Conference Minister Bill Lyons:
Robert came to the United Church of Christ from the UMC having been ordained in 1962 by one of their predecessor bodies, the Evangelical United Brethren Church. He retired to the SWC from the MMS Conference. His ministry had previously served Chicago Metro Association churches in the ILC.
Robert has served churches and in ministry positions from the inner city, to the suburbs, to the Navajo Reservation. He often balanced his life in “tent-making” ministries. He has been a school teacher, a national UMC youth ministry associate, a social worker, a designer and director of social service programs and efforts like Habitat for Humanity, homeless shelters, and job development programs throughout his ministry. Robert has always intentionally kept deeply connected to both the work of the church and work in the world…and of course, the work of the church IN the world. He does that now as a member of Church of the Beatitudes and as a resident at Beatitudes Campus.
Through this path of spiritual formation, Robert consistently carried with him his heart for evangelism in the best sense of that most maligned word. I will long remember getting a call from Regional Disciples of Christ Minister Jay Harley last year. “Hey Bill, who’s Robert Koth? And why is he showing up at my churches wanting to talk about something called WISE?” Robert, I admire your evangelistic zeal, your enthusiasm, your passion your courage.
In 2010, Robert began organizing interested clergy and laypeople to study and engage in the work of education, advocacy, welcome and support of people of all races, abilities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, and economics. For a decade, Robert would visit UCC churches, come to annual meeting, and bring words of affirmation and support to pastors in their efforts to be inclusive of the diversities represented in their congregations. His effort grew into the SWC Widen the Welcome Team which focused primarily on equipping congregations to welcome people of different mental and physical abilities into the full life of the Church. The seeds Robert planted were watered by time and circumstance. And then they began to bear fruit in a different measure. Six SWC congregations are now growing toward becoming Welcoming Inclusive Supportive and Engaged or WISE congregations for mental health. Last November the SWC Widen the Welcome Team co-hosted the SWC’s first WISE and Mental Health First Aid trainings for local churches in partnership with the UCC Mental Health Network. And in January this year, Desert Palm UCC in Tempe became the SWC’s first recognized WISE congregation.
Robert, you’ve gifted the Southwest Conference with rich charisms for accompanying people walking nearer the margins of society, and offering them the Good News of compassion, faith, justice, education and God’s extravagant welcome for everyone. You’ve interpreted, taught, reminded, affirmed, and prodded many of us who live nearer to the center of cultural privilege to pay attention to Jesus’ model of inclusion and care for all people.
Well done, Robert! Thank you for your faithfulness to God’s call on your life. Thank you for your ministry among us. We are better people, better followers of Jesus, and a better church because of you.
Debe Knaack:
Good Morning, my name is Debe Knaack. I grew up in a UCC family knowing God and that I was loved and special. A Traumatic Brain Injury removed that and other memories from my conscious thinking. I chose to “hide” this fact in an effort to be acceptable in what society considers “normal”.
Rev. Robert Koth & I are members of First Church, Phx. Our relationship began as a result of our being neighbors and my providing transportation to Robert and the food he had prepared, to an informational group he founded titled “Called to Care” that met occasionally after Sunday services at First Church.
The 14 mile one way trip to First Church, provided time for many discussions and an awareness and understanding of his numerous ministries and my own personal acceptance of my own disabilities, Robert provided me with motivation to participate in programs that created awareness and acceptance to ALL. Currently, Robert and I are supporting the process at First Church to becoming a WISE congregation.
I was excited to be offered an opportunity to be a participant in Robert’s plans to develop the group “Widening the Welcome. Robert has provided an understanding of so many subjects that have given all participants in his ministries, the opportunity to help facilitate the growth in ourselves and other members of the community.
Robert has provided a strong foundation for many of us to identify with a quote from Brene Brown, “When we deny the story, it defines us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending.” Robert helped many of us begin to “write a brave new ending” to stories that we can’t deny.
Thank you Robert for your friendship to me and your ministry to many that has created spaces of welcome and inclusion in our churches.