Annual Meeting Sponsor: Phillips Theological Seminary

Ulysses Allen - Director of Recruitment and Retention

Our longtime partner, Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, has stepped up their abundant giving even more this year in order to host our Friday evening Dinner Church service at Annual Meeting. Many members and clergy of KO churches already benefit from the generous educational support PTS offers UCC students, and this is yet another example of the faithful stewardship PTS models in support of vocational discernment and theological education for the sake of the Church. Ulysses Allen, Director of Recruitment and Retention, will return for another year of tabling with the KO Conference, greeting current PTS students and alums, and answering questions for prospective students.  

Kurt Gwartney (M.Div.)

We'll also meet Kurt Gwartney (M.Div.) who serves as Senior Director of Communications at PTS. Kurt started his communications career playing DJ in his childhood home after getting a used record player as a Christmas gift. He became a real DJ at the age of 16. While radio and audio remain his first media love, Gwartney has experience in online, print and video reporting, editing and production. He has received state, regional and national awards for his work and is known as an innovator in the use of new technologies for communications. Gwartney is a certified United Methodist Communicator, has his accreditation in public relations (APR), and is a sustaining member of the Religion Communicators Council.

On Saturday morning, Kurt will lead the workshop "The First 90 Minutes: Responding to a Crisis." In this workshop, you’ll learn what to do in the first 90 minutes of a crisis. Whether it’s a natural disaster, an allegation of sexual abuse, a building fire, or an embezzlement, your ministry needs to be ready to respond quickly and responsibly. You’ll take away specific, hands-on techniques you can implement immediately in your ministry setting that will help you handle a crisis. 

Kurt Gwartney also serves on the faculty of PTS's Center for Ministry and Lay Training, where he teaches an eight-week communications course.  The Center offers an excellent variety of courses perfect for anyone wishing to serve more effectively in their local church and community, and a great starting point for discerning whether a deeper sense of call to ordained ministry is in your future.