Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Wesley Foundation of Kalamazoo's 90th Anniversary

Thank you, Lisa, current students, staff, Board members and supporting churches for planning Wesley's 90th anniversary celebration! It is a great joy to be reminded of the grace and love that filled our season of ministry from February 1993 to June 2002. I remember the passion and laughter and tears that were shared as we grew up together at WMU and Kalamazoo College.

The 75th anniversary theme in 1998 was "Threads of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," based on Ecclesiastes 3:11, "Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. God has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end." In campus ministry we are growing up and ultimately going somewhere else. There is blessed and burdensome instability, and the reminder that any one manifestation of ministry is both beautiful for its time, and not final.

One of the profound benefits of campus ministry is that we are intentionally and directly involved with the most concentrated population of young adults in our culture. We are in the right place and doing the right thing to be personally present with continuing support and the theological commitment to serve campus communities whose intellectual growth needs to be accompanied by God's call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

Beverly and I along with Lindsey, Sarah and Amanda are grateful for all the love shared in our time together.