Kansas Oklahoma Ministries/Missions Among Sisters (KOMMAS), a ministry for all women in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, offers an upcoming book study and opportunity for connection. Join us!

We are fortunate that Rich Bireta, member of the Finance and Stewardship Committee, has agreed to step into this role!

Jesus was very clear about what the most important things are: love God, and love our neighbors as ourselves. When you put it like that, it sounds so simple. But the reality of choosing to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves day in and day out isn’t so easy, is it?

Valerie Kaur will be one of our guest speakers for this year's UCC General Synod July 11-18. Let's get to know her by reading her memoir "See No Stranger."

“…on the mosaics of holy places, even on jewelry and on household objects, there are hundreds, maybe even a thousand images of a praying figure: arms outstretched, palms open, head lifted…“

I was surprised to receive a call from PFLAG a week ago with an invitation to potentially give testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Equality Act. As the PFLAG staff person quickly rattled off pertinent details, I stopped her and said, WHAT?

One Great Hour of Sharing is one of the four special offerings of the United Church of Christ. It is usually received during Lent, and this year the offering falls on March 14.  Its focus is on disasters, refugee-immigration issues, and development ministries throughout the world. 

As we head into our second month of receiving profiles, our Conference Minister Search Committee has met once again to check in, ask questions, and prepare for the process of evaluating candidates and beginning interviews in April.

As we reach the anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas and Oklahoma, I'm reminded of the over 500,000 victims that have died nationally (nearly 10,000 in Kansas and Oklahoma,) and the countless caregivers, both at home and in our community settings - ministries, hospitals, and critical care facilities - who have struggled to ensure our loved ones are comforted and supported as they die.

Over the past few months we have been running a social justice focused book club. The wonderful members of our Federated Book Club have joined in the mission of KO to help bring racial justice to our world.

The question among Conference Ministers these days is how did your Conference giving fare in 2020? What was your OCWM (Our Church’s Wider Mission) giving? Well, the news for KO is GREAT!

The Conference is grateful for the work of Mark Van Dorn, who has served faithfully as Conference Treasurer and Chair of the Finance & Stewardship Committee. Mark made the decision to step back from his duties so that he could focus more readily on family and business obligations.

The opportunity to serve in leadership with the K-O Conference allows me to honor and pay a debt of gratitude to those who raised me – my parents, extended family, and my Fellowship Church family. While I understand that I’m steeped in the unearned privilege of my whiteness, I also find myself reflecting on the value of an upbringing surrounded by people who in mid-20th Century disavowed race prejudice.

Most of us have discovered over the past year that it is never too late to learn something new. Like other Conference pastors, I’ve learned to do worship and pastoral care in ways I was never taught in seminary or learned through nearly fifty years of parish ministry.