will receive certificates of completion for having participated in at least one class in the twelve courses during the last three years. We will also experience new hope and vision for missions as Michelle Murray shares with us.
Michelle Murray is a Friends missionary. Currently she is involved in mission work at Barclay College and in Haviland, Kansas, where she is active in the Haviland Friends Church. At Barclay, she teaches, counsels students, particularly those who are interested in missions, and organizes Juniors Global trips for students who want short-term experiences in mission work abroad. In Haviland, she manages Origins Coffeehouse, a place of ministry where Barclay College students, town residents, and visitors can share with one another their Christian faith, and where Barclay students are given opportunity to work in a Christian environment.
Michelle graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University at Long Beach. She holds the degree of Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership, with a concentration in Spiritual Formation, from Barclay College.
Michelle served Evangelical Friends Church Southwest as a missionary in Cambodia. She also served in Cambodia with Marketplace Ministries. Among her ministry responsibilities in Cambodia were managing a Christian coffeehouse and training young people to work in the coffeehouse. Deeply concerned about the major problem of human trafficking, Michelle went into the brothels, brought out some who were held as slaves, and trained them for respectable Christian work in the coffeehouse.
Michelle enjoys adventure in God’s natural world. When you are able, ask her about her hike to the top of Kilimanjaro.
Michelle has a powerful message and amazing experiences to share with us, and we are extremely blessed to have her as our teacher.
One goal in the Institute is to make available our courses to Friends throughout the nation and around the globe, at any time of day or night. Drew Davenport makes this possible by putting the video recorded sessions on YouTube. Some Friends cannot be free at the time the classes are in session. If this is the case for you and you want to see and hear the presentations, click here. Then choose the session you want to view.
Sites where the classes are live include: Friends Community Church (Angleton), Friends Bible Training School in Alaska Yearly Meeting at the home of David Miller, Noatak, Alaska (Robert Sheldon, Superintendent), Friends Ministry Center (Wichita), Lighthouse Fellowship Church (at the home of Jerry and Mary Louthan), Bangor Liberty Friends Church, Fowler Friends Church, Barclay College (Jackson Hall), Faith Friends Church, North Newton (at the home of Merl and Eunice Kinser), Sudanese Community Church (Omaha), Arkansas City Friends Church (at the home of Bud Lawrence), New Hope Friends Church, Friends Church at Liberal, and Neighborhood Friends Church (at the home of Tom and Bonnie Bousman).
The Institute is a caring family of Friends, and we can increase our care as we know one another better. So we give ten minutes before the class begins every month for a person to tell a little about herself/himself. The sharing time will begin at 6:50 p.m., and the class will start at 7:00 p.m. central time on January 2, 2017.
Eagerly anticipating Michelle Murray’s message and thanking all Institute participants,
– Dave Kingrey, Director of Leadership Institute
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