Around this time last year, I was asked to join the Board of Trustees of the Wesley Foundation at Colorado University Boulder. For those of you (like me) who were not cradle United Methodists or who aren't familiar, Wesley Foundations are our college ministries. They are usually housed on or near campuses and staffed with theologically trained, innovative, and open-hearted directors. They offer Bible studies, support groups, pastoral counseling, a safe space to study, eat or hang out, and an organization through which students serve their communities. Wesley IS church, though most Foundations have no worship service on Sunday mornings. 

I thought I could bless this organization by serving as Finance Chair, but I underestimated how much the Board would bless me. In the last year, I have come to know Executive Director Rev. Ashley Murphy as a dear friend, and our children love playing together! Ashley has a passion for ministry and for young people, and connects easily with alumni, donors, students and community leaders. I have long wanted to invite her to Christ Church to tell you about the ways she has invigorated a floundering church using peanut butter sandwiches and free feminine hygiene supplies. But the timing never seemed right.

So, this fall, while collecting parking money together at a college football game, I asked Ashley about her favorite church season or Bible story as insight into when I could invite her to Denver. I did not want her to cover a Sunday when I was out of town; I wanted to worship alongside her and her family. She said that most of the students are gone by early December, and she loves and misses preaching during Advent. So... this Sunday, Rev. Ashley Murphy will bring us a message called "Windows and Doors: Sacred People of Love". Here's her official bio from Wesley: