“Seeing the things in the world that God is doing [gives me hope.]”
Mike is a hopeful, compassionate, friendly, thoughtful, wine-making, African drum-making, pad thai cooking, hiking peacemaker (an enneagram 9!) who hails from Buffalo, NY. His faith journey has been rich and wide as he is one who is willing to explore the concepts, mysticism and practices of many traditions - methodism, Buddhism, meditation, Islam, and the list could go on! He even considered being a minister, attending Gordon Conwell Seminary for a few years, before he realized that his true passion was working with adolescents. He is a social worker at Colebrook High School which is part of the Concord Area Special Education Collaborative, where his greatest joy is seeing kids find new understanding in themselves and taking risks. His last major risk was being the lead producer for a DVD about teaching drumming. Despite the consequences that come with risks, he is willing to take on more - planning to hike Kilimanjaro in 2018 and some day going on safari in South Africa. A question that has tugged at his faith throughout his life whether it be observing the world, experiencing his own divorce, or working with his students is “why is there suffering?” While he admits that the best questions (like this one!) don’t always have answers, he is willing to dive deeply into them with conversation partners like Dostoyevskis (The Grand Inquisitor), the Bible (Romans 5 and Jonah) and his St. Paul faith community. Next time you see Mike, be sure to ask him where he sees God working in his own life through friendships and community.