Worship at Annual Meeting

Morning Prayers

We will begin each day with morning prayers at 7:30 led by authorized Ministers and Members in Discernment. These are short times of song, prayer and reflection and if you are not an early riser, they are recorded and you can find them later to use at the time you start your day. Check back for recordings.

Keynote Address

There are many Biblical references for  the theme UNAFRAID. Our keynote speaker, the Rev. Dr. David Vasquez Levy, will use Jeremiah 32 to reflect on how Jeremiah purchasing a field in Anatoth is an act of courage and an investment in a future they cannot yet see.  What investment do we need to be making in Kansas-Oklahoma? How can we move forward boldly and unafraid?

Worship

Worship services are framed around Joshua 1:1-9, especially verse 9:

"I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Tuesday worship will be a short time of gathering for song and scripture, and our final worship on Thursday will be a full service with communion and preaching by the Reverend Travis Smith McKee of Trinity United Church of Christ in Cheney, Kansas.

Also on Thursday evening ordination anniversaries and major church anniversaries will be acknowledged and celebrated.

Rev. Travis Smith McKee is the pastor at Trinity United Christian Church in Cheney, Kansas. He is a graduate of Phillips Theological Seminary and ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) with OMPS in the K-O Conference. Originally from Tulsa, OK, Rev. McKee has served churches in the Kansas and Kansas City regions since 2008. Travis‘s wife, Kassie, is also an ordained minister serving as a hospice chaplain in the Wichita area and they have a four-year-old daughter named Lucy.

Annual Meeting Offering

The Annual Meeting Offering will be divided equally between organizations and initiatives in Oklahoma and Kansas that are helping refugees from Afghanistan.

An Opportunity to Hear A Message from Conference Minister-Elect

Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros will provide a sermon also focused on Joshua 1:1-9. Pastors are encouraged to use the sermon on the Sunday following annual meeting in support of the Annual Meeting theme.

We know that many pastors may have already planned their worship services for the Sunday following Annual Meeting. The sermon may be used at any time, but another suggestion is that lay leaders choose a Sunday to lead worship and give your pastor an additional Sunday off as an expression of appreciation. No one has to be concerned about sermon writing as your new Conference Minister will have one already provided and ready for you! (This is a gentle suggestion from your retiring Conference Minister!)

However and whenever you use the sermon, please take advantage of this opportunity to hear this first message brought to you by your Conference Minster Elect as she explores what it means to serve and be UNAFRAID.  Pastors will have received a link in their e-mail. Contact Michael Vollbrecht if you need access to the sermon.