Congratulations to Rev. Michael Vollbrecht on accepting a call to serve as the Associate Pastor at Colonial UCC in Prairie Village, KS where Rev. Aaron Roberts is the Senior Pastor.

Following the week-long annual meeting October 5-8, the Conference asked for feedback on the virtual experience. The results are in!

The thing about community is that a personal change for a pastor doesn’t happen in isolation; it affects the entire congregation and everyone deals with change differently. So, lots of people may be taking deep breaths these days!

While many folks associate this month with Halloween costumes and the real arrival of autumn, October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month. It is more likely than not that you know someone who has experienced pregnancy and infant loss - it affects one in four women.

Rev. Lori Walke will be installed as the Senior Pastor of Mayflower Congregational UCC on Sunday September 26th at 4:00PM.

With the exception of perhaps my first year as your Conference Minister, I have wondered about the registration numbers at Annual Meeting and what it said about our common life as “The Conference.”

Should we proceed with in-person worship, or go (or continue to be) virtual? I was in a virtual meeting last week with the Council of Conference Ministers who were discussing this question as it relates to a retreat scheduled for December.

When I first heard of the earthquake in Haiti on August 14th, my heart sank.

On Saturday August 21st delegates from nearly half of the congregations in Kansas and Oklahoma met to elect the Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros as it’s 8th Conference Minister.

The theme for the next handful of KO reflections is “RENEWAL,” so here’s what I know: I would have burned out a long time ago had a wise pastor not pulled me aside during my first few months in ministry and told me to schedule two days off in a row

In a few short weeks, you will gather virtually in a specially called meeting to elect a new Conference Minister; the candidate is Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros.

I didn’t expect to find renewal. And if I’m being honest, I didn’t know how much I needed it to find me. As is so often the case, renewal came to me through work with youth in my congregation.

The Conference Minister Search Committee has been engaged in the most difficult part of the entire process: narrowing down from our field of selected candidates for an in-person interview round.

The leadership at Wichita UCC has called Rachael to serve as their Transitional Minister.

In the United Church of Christ, we pride ourselves on our autonomy. We are proud of our local churches, and rightly so. But as much as we are a local people, we are also a covenant people.

By the time I arrived in Kansas-Oklahoma, Art Foster had already retired, but his legacy is well known. The lives he touched extend far beyond the two states of this Conference.

Gilbert Baker was born in a small Kansas town and left Kansas as soon as he could. No wonder.

While not every church in KO is ONA (Open and Affirming,) EVERY one of our congregations have members that support, love, advocate, and care for LGBTQI+ family and friends.