Dear Cambridge Family,
Cambridge is in its new home! Through the collective efforts of students, parents, board members, faculty and friends of the study center we are now comfortable in our new location at 541 South Florida Avenue. A total of 70 people assisted by donating, repairing, cleaning, painting (there is still touch-up painting needing to be done), and moving in preparation for the start of classes. Students and instructors are now comfortably situated in rooms leased from the congregation of First Christian Church in Lakeland. We thank God for the faithful support of so many and for the new friends we have made at First Christian.
Celebrated photographer Mr. Bud Lee will be visiting our study center arts class (Creative in His Image) soon giving an illustrated lecture on photography and the visual arts. Mr. Lee is the founder of the Artists and Writers Group and the Florida Photographers Workshop. His work can be seen in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Life, Travel and Leisure, Town and Country, Rolling Stone and many other publications. Mr. Lee was Life magazine's "News Photographer of the Year" in 1967. In 1966 he received the "Military Photographer of the Year" award. We appreciate Mr. Lee's taking his time to meet with our students, sharing his experiences and teaching the art of photography.
On Friday night, September 21 Mr. Dean Saunders will be our fILM fRIDAY guest. Mr. Saunders is a former state representative and aid to Lawton Chiles while he served in the U. S. Senate. The film for the evening is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring Jimmy Stewart. Mr. Saunders will lead the discussion after the film addressing the issue of Christians in politics. Mark your calendar and plan to attend this informative evening which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Cambridge Commons. The adults will screen Citizen Kane that same evening at the home of Allen and Harriet Montgomery. All adults, even those not connected with the study center, are invited to attend.
At our last fILM fRIDAY we were pleased to have 52 in attendance. The film was Unbreakable with Eric Fullgraf leading the lively discussion. It was our largest film night ever. We are thankful finally to have a room large enough to serve this many students. For our next fILM fRIDAY students should remember to bring snacks.
The musical event "Harps, Harps and More Harps Extravaganza" is scheduled for September 22nd at 7:00pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 656 Avenue L NW in Winter Haven. Over 50 harpists from all over the state will be performing. The event is free and open to the public. Our own Stephanie Short, her sister and her mother will be playing in this event!
If you haven't yet marked your calendar, October 20 is our first field trip of the year. We will leave at 5:30 a.m. for the Gainesville Book Sale, returning mid-afternoon. Not only is it our first Cambridge-wide field trip, but it is our class for that week. Consequently students are expected to attend unless providentially hindered. There will be limited seats on the buses for parents who reserve seats by October 6. Cost of transportation is $15 per person due the week before the field trip. Students also need to bring money for books and lunch. Students whose schedules will not allow them to attend must notify Bruce or Dustin Kirby no later than October 6.
God has been good to bring many wonderful students to Cambridge this year. You will be interested to know that Cambridge students come from as far away as Babson Park, Lake Wales and Haines City in the east and Riverview, Brandon and Valrico to our west. This is a long drive and we are thankful that students and families value a Cambridge education enough to travel these long distances.
We invite you to stop by the study center to see the renovated facilities. You will enjoy looking in on our classes. And be sure to visit the darkroom now that the Creative in His Image class has started developing their pictures!
Please be in prayer for our 67 students (last year we had 34) and for the Cambridge faculty members. Also please pray that our financial needs will be met. Tuition pays for only a portion of the study center's operating expenses, the rest must be provided through donations. Donations are tax-deductible.
Along with all of you, our faculty, students and families have been profoundly affected by the terrorist attacks on our nation this past week. Please pray along with us that God would use these events to bring glory to Himself and to further His Kingdom.
Sincerely,
Bruce and Jane Kirby
The Cambridge facility gives each instructor a study/classroom in addition to the student commons, a darkroom for the arts students and a work room for the faculty.