Conference Strives to Connect Churches, Members

Connections, connections, connections. This theme is continually showing up throughout the conference as I meet with pastors and congregations. This is also the theme at the forefront of our conference leaders’ attention as they get to know me, and I strive to get to know them personally. A new leader beginning their work during a long pandemic makes establishing connections challenging but not impossible. I have found leaders in Kansas and Oklahoma open and graciously connecting with me as we have found the time.

Conference leadership and other volunteers in the planning committees are working with me to put together two clergy events and two conference events this summer and early fall that will help to foster connections in our conference. The first set of connections will be in August, involving a clergy retreat and my Installation as Conference Minister in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on August 19 and 20, respectively. The next set of events is the Conference Annual Meeting on October 14 and 15 in Wichita and pre-event meetings for clergy and Committee on Ministry members. Invitations for these events have already been emailed widely. Please let me know if you did not receive an invitation.  

To continue making space for connections, the Installation service and portions of the Annual Meeting will be accessible over Zoom. This platform was chosen because participants can see each other and offer greetings to one another through the chat feature.

These last 2+ years of the pandemic have been long and hard on everyone. Some of our clergy, and I’m sure many of our conference members, have not been able to see one another in person since March of 2019. We know the pandemic is not entirely over, and there is a continuing need for care and safety. Should you decide you are comfortable attending the events in person and want to add the precaution of wearing a mask, please feel free to do so. If you are uncomfortable being in a large group of people or unable to attend in person. In that case, the zoom option will enable you to experience the event while connecting with others. New connections can be made, and established connections can be strengthened in many ways. K-O Conference leadership is excited to be able to offer these different spaces where friends can reconnect and new friends can be made.

Another avenue of connection will be through the wider church's available resources. Soon you will receive a new Stewardship/Generosity newsletter through a collaborative partnership with the Generosity Outreach Officer in the national setting. I hope the content of the monthly newsletter will provide inspiration and resources for our members and congregations.

I’m looking forward to discovering more ways that will allow us to connect and the larger church.

Many blessings as we walk this journey of faith together,

Lorraine