Workshops at Annual Meeting

Unafraid to Lead: A Conversation for Authorized Ministers

Wednesday, October 6th, 12pm

Yes, we’ve noticed that it’s tough out here; it’s not easy being a pastor! It’s a call, yes; but that doesn’t make it easy. It can be especially difficult to be a UCC pastor in Kansas and Oklahoma where life is often more gray than black and white. We don’t always have easy answers to offer. How do we lead in communities where phrases like “politics and faith don’t mix” are common? How can we be effective leaders in congregations that see themselves as far away from concerns that you may see and experience as urgent? How can we be effective leaders for all of our members when the perspectives of what is the “appropriate voice” are so varied and the needs for an alternative voice in the community is so great? Are we afraid to lead? Especially when we know that the church has to have money to pay the bills or nothing can be done; where and how do we draw the line? This is an opportunity for authorized ministers to have a conversation about the challenges of leading in in real life situations.

Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy serves as President of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California –a progressive, multidenominational seminary and center for social justice that prepares theologically and spiritually rooted leaders to work for the well-being of all.  A committed pastor, a nationally recognized higher education and immigration leader, and a sought after speaker, Vásquez-Levy leads at the intersection of faith, higher education, and social change

Unafraid In Our Communities

Wednesday, October 6th, 8pm

What does it mean to live unafraid in our communities; unafraid to speak our own truth even when it is different from what others may think?  Unafraid to stand with others even when that means we are in the minority?  What holds us back from saying an unpopular word or taking an unpopular stand when we feel deep in our hearts that it is what our faith calls us to do?  What makes us afraid and how do we move to being unafraid?

In this workshop, attendees will grapple with these questions. The first step in overcoming fear, is to clearly identify what it is that generates it.  But more importantly, we must share with each other the next steps that will lead us to act with more courage.  Finally, action alone is never enough.  We must consider how brave actions can change hearts and not lead to an intensification of difference. Pryor and French will share from their own experience and knowledge and draw on the larger shared experience in the group as well scripture to explore the path of acting with compassionate and effective courage in our communities.

Jim French is a 5th generation farmer and rancher in Reno County, KS. He and his wife, Lisa, attend Partridge Community Church-UCC  where he has directed choir since 1980. Before that he received degrees in English Language and Literature, and taught at the University of Nebraska. After farming full-time and teaching part time for 25 years, French worked as a Communication Specialist for the Kansas Rural Center, and then as the Senior Advocacy Adviser for Oxfam America. He retired from Oxfam in 2017, and continues to farm and ranch. At present, he serves as moderator of the Partridge church. Most recently. French completed two years of study at the Center for Action and Contemplation Living School. Jim is a progressive voice for social justice living in rural Kansas and is perfectly situated to co-lead the workshop conversation on living UNAFRAID in our communities.

Rev. Rachael Pryor currently serves as the Transitional Pastor at Wichita UCC and lives in Lindsborg, KS. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and an M.Div from Princeton; a child of the UCC she was ordained in 2011 and relocated to Kansas in 2013 when her  husband accepted a position at Bethany in Lindborg. Rachael  has served as an interim campus minister, pastor of small rural churches in Pennsylvania and Kansas (ELCA and the UCC) . In the Conference Rachael currently serves as Chair of the Committee on Ministry D,  on the Core Team for the Kansas Leadership Center Transformational Team Grant and served as the Chair of Conference Minister Search Committee. Racheal has probably been in contact with more KO local churches than anyone other than the CM as she served as the “Three Great Loves Coordinator” several years ago and wrote the mission stories for each of the congregation that was featured in eNews. Rachael is a “cradle” UCC member that has fully embraced justice and advocacy as core to how she understands her call. Her leadership as Chair of Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA)  a statewide, faith-based issue-advocacy organization is one way that she lives out that commitment.

Unafraid to Ask for Help

Wednesday, October 6th, 8pm

Join Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, UCC Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice, for conversation about how our congregations can minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of people feeling isolated, alone, depressed, anxious, and hopeless. Navigating the multiple pandemics of COVID19, racism, and political unrest creates a challenging environment, adding significant risk factors to our well-being. You are not alone. As people of faith, together with God’s help, we will find a hopeful way forward. Learn tools that you can use to help bring hope and healing to our communities in need of care.   

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund’s mission is to partner with others to share hope and healing. She is an ordained minister in both the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.  Sarah has served as pastor to churches in Brooklyn, NY, Minneapolis, MN, and New Smyrna Beach, FL. Rev. Dr. Lund served as Regional Minister in the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ and as a Vice President for Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN. She holds degrees from Trinity University (BA), Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv), Rutgers University (MSW), and McCormick Theological Seminary (DMin). Rev. Dr. Lund received the Dell Award for Mental Health Education at the 30th General Synod of the UCC. She currently serves as Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice on the national staff of the UCC and as senior pastor of First Congregational UCC of Indianapolis, IN. Sarah volunteers on the national boards of the interfaith mental health ministry Pathways to Promise, Mental Health America, Bethany Fellows, and Piedmont University. Sarah is the author of Blessed are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness, Family, and Church (Chalice Press, 2014) and Blessed Union: Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness and Marriage (Chalice Press, 2021). Sarah blogs at www.sarahgriffithlund.com.

Unafraid to be a Brave Church

Thursday, October 7th, 12pm

Brave Church: How You Can Have Tough Conversations with Your Congregation - How many times have, you heard, “let's just agree to disagree?” “Just be quiet if you have a divisive opinion?” Or, “we just don’t talk about that here…” In times like this, God is calling the church to speak up, be brave and have tough conversations. Lives of the most vulnerable in our communities depend on our speaking up. Come explore the how to begin to lead difficult conversations with intentionality on topics such as racism, sexuality, mental illness, infertility, domestic violence and more. 

Elizabeth Hagan is the interim senior pastor of First Christian Church in Athens, GA. She is a graduate of Samford University and Duke Divinity School. She is also the author of a recently published book Brave Church: Tackling Tough Topics Together as well as a memoir, Birthed: Finding Grace Through Infertility. She’s married to Kevin and mother to Amelia. She spent  2012-2015 in Oklahoma and former interim pastor of The Federated Church Weatherford. You can read more about her at elizabethhagan.com.

Unafraid in Germany

Friday, October 8th, 12pm

What does it look like to be unafraid in the Regional Protestant Church of Baden, Germany (Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden)? Are you curious to learn how our partnership has helped Baden to bravely ask difficult questions about race and gender? Would you like to learn how Baden's bold action on climate change and innovative new church starts might help KO address its own fears? Join us for a conversation about how our congregations can learn from one another unafraid to dream about the church of the future that is made stronger and more faithful through our growing international partnership.

In March of 2019, Reverend Eleanor B. McCormick became an Ecumenical Pastor in the Protestant Church of Baden (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) and a Global Ministries Fellow. She splits her time between serving a local congregation and working in the Department for Mission and Ecumenism in the Baden church headquarters. As the first UCC clergyperson to hold this position her efforts will strengthen and support the long-standing partnership between our two churches. While serving abroad she maintains her ordination standing in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference and is a member of First Congregational Church in Manhattan. She and her husband, Stefan, live in Karlsruhe with their Kansas farm cat Geranium.