April Message from Conference Minister Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros

By now, I’m sure many of you are a bit weary of hearing about General Synod. We’ve been asking for volunteers starting nearly four months before the event, without knowing the schedule, which was just released on April 9. Click here for that schedule! We’re also asking volunteers to pay to attend—yes, the registration cost to volunteer is $100. However, those who register through the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference will receive a $30 rebate, bringing the cost down to $70. While this is significantly less than the $325 cost for attending as a guest, it’s still an ask, and it’s understandable that some may feel hesitant.

We are also asking for buy-in to an event that might feel disconnected from where we live and from our daily lives. Yet, for many, volunteering for this event where the delegates from every Conference in the United Church of Christ will gather, could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience — a chance to feel a deep sense of togetherness, connectedness, and to know that our congregations are not alone in a world that often feels increasingly chaotic.

Even the theme of the event might seem distant from life here in Kansas and Oklahoma. But I invite you to take a closer look at the General Synod logo. In the middle, you’ll find prairie grass moving with the wind and at the bottom we see the deep roots of the grass. This image speaks to us. As we look across the vast stretches of prairie in Kansas and Oklahoma, we see a landscape shaped by time, challenge, and renewal. Prairie grasses bend with the wind, survive the scorch of the sun, and endure the fires that sweep across the land. Yet, they do not just survive — they thrive. Their secret lies beneath the surface, in roots that reach down deep, sometimes ten to fifteen feet, anchoring them to the earth and drawing nourishment from hidden sources.

In many ways, we are like the prairie grass. Life brings challenges—economic hardships, natural disasters, social and political change. We may feel uprooted or scorched by these trials, but like the grass, our resilience lies in the depth of our roots. Our roots are our faith, our communities, our shared history, and our commitment to one another.

Luke 5:4 calls us to cast our nets into the deep. Living in the middle of the country, this theme can bring to mind the fear of floods or the threat of deep water damaging the landscape. Yet, because we live surrounded by prairie, we can envision the deep roots of prairie grass as our metaphor for going into the deep. Just as Jesus invited the disciples to move beyond the shallow, comfortable waters into deeper, more uncertain spaces, we too are called to root ourselves deeply in faith. The deep waters represent not just risk but also the potential for abundance and transformation. Similarly, prairie grass roots plunge into the depths, where nourishment is found, even when the surface appears barren.

Prairie grasses do not grow in isolation. They thrive as part of a diverse ecosystem — big bluestem, switchgrass, wildflowers, and more — each contributing to the prairie’s strength and stability. In our communities, we, too, draw resilience from diversity: diversity of perspectives, traditions, cultures, and experiences. When we lean into this diversity, we build a community capable of withstanding life’s challenges.

Just as the prairie regenerates after fire or drought, so too, can we find renewal after seasons of loss or pain. Our capacity to recover comes not just from individual strength but from our interconnectedness, from the ways we support and nurture one another through hard times.

Today, as we reflect on the resilience of the prairie and the call to go deeper, let us also reflect on our own capacity to endure, to adapt, and to thrive. Let us deepen our roots—rooted in faith, grounded in love, and intertwined with one another. And when life’s winds and fires come, let us bend without breaking, drawing strength from God and from the community we have built together.

May we be like the prairie—resilient, diverse, and rooted in what truly matters, willing to go deeper in faith and in life.

And may you feel compelled to join the Kansas Oklahoma Conference as a volunteer for General Synod 35 in Kansas City!