For the second year, the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference UCC has secured a Leadership Transformation Grant from the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) to offer clergy and lay members of UCC congregations the opportunity to participate in leadership development programs, beginning with the introductory course, Your Leadership Edge.

As yet another Covid-19 variant has emerged, and as we enter year three of the pandemic, it appears congregations are adjusting in ways that work for the individual faith communities. Many of our churches are temporarily returning to virtual worship and those who are worshiping in person are masking and distancing as needed.

Colonial Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, is preparing to welcome a new Associate Pastor.

As we enter the third week of the new year, I am happy to share that I am comfortably settled into my new home, have officially become a member of Zion UCC, and have begun meeting with clergy and church leadership.

Central Congregational Church in Topeka, Kansas, is a recent recipient of a Neighbors in Need grant from the United Church of Christ.

KO books will close for 2021 OCWM gifts on January Tuesday January 18th. Please have your OCWM gifts postmarked and mailed in the to arrive by the closing date.

On Sunday December 12, Wichita United Church of Christ voted to call the Rev. Jacob Poindexter as their next settled pastor.

We awoke on Saturday morning to the news of destructive storms that tore through at least five states the previous night, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. T

We’re fortunate for the work of the Committee on Ministry here in KO. Read updates from the subcommittees as they reflect on their work in 2021.

Throughout December, we’ll be sharing reflections from authorized ministers, lay members, and friends of the United Church of Christ here in Kansas and Oklahoma.

I am now in Junction City and am excited to begin my work with you.  I arrived Saturday, November 27, and am knee deep in boxes; empty, full, and in between, as I attempt to put everything away.

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.

If you visit the websites of many UCC Conferences, you’ll find compensation guidelines available that assist congregations and authorized ministers develop their budgets or provide recommendations to consider when hiring a new pastor or specialized minister.

December brings important transitions to our Conference.

My friend and former colleague Rev John Thomas called it the long goodbye; the time between when a person serving in a pastoral role in the UCC announces they are leaving until they are finally gone. Eventually, the time comes to actually leave. That is the hard part. 

Congratulations to Rev. Michael Vollbrecht on accepting a call to serve as the Associate Pastor at Colonial UCC in Prairie Village, KS where Rev. Aaron Roberts is the Senior Pastor.

Following the week-long annual meeting October 5-8, the Conference asked for feedback on the virtual experience. The results are in!

The thing about community is that a personal change for a pastor doesn’t happen in isolation; it affects the entire congregation and everyone deals with change differently. So, lots of people may be taking deep breaths these days!

While many folks associate this month with Halloween costumes and the real arrival of autumn, October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month. It is more likely than not that you know someone who has experienced pregnancy and infant loss - it affects one in four women.