March Message from Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros, Conference Minister
On March 7, a Conference wide email was sent out, not to cause alarm, but to inform you of a third party who is attempting, and in some cases succeeding, to making fraudulent credit card or debit card charges in the name of the Conference.
In that email I advised you to check your credit and debit card accounts for charges you don’t recognize, whether or not they were made in the name of KOCUCC.ORG. If fraudulent charges are on your credit card statement, there are several things you should do. First report and dispute any unauthorized charges with your financial institution. Second, file a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov. Third, file a police report with your local law enforcement agency.
Please rest assured that Kindful, the platform the Conference uses to receive donations, remains secure. Authentic Donations to the Conference will show up on your statements as: NPO* KANSASOKLAHOMA CO WWW.KOCUCC.OR KS and will not include the conference phone number.
I have reported this fraudulent activity, done in the name of the conference, to my local law enforcement agency and have contacted the United Church of Christ General Council for next steps.
In this, the Fourth week of Lent, one of the scriptures for Sunday was Ephesians 5: 8-14.
The text reads:
For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light – for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
As theologian Bruce Epperly so aptly writes, the scriptures for Sunday “challenge us to walk in the light. God is with us in threatening times and God’s circle of love surrounds us. In living light-filled lives, we tap into resources beyond our imagination for the good of ourselves and the world.”
Let us walk in the light and expose that which is done in the darkness.
As usual, I’ll offer my closing thought. Connecting with each other is important. Healthy, strong connections across the conference allow us to care for one another, cheer each other on, celebrate, and lament together as we grow more fully into the beautiful multifaceted gem we are as a conference. During this season of Lent may you feel connected to all as you share the light of Christ with one another.
Many blessings as we walk this journey of faith together,
Lorraine