Master Class: Exploring Holy Friendship
Week 1 | M, W | Hall of Missions | Ages 16 and up
Join two speakers from the Interfaith Lecture Series for a Master Class exploring the place of friendship in spirituality. Rev. Mike Mather and Rev. Dr. Victoria White will lead this two-session class, sharing stories of meaningful holy friendships and life lived in community. The class sessions will provide an opportunity for participants to consider the way that friendship has shaped their own spiritual lives, and invite reflection, the development of friendship-nurturing practices, and storytelling.
Class Times
Rev. Michael Mather
Michael Mather is the pastor of First United Methodist Church of Boulder since 2020. Prior to that he served two congregations in Indiana for 34 years. He is the author of Having Nothing, Possessing Everything: Finding Abundant Communities in Unexpected Places. He graduated with an M.Div. from Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. He was the Perkins Lecturer at First United Methodist Church of Wichita Falls, Texas in 2020. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Louisville Institute and is a member of the Faculty of the Asset Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University. Mike is married to Kathy Licht (for 42 years) and is the father of two and the grandfather of one!
Rev. Dr. Victoria White
The Rev. Dr. Victoria White is a writer, pastor, designer, coach, facilitator, and teacher. She combines her gifts most effectively through her work at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity where she cultivates and supports innovative Christian institutions and their leaders. Victoria believes in the power of networks as a way for leaders to identify often overlooked hubs of creativity, affinity, and shared passions which, when strategically cross-pollinated, can provide deep wells of resources to help communities thrive and bear witness to God’s reign. She’d prefer to do this work she loves from the sand of any beach anywhere, but for the moment she lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her spouse Mark, their two teenagers, Ava and Owen, and their Great Dane, Ruby. Happiness for Victoria sounds like raucous laughter, embellished storytelling, voices talking over one another; and friends of all ages piled on couches and laid out on the floor, relaxed, safe, loved, and holy. There should also, always, be excellent food.Victoria is grateful to the many institutions who have shaped and formed her, namely Rhodes College, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, and Duke Divinity School. She is the author of Holy Friendships: Nurturing Relationships that Sustain Pastors and Leaders.
