September 2002
Dear Cambridge Family,
We had an
interesting turn of events for two of our instructors recently. Cannon
and Dustin Kirby were involved in the production of a short
film. The script for the film, Possibilities, was written by Dustin
and Cannon. It was directed by Cannon and produced by Cannon's brother in law,
Josh Kring. Cannon and Josh also acted in the film. Possibilities
was a finalist at the recent Birmingham Film Festival where Reece Witherspoon,
Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith were among the judges. Even though it
was not included in the final selection of films, it was quite an
accomplishment for a first film, done by inexperienced film makers, to be
among the finalists. Congratulations gentlemen!
The recent
Parent/Student Fund Raiser was a great success. The goal was to raise funds
for the Cambridge Scholarship Fund and that goal was met almost to the penny.
Except for a long line at the restaurant, the event happened without a hitch
thanks to the wonderful organizational and promotional skills of Cambridge
adult students Barb Mesh and Jan Coachman
(both also are parents of former Cambridge students). The food was delicious
and we want to thank Carrabba's Italian Grill for their
wonderful cooperation in making the event a huge success. In the Cambridge
family we also thank all the parents and students who worked so hard to sell
the tickets. One student sold over 80 tickets and a number of students sold
many more than the suggested 10 tickets. On the day of the event, take out
meals were transported to contributors as far away as Plant City, Winter
Haven and Lake Wales. Thank you all for making our first Parent/Student fund
raiser such a grand success!
The fall schedule of
Cambridge Workshops is now underway. Eric Fullgraf is
presently teaching a class on popular music that is well attended. Upcoming
classes include Intermediate Photography taught by Cannon
Kirby, Existentialism and the Arts taught by
Dustin Kirby and How to Read a Book taught by
Bruce Kirby. Those who are interested can go to the Cambridge
Workshops page on our website at
www.cambridgestudycenter.org The
entire fall schedule is listed there and you can even pay over the internet
if you wish to register. If you have questions, please call our office at
863.686.4862.
Film Fridays have
been going well. The adults watched The X-Files at the home of
Allen and Harriet Montgomery for their
first film of the year. Twenty-five attended and took part in the lively
discussion that followed. The young people began their season with a showing
of Chocolat. The occasion was attended by 55 students and friends
of Cambridge. Discussion was led by Dustin Kirby. Other
films shown this past month were Lord of the Rings, discussion led
by Cannon Kirby and Harry Potter, discussion led
by Eric Fullgraf. The second adult film of the year was
Babette's Feast with Allen Montgomery leading the discussion.
We don't like to
talk about financial needs in eBridge, however we feel we must
mention that Cambridge is in critical need of funding. Even though we
tripled our contributor base in the last fiscal year that ended in June, we
still fell $30,000 short of our contributions from the previous year. Much
of this was due to the poor economy. In spite of the fact that we radically
trimmed our budget, this reduction in contributions, combined with increased
overhead caused by the doubling of enrollment at the study center, created a
$60,000 shortfall at the end of the fiscal year. Instructors have been
forced to take drastic salary reductions in order to keep the study center
functioning. Like many other not-for-profits, we need substantial financial
help! The recent Parent/Student Fundraiser was greatly appreciated, but it
is only part of the answer. We need substantial financial involvement from
the rest of the community. All of this has been a nagging distraction from
the matter at hand, educating believers for the sake of the Kingdom. Please
pray with us that God will provide for the needs of Cambridge through His
people.
Thank you to
all who have prayed for us during the events of the last several weeks. We
have made a couple of trips to Tennessee (a special thank you to close friends
who made both of those trips possible!), culminating in Dad's funeral. Prior
to his death Bruce was able to spend a precious week with him at the hospice,
then the week of the funeral the entire family from Florida was able to attend
including all grandchildren and great grandchildren. David McWilliams flew
from Westminster Seminary in Dallas to preach at the funeral which was a
Christ-centered worship service, just as Dad wanted it. David and Dad's pastor
Phil Evaul then led the graveside service the next morning at the National
Military Cemetery in Chattanooga. The funeral was attended by former Cambridge
students and friends from Covenant College. We were please and comforted by
their presence. We returned home last weekend tired but thankful that God had
been honored in the events of the past week. Dad was a gentle and humble man,
and a wonderful father. We look forward to seeing him again!
Sincerely,
Bruce and Jane Kirby
Dorsey
B. Kirby / August 23, 1916 to September 8, 2002
STUDY CENTER
NEEDS
Carpeting
installed in classrooms & commons
Food service
bar for the commons
Twenty-seven
inch television
One DVD/CD
player
Digital camera
fILM fRIDAYS
Student Screenings
October 4: Wise Blood
October 18: Smoke Signals
Adult Screening
October 4: Autumn Sonata
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The Secular
Society Gets Religion by Felicia Lee
The College
Lecture, Long Derided, May Be Fading by William Honan
RECOMMENDED
BOOKS
Eyes Wide Open
by William Romanowski
can be purchased from Amazon at:
Thinking Straight
in a Crooked World
by Gary DeMar can be purchased
from the American Vision at:
