About Us: Michael Murray's Background

A little of my walk with the Lord...

I live in suburban Cleveland, Ohio with my wife and two boys, Eric, 7 and Drew, 11. I was Catholic until recently. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior in 1998 and finally left the Catholic Church last year. My family attends Cuyahoga Valley Community Church in the Cleveland area.

I'm not a pastoral minister, deacon or hold any other religious office. That's not the course God has taken me on to date. I'm a child of God and a believer in Jesus who died on a cross in my place for my sins.

I've repented and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Here are some basic facts that may give you a sense of my background. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I've been given the opportunity to worship and pray with people from many Christian faiths.

• Volunteered for three "big brother and sister" type organizations in Ohio and North Carolina (1985-1992)

• Chaired a social justice committee at St. Michael's in Gastonia, N.C., funding and supporting charitable causes like Habitat for Humanity families (1990-1992)

• Helped teach children as a catechist during the Sunday Mass dismissals at St. Henry in Cleveland (1996-1999); occasionally assisted staff catechists during formal Saturday program.

• Served as a lector at St. Henry (1996-1999) and St. Monica in Garfield Heights (1999-2001)

• Member of Adult Education Committee at St. Monica's (1999-2001)

• Coordinated St. Monica volunteers once a month at a hunger center at St. Timothy's in Cleveland (2000-2001)

• Served on the St. Monica 2000-2001 team for 65 confirmation candidates (assisting with planning and monthly programs presentations)

• Former chairman of Evangelization Commission (1996-1999) at St. Henry

• Helped coordinate a young adult retreat (1997 at St. Henry) and four "Strangers No More" men's retreats in Greater Cleveland (1998-2002)

• Attended an 8-week Life in the Spirit workshop at Epiphany parish on Cleveland (1998) Attended two annual conferences of the Catholic Renewal Ministry at St. Regina High School in Cleveland (1998-1999)

• Attended Catch The Fire conferences at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Akron (1998 and 1999, 2001 and 2002)

• Attended Citywide Fire conference at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Akron (2001)

• Intercessor with the International House of Prayer in Cleveland (2001-present)

• Associated with the Acts of Kindness Association in Cleveland, which promotes Biblical based acts of kindness (2001-present)

• Completed 2 courses through the Harvest Net Institute in Cleveland, covering prayer and deliverance/inner healing (2001)

• Member of the prayer teams at the Healing Rooms of Cleveland (2003)

• A 1986 graduate of Kent State University (journalism)

• Founder and president of ConveyWeb, a Web site development and search engine positioning firm