Leadership Transformation Grant Awarded for 2nd Year

Bobbie Henderson, Past President, KO Conference

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. We are one of 87 business, education, faith, government, and nonprofit organizations receiving this valuable leadership development opportunity. As we look forward to the 2022 partnership, here’s a recap of how the 2021 grant was used:

·       44 individuals took one or more courses 

·       Fifteen pastors, 3 other church staff, 2 Conference staff, 5 Conference Council members, and 18 lay members from local churches participated

·       Course participants represented 12 UCC congregations

With the 2022 grant, we’re hopeful that another 30 individuals will enroll in the first course, Your Leadership Edge, and that twenty will enroll in the advanced courses, Leading for Change and Equip to Lead.

We’re grateful to be able to offer this opportunity to men and women of our Kansas and Oklahoma congregations. The KLC leadership development principles and competencies equip participants with the skills to lead anytime, anywhere. 

In the applications, grantees are asked, “When you think about your organization, what are your aspirations?” In each of our applications, we responded as follows:

Conference leadership – clergy and lay members working with the Conference Minister – aspire to a Conference-wide faith community of local congregations committed to the collective purpose of identifying and practicing ways to honor and fulfil the denomination’s historic stand for social justice. In other words, valuing the tradition of the United Church of Christ as a force for inclusion and acceptance of all individuals, particularly those whose personal circumstances have too often marginalized them from active participation in church.

At the heart of KLC’s approach is the need to distinguish between technical and adaptive challenges and as part of the process, grantees are asked to identify their ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE. The Core Team, reflecting on our aspirations for the UCC presence in Kansas and Oklahoma, have adopted the following:

We want to equip more people with a common language, to lead in their local settings, using adaptive skills to take risks, do brave things, to be church in new ways, and to bring hope to the world.

Soon after the first of the year, the KLC Core Team will be reaching out to K-O congregations with more information and details about enrolling in the leadership courses.

For more information about the Kansas Leadership Center and the three courses: The Kansas Leadership Center.

KLC Core Team:

            Lorraine Ceniceros

            Bobbie Henderson

            Fred Kandeler

            Rachael Pryor

            Michael Vollbrecht