I am now in Junction City and am excited to begin my work with you.  I arrived Saturday, November 27, and am knee deep in boxes; empty, full, and in between, as I attempt to put everything away.

On behalf of the Conference Council, the KLC Core Team is excited to report that the Kansas Leadership Center has awarded K-O a second Transformation Grant.

If you visit the websites of many UCC Conferences, you’ll find compensation guidelines available that assist congregations and authorized ministers develop their budgets or provide recommendations to consider when hiring a new pastor or specialized minister.

December brings important transitions to our Conference.

My friend and former colleague Rev John Thomas called it the long goodbye; the time between when a person serving in a pastoral role in the UCC announces they are leaving until they are finally gone. Eventually, the time comes to actually leave. That is the hard part. 

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.