About Laura

Author • Pastor • Speaker • Guide

I'm Laura Murray.
Let's grow in welcome together.

Hi! I’m Laura, and I don’t love having my face by itself on this page, but I am told that’s what is needed. Honestly, I’d much rather introduce you to the good and welcoming people I know who hold spacious and beautiful places for me. I hope you can find welcome here on this page and with the faces on retreats and other pages.

Welcome isn’t about a place but about people. It begins with God, who loves you and has a home for you. So I hope you will find welcome here and grow into becoming a person of welcome, creating places of welcome wherever you go.

My Journey: Between Two Cultures

I grew up in a communal culture and home. You often find me using “we” where you might expect “I.” The home I was raised in vastly differed from the culture outside my front door. I often felt strange and pulled between these two cultures. I wasn’t quite sure what home was supposed to be. Through years of searching to know what and where home was, I began to learn that home can be many places and can also be a variety of people. As an adult, I found home in unexpected places and welcome from unexpected people, and it was up to me to receive their welcome. I also learned that some people and places did not receive me, which was hard yet necessary to learn.

For years, I have created places of welcome, whether as a pastor in large and small spaces, as a spiritual director with individuals and a few people, or on retreat in the digital space or in person.

I’d love for you to learn and grow in welcome. To know and receive God’s welcome, that you might take welcome into the world. Our world needs us, and we need them.

In our world, we need people and places of welcome.

Developing people and places of welcome.

Whether you want to experience, learn, or offer welcome, I’d love to help.

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