On June 6–7, nine clergy from across the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference gathered in Tulsa, OK, for a powerful two-day Anti-Racism Training. This transformative experience, led by Pastor Julia Gaughan, deepened our understanding of systemic racism and helped us explore our individual and collective roles in dismantling it.

As part of our shared commitment to accountable, faithful ministry, the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference will begin requiring all Authorized Ministers working in a called ministry to have a formal Three- or Four-Way Covenant in place starting in 2026.

From July 18 to 20, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Manhattan is offering training for the secondary level of OWL, which includes grades 7 through 12.

This gathering is part of Central Seminary’s work through the Thriving Congregations Initiative, generously supported by the Lilly Endowment. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges congregations face and how these challenges vary depending on location, size, and denomination.

We are already in the middle of 2025! And for many of us, the world still feels just as unsteady as it did right after January 20th.

The Committee on Ministry - Discernment (COM D) officially invites the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference to the Ecclesiastical Council of Dee Moore Saturday, June 28 at 10:00 am.  

Is your church celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month? The Kansas-Oklahoma Conference wants to see your joy, spirit, and pride in action!

If you require a hotel, hotel arrangements will be your responsibility at this point. But it’s not too late to register for the June training!

Authorized Ministers holding Exempt Standing are required to establish a specific Three-Way Covenant. This covenant defines the mutual responsibilities and expectations shared among the Conference, your Local Church, and you as an Authorized Minister with Except Standing.

Across the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, spring is bringing not only warmer days and blooming landscapes but also new stirrings of the Spirit in our churches and communities.

Please make plans to come to one of these celebrations of leadership and growth in the KO Conference!

More than a few people of the United Church of Christ have begun making prayer shawls for General Synod 35, which is in Kansas City at the Convention Center this July 11-15.

Want to send Love Notes for our Wall of Love? There is a special room for presentations and rest and quiet for LGBTQIA+ persons at General Synod.

I invite you to take a closer look at the General Synod logo. In the middle, you’ll find prairie grass moving with the wind and at the bottom we see the deep roots of the grass. This image speaks to us.

This is the first of two opportunities being provided by the Conference to help Authorized Ministers meet this standing requirement. 

This specific covenant outlines the responsibilities between the Conference, your Local Church, and you as an Authorized Minister in the United Church of Christ, even if you are retired or inactive. 

We are living in a terrifying time for trans people and our families, as a virulent anti-trans political movement led by Christian Nationalists is sweeping the United States and threatening trans lives. This webinar, offered by the Transforming Hearts Collective in partnership with Queer Theology, enfleshed, and Soulforce, will equip you to respond.

On February 28, Dianne Reistroffer and Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson announced that the Rev. Dr. Lorraine Ceniceros (Advanced Practice of Ministry Track) successfully defended her Doctor of Ministry Project.

As mentioned in the January newsletter, Three- or Four-Way Covenants will become a standing requirement in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference beginning in 2026. Various versions of the covenant exist, depending on ministerial standing and ministry setting.

The Small Town and Rural (STAR)* Coalition is a small group of people that have come together to bring voice to churches that fall in small town and rural communities, providing support to churches, congregations, pastors, and laity.