Learning to Love the World
Brite M.Div. Student Named a 2025-26 Global Theological Fellow
Fellowship introduces students of global ministry, empowering them to serve both in ministry and broader leadership roles.
Diversity is no buzzword for Michelle Beech. Throughout her life, she has consistently been drawn to broad, global perspectives.
“Whether it’s spending time with international students as a TCU undergrad, welcoming missionaries, or collaborating with global colleagues in my professional career,” she said, “I find myself gravitating toward the most diverse—culturally, racially, socially. The more diversity, the happier I am.”
Beech, who is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Brite Divinity School, was recently named one of 10 Higher Education & Leadership Ministries (HELM) 2025–26 Global Theological Fellows, a program designed to introduce ministry students to the global church and its partners. Through the year-long fellowship, Beech and her cohort will learn from international ministry leaders through independent study, online workshops, and global immersion experiences.
HELM, an organization within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is dedicated to supporting and developing leaders through higher education. By partnering with colleges, universities, and theological institutions like Brite, HELM connects students to scholarships, training opportunities, and internships that prepare them for both ministry and broader leadership roles.
“It’s thrilling, but it’s humbling,” Beech said. “To get into the trenches with people who are not just talking about this work but doing it—building global partnerships and bridges that extend life-transforming work for human flourishing.”
Even after a lifetime of engagement in pluralistic gatherings, Beech is eager to keep learning. She was drawn to the Global Theological Fellowship for its cross-cultural connection opportunities. The fellowship culminates in a trip to the Philippines, where Beech’s cohort will be immersed in a new culture and community as they apply what they’ve learned about racism, colonialism, and decentering the stereotypical American Christian experience in service to a global church.
As a Fellow, she looks forward to deepening her “theological empathy” and learning directly from partners “whose experiences expand my own imagination,” she said. Beech hopes to bring what she learns back to her multifaith ministry, Ekklesia Global, a nonprofit spiritual movement dedicated to creating inclusive, judgment-free spaces for individuals to explore faith, heal from religious trauma, and grow in relationship with God and one another.
Ekklesia serves a diverse community through small-group “circles,” retreats, interfaith gatherings, and acts of service—welcoming people from various faith backgrounds, or none at all, to engage in meaningful conversations about spirituality and life’s deepest questions. Since 2019, Ekklesia Global has helped people understand “mission” not as charity or conversion, but as connection for mutual human development.
“Ultimately, I hope to continue growing as a bridge-builder—someone who brings together cultures, traditions, and perspectives in the service of justice, dialogue, and the common good. Listening is going to be key because it’s not just for my own edification. Listening is how I enter new cultural spaces without misrepresenting why I’m there,” Beech said. “Perhaps it’s to love first, and then listen, because love is what gets you into the space in the first place.”
Alongside the fellowship, Beech will continue pursuing her M.Div. at Brite, where she has built a foundation for recognizing how issues such as colonialism, racism, and interreligious tensions shape ministry—and how to respond to these systems with integrity and courage.
“Brite gives me the theological grounding that undergirds my work in global partnership and multifaith ministry today,” she said. “We have a lot to learn, as well as unlearn.”
This next season of her life will be marked by study, dialogue with global partners, and continual learning. For a lifelong learner like Beech, that sounds like a dream come true.