Monthly Archives: February 2015

Leanne Payne (June 26, 1932-February 18, 2015)

Leanne Payne, beloved author and teacher, died on Ash Wednesday, 2015. Honoring herLP worldwide ministry as a wise spiritual counselor and relentless prayer warrior, the Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections present this invocation requesting fresh anointing from God for Christian service, used by Payne and her colleagues during Pastoral Care conferences:

Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Pour the living water in Your presence
on the thirsty ground of my heart.

Make rivers of living water flow
on the barren heights of my soul,
and springs well up within all its valleys.

I would receive power, Lord Jesus Christ, to be your witness
at home and throughout the earth.
Be thou in me the fountain of living water,
springing up unto everlasting life.

You have qualified me, Holy Father, to share in the inheritance
of the saints in the kingdom of light.
You have rescued me from the dominion of darkness
and brought me into the kingdom of Your dear Son
in whom I have redemption
the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1).
You have set Your seal upon me
Your Spirit in my heart as a deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come.
In Christ, I stand firm (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).
For adoption in You, I give you thanks.
For this I praise your holy, gracious name.

And I praise You as the One who sends forth Your Spirit
upon those who trust in Your name:
“Thou the anointing Spirit art
Who Doest thy sev’nfold gifts impart.”

I ask You now for the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
and a full freedom to move in the power of your Spirit
to the glory of your Name and the advancement of Your kingdom.
I know, Lord, that the day is coming when
“the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory
of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Hebrews 2:14).
I rejoice in this, and ask that even now, Your Spirit
will fill me, cover me, and clothe me in this way.
I ask, also, for the grace and strength to so walk before You
that Your Holy Spirit will in no way be grieved or offended,
but will remain upon me; be ever pleased to rest upon me.

Father, for this baptism of Your Spirit,
one that will continue to well up from within me,
I give you thanks in advance.

It is in Jesus’ holy name that I pray and receive this blessing. Amen.

The papers of Leanne Payne (SC-125) are housed in the Wheaton College Special Collections in Wheaton, IL.

 

Miss Jean Leckemby

LeckembyThe following obituary appears in the August 13, 1948 Wheaton Record:

Miss Jean Leckemby, recorder of the registrar’s office, died from a skull fracture enroute to the hospital after the automobile she was driving collided with a truck the evening of August 6 in Wheaton. Other persons injured in the crash were Mrs. Winnie Hockman, housemother at Hiatt Hall, and Mrs. Gail P. Leckemby, mother of Jean. Mrs. Hockman was taken to Delnor Hospital, St. Charles, where she was treated for a sprained back. Mrs. Leckemby was bruised and is suffering from severe shock. Miss Leckemby held the position of recorder since her graduation from Wheaton in 1941. “Known and beloved by all how knew her for her quiet efficiency, cheerfulness, courtesy and dependability,” in the words of President V. Raymond Edman, Miss Leckemby “was devoted to the Lord’s work here at Wheaton and was a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Miss Leckemby, her mother and Mrs. Hockman were on their way to Moody Bible Institute to attend a relative’s graduation. The 1949 Wheaton College Tower is dedicated to her. As the years progress, even formal memorials do not sufficiently refresh the remembrance of worthy individuals. However, Miss Leckemby, beside her splendid testimony and dedication to Christ, left behind another reminder of her short life. Four scrapbooks, containing photos, programs, cards and correspondence, offer a poignant glimpse  into her happy years as a student at Wheaton College. The scrapbooks (SC-142) are housed in the Wheaton College Archives.

100 Years

CairnsDr. Earle Cairns, professor of history and chairman of the department of history at Wheaton College, was commissioned in 1960 to write a book, Saints and Society, about the social impact of evangelical compassion. Cairns profiles reformers such as John Wesley, William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftsbury, chronicling their contributions to the sweeping revivals that shook England and beyond. The book served a dual purpose, also celebrating the 100th anniversary of Wheaton College, founded in 1860. Published by Moody Press in Chicago, the book’s dust jacket sports the college logo (below). Records, documents, photos and memorabilia pertaining to the Wheaton College Centennial are maintained in the Wheaton College Archives (RG 10.4).

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