Granberg-Michaelson to speak in chapel

The Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church in America, will speak in chapel at Northwestern College on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 11:05 a.m. under the auspices of the Ronald R. Nelson Scholars and Artists in Residence Program. The public is invited to the event in Christ Chapel.

General secretary since 1994, Granberg-Michaelson has announced his plans to retire next fall. Under his leadership, the denomination has implemented a visionary plan for revitalization and church development, built on its historic commitments to mission, outreach and education as well as innovative approaches to leadership development and models for new churches. He also served as the first board chair of Call to Renewal, a broadly ecumenical movement linking faith and justice, and as interim moderator in the founding of Christian Churches Together in the USA.

Granberg-Michaelson founded and served as the president of the New Creation Institute in Missoula, Mont., encouraging Christian responsibility for creation care. He also served as the director of church and society for the World Council of Churches, was managing editor of Sojourners magazine, and was a staff member for U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon.

Granberg-Michaelson, whose father-in-law, Lars Granberg, was Northwestern College’s president from 1966 to 1975, has written four books. His most recent, Leadership From Inside Out: Spirituality and Organizational Change, was published by Crossroad in 2004. 

“Wes Granberg-Michaelson is a major leader in the church,” says Northwestern’s chaplain, the Rev. Harlan Van Oort, “and our students will get an opportunity to learn from his experience and theological acumen. He wants to engage with college students and hear from them, especially students on our campus, because he deeply cares about the future of the church.”