Conference Minister Interviews Begin
An update from Search Committee Chair, the Rev. Rachael Pryor
With gratitude for all those who have applied to be considered for the role of Kansas-Oklahoma Conference Minister, we are pleased to report that we are ready to move into the interview phase of our search, after an initial process of narrowing down the choices to a handful of highly qualified candidates. Our full pool of applicants was commensurate with the diversity and experience represented by authorized ministers across our denomination. Rev. Lee Albertson, UCC national-setting Conference Minister Search Coordinator, affirms that our candidates were comparable in number and quality with recent and ongoing Conference Minister searches throughout the UCC.
The Search Committee is confident in our prayerful and faithful discernment to move forward at this time, and we look forward to presenting a final candidate to the Conference Council on schedule, or perhaps even ahead of time. Our first round of interviews will take place in May; and at the end of May, we look forward to a mock interview with the Rev. Gordon Rankin, New Hampshire Conference Minister, as we learn and prepare for the final stage of interviews in June.
In these months, as we are bound by confidentiality not to report many details, we'd like to offer reflections from each of our Search Committee members about their experience of serving. This month, we hear from the Rev. Caela Simmons Wood of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Manhattan, Kansas. Caela writes:
"When I moved to Kansas almost seven years ago, I had no idea what a gift the KO Conference would be to me. The relationships I’ve formed with other clergy and laypeople in the conference have encouraged and sustained me in my ministry. Every single time I go to a conference gathering, event, or meeting, I look forward to it because I know there will be laughter, honesty, and a sense of working together towards commonly-held dreams. Working with this search committee has been no different! The Conference Council put together an amazing group of individuals who truly represent the diversity of our conference so well and we are incredibly blessed by the Rev. Rachael Pryor’s gifted leadership as our chair. Plus, it has been a joy to get to know the Rev. Lee Albertson from the national setting as he’s served in a consulting role with our group. We continue to welcome your prayers as we do this important work of seeking our new Conference Minister together. "