June Connection 1
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
June 1, 2026
DISCIPLES CONNECTION
AROUND THE REGION
Rev. Dr. Lara Blackwood Pickrel
On Thursday, May 21st we held a special Regional Assembly. This Assembly was an in-person and virtual event to meet the candidate selected by our Regional Minister Search
Committee. We held a Question and Answer session followed by a vote.
Rev. Dr. Lara Blackwood Pickrel was confirmed as our next Regional Minister!
She will begin serving in this role this July.
To the Greater Kansas City Christian Church (DOC),
The 2025-26 Regional Search Committee wants to thank the Region, its staff, volunteers, member churches and many participants for your prayers, support, and trust as we navigated the search for a new Regional Minister and President for the Greater Kansas City Region. We know this search was long, taking 17 months to complete. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we completed the process.
We know some may feel this process was unnecessarily long, especially since we ended up selecting a pastor who has been a part of our region for 17 years. Yes, it would have been much easier to just have selected her in February 2025 and saved us all considerable time and effort. But from the beginning of this journey, our search team was encouraged to trust the process and work the process, and so we did. We were not interested in making the easy choice, we wanted to make the right choice.
Our Region and our churches stand at a precipitous moment in time. We face numerous challenges and headwinds as we seek to be a faithful, faith-centered community. It was important to the Search Committee to do our due diligence so we could find the right minister, the right leader, for this moment in our regional church. The process was illuminating and frustrating. We took each step purposely and intentionally. In the end, after all the meetings, Zoom calls, discussions, debates, and interviews, the search committee was in agreement. The Rev. Dr. Lara Blackwood-Pickrel was the right minister and the right leader for our region right now.
The search committee is confident in Rev. Blackwood-Pickrel's vision, ideas, commitment, and dedication for the Greater Kansas Region. We are excited about the ministry gifts she brings to this role and look forward to working with her toward our region's future. Thank you for allowing us to lead in this search. Please join us in supporting Rev. Blackwood-Pickrel as she begins her ministry here.
God bless our region, our churches, and our new Regional Minister,
The Regional Search Committee
Rev. Mark Willis
Rev. Mary Lou Kegler
Rev. Fred Herron
Beverly Dickason
Izzy Richardson
Merida Acosta
Keith Asaeli
General Assembly Livestream
July 10-11
While this summer's General Assembly is virtual we invite all of the Greater Kansas City Disciples to gather at Country Club Christian Church to participate together.
The whole church throughout the United States and Canada, is invited to attend General Assembly 2026. Ephesians 3:14-21 invites the Stone-Campbell tradition of today and tomorrow to be rooted and grounded in the love of God that surpasses knowledge and barriers to build fuller relationships and ministries led by the limitless love of God. The prayer that calls to the church in Ephesus also calls the Christian Church to set a bigger table that surpasses our previous capacity.
More than just a series of meetings, General Assembly is a covenantal table set for education, discussion, worship, business, fellowship, and action. Each congregation is invited to boldly claim their covenantal place at the table by inviting everyone to attend online and by prayerfully designating 3 delegates to vote at General Assembly. Meeting every year online will allow more Disciples to connect more frequently and to work together more fully “to be the church we say we are.” If you’ve never attended General Assembly before, a special welcome is extended to you.
Click here to register today and take your place in this year’s General Assembly rooted in hope, inspired by purpose, and alive with possibility. Your voice, your presence, and your spirit matter. Come be part of what God is doing next. The Greater Kansas City Region will be gathering in person for the Assembly at Country Club Christian Church. All are invited to register and participate!
Every congregation may select up to 3 delegates to participate and vote at GA. Participation can be in person or via Zoom. Churches are receiving emails with details related to voting delegates. All ministers in good standing may vote.
Donation Needed
Eastgate Christian Church is looking for 20-30 Chalice PRAISE hymn books gathering dust somewhere.
We hope they will be gifted to our church as our music director would like to use in worship.
Please contact Julie at 816.808.4532. We will pick them up. Thanks, ECC.
Piano & Organ Available
Swope Parkway United Christian Church is gifting
a Yamaha baby grand piano and a Wurlitizer organ to any DOC church or non-profit organization. Both instruments are 25+ years old. The piano is in good condition. The organ is in fair condition. There is no "catch". We are just looking for a good home for them.
Interested parties can contact:
Dorothy Johnson
816-616-2333
UPCOMING REGIONAL EVENTS
Summer Camp Registration!
Registration for all of our 2026 Summer camps is OPEN! Be sure to register your camper as soon as possible! All of our camps are meant to be accessible to ALL in the Region, if price is any concern, please apply for a summer camp scholarship here.
For Summer 2026, we will be using InsideOut's "Into the Wilderness" curriculum.
"Wilderness is a time or place where we encounter what is new, strange, scary, lonely, unknown or mysterious. The wilderness is a wild and beautiful time and place where we can discover the sacred within each person and all creation. The wilderness can inspire us and guide us, assuring us of God’s constant presence. As the Spirit guides us through the wilderness, we find what we need to face our fears and the very real challenges that impact our world. The wilderness teaches us the importance of community and the ways we navigate challenges together. The wilderness reveals our strengths, growing edges, and potential as God equips us for the unknown still to come. The wilderness awaits us all, and God meets us there."
Christian Church Foundation Special Presentation
Thursday, June 11
6:30—7:30 p.m.
Barry Christian Church
1500 NW Barry Rd, Kansas City, MO 64155
Join us for a special presentation with Kirby Marks from the Christian Church Foundation as we discuss:
The four most important documents everyone needs
Ways to pass assets to children and charity in a tax-efficient manner
Ways to create a gift to benefit the Greater Kansas City Greater Legacy
Society, and other ministries
How to create a “pledge replacement” gift
That God calls us to be good stewards of all of our assets.
Why everyone needs a will
Please RSVP to the Regional Office by email or phone (913)432-1414
Can We Find “The Way” Home?
By Rick Hughey in support of the Greater Legacy Society
In John. Chapter 14, Thomas asks Jesus a pertinent question: Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The Bible inspires wonder, self-refection and community conversation. Thomas
revealed in his actions character traits of devotion, curiosity, healthy skepticism and –let’s be honest – obtuseness. Likely, Jesus’s response bewildered Thomas until the resurrected Christ let him feel his wounds. Likewise, Jesus revealed in his character traits of reverence to God, unconditional love to humanity, even those who reviled him, kindness and generosity. He was humble, itinerant teacher/preacher who healed the sick, fed the hungry, clothed the naked and, welcomed aliens, gave dignity to everyone, regardless of gender, race, religion or station in life.
In the two-plus millennia since Jesus railed against the hypocrites of His faith, new religions have emerged, Constantine declared Christianity the religion of Rome, the Protestant Reformation expanded new brands of Christianity that continues today. Much good has been done in the name of Jesus. So too has there been great harm in His name that surely must have caused him pain and disappointment.
Author Thomas Wolfe wrote, “You can’t go home again.” I’m not so sure. When I think of my growing up home, lovely, happy memories fill me. Same with our homes where we raised our two daughters. And same with the church home in which our girls were lavished with care, tutelage and love. My wife and I were active in our congregation. We took pride in our congregation’s ministry during its growing years. The declining years tested us. We ran through the gamut of negative emotions. God, after a liminal season, led us to a new home. Not the one we imagined, but one that feels just right for the times. Oh, we had – and continue to have – Thomas-level doubts. However, we have never been alone. Faith-restoring acts by the regional minister, fellow congregations, a merger with a larger congregation and the Disciples Foundation have brought resurrection to this church. I wonder if Jesus is calling today’s Disciples to new/old ways to be church in diverse communities of faith. Could The Way also be part of The Answer in our increasingly complex world?
Films for a Cause
Join KC Disciples Becoming Beloved Community Team's next Films for a Cause screening on Sunday, June 14th.
We will be screening "After the Raid," a 2019 documentary film directed by Rodrigo Reyes. The premise revolves around a meatpacking plant in Grainger County, Tennessee, where 97 undocumented workers were arrested during a raid in 2018.
This screening is in partnership with Rev. Ed and Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation.
FROM THE GENERAL CHURCH
Voting Rights, Faith, and Democracy
After the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Disciples Home Missions hosted a panel discussion on Voting Rights, Faith, and Democracy that features:
Rev. Chris Dorsey President and CEO of Disciples Home Missions
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner Founder of the Skinner Leadership Institute and Co-Convener of Faiths United to Save Democracy
Rev. Dr. Katie Sexton Executive Director of the Arizona Faith Network and a 2026 “The Vote Is Sacred” Fellow with Interfaith America
Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray (facilitator) Director for Justice and Advocacy Ministries at Disciples Home Missions
The panelists have a robust and insightful conversation about four specific issues:
How do we help people in the pews understand what’s been lost by this decision in Louisiana v. Callais — especially those who have only studied the Civil Rights Movement in History Class?
What scriptures, traditions, or spiritual teachings can you point us to that call us to protect the right to vote — especially for communities that have been historically excluded?
Parts of the wider church have historically been an organizing infrastructure for voting rights movements — from voter registration drives to candidate forums to transportation to the polls. What does that infrastructure look like today, and where are the gaps? What new tools, strategies, or coalitions do faith communities need to build for this moment?
If someone leaves this conversation and does one thing — one concrete act before the elections this Fall — what should it be?
SAVE THE DATES
Pause Play Annual Gathering
"We believe in the transformative power of play, which is why we designed our annual gathering to be focused around fun and reinvigoration. In our three-day gathering you can expect everything from improv games to ritual arts to reflective time and space to listen inward-everything you need to reignite your imagination and bring a sense of playfulness and imagination back into your preaching. This gathering is open to the public."
Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation 2.0 Training
Thursday, July 23, 9:00 am-4:00 pm at Merriam Christian Church.
Anti-Racism 2.0 answers these questions:
"Where is the evidence that systemic racism exists in my community?"
"How did race prejudice and abuse of power shape many of the laws that systematized racism?"
"What are local Disciples of Jesus Christ doing to mitigate this sinful reality?"
"Me? Biased? I have lots of friends who are . . . "
"What can I and those I serve do to help change this sinful reality?"
Planned learning activities include: taking the Implicit Bias Test beforehand, exploring the origins of the pseudo-science of eugenics, and taking an in-house virtual tour of the Greater Kansas City area to learn about how racism shaped our communities. We will meet with local people who are making progress mitigating some of systemic racism’s effects.
Full Details can be found HERE.
This workshop includes several individual and small group activities. Please wear comfortable clothing.
There is suggested pre-reading. You can find more information HERE .
Anti-Racism 101 is a prerequisite for this workshop.
2026 Racial Justice Summit
Save the date for the Becoming Beloved Community's fourth annual Racial Justice Summit Saturday, November 7th.
