January Message from Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Lorraine Ceniceros

January invites us to breathe again.

The rush of Advent and Christmas is behind us, and the year opens quietly, with space to reflect on where we’ve been and where God might be leading us next. In the life of this Conference, January is a threshold month. We carry gratitude for what has been given, and we step into a new year with intention, trust, and resolve.

Across Kansas and Oklahoma, our congregations continue to show up in faithful ways. You are caring for one another, serving your communities, asking hard questions, and staying rooted in love even when the wider world feels uncertain. That steady faithfulness matters. It is the foundation on which everything else rests.

As we move into the new year, I want to lift up our shared covenant. We are not walking this road alone. Through Our Church’s Wider Mission, the 5 for 5 offerings, the stories, hopes, and concerns shared in Holy Conversations, and the countless quiet acts of care that never make a report, we remain connected to one another and to the wider United Church of Christ. Together, our witness is stronger than any single effort on its own.

January is also a time for honest discernment. What is God asking of us now? Where are we being invited to deepen relationships, to tell the truth with love, to repair what has been strained, or to imagine something new? These do not ask for quick answers, but they are faithful questions.

Thank you for your ministry, your generosity, and your trust in this shared work. I am grateful to serve alongside you, and I look forward to what we will discover together in the months ahead.

May this new year bring clarity where there has been confusion, courage where there has been fear, and hope rooted not in circumstance, but in God’s abiding presence with us.

With gratitude,
Lorraine