One of the deep joys of ministry in the United Church of Christ is watching the Spirit call people into service from every corner of the church. Authorized ministry in our tradition is not reserved for those who follow a single path. It rises up wherever gifts, faithfulness, and the affirmation of a community meet. This season, the Southwest Conference celebrates three individuals whose callings have been recognized and affirmed: Eileen Wiard and Jerry Kennell of Taos United Community Church (Taos UCC), who have been granted Lay Ministerial Standing, and Davin Franklin-Hicks of Church of the Painted Hills UCC, who continues faithfully as a Member in Discernment.
Eileen Wiard, Taos UCC
Eileen's ministry has been woven through with music from the very beginning. In her own words:
"I have been playing music and singing in church since I was a young girl in Connecticut. Eighteen years ago, I married a Methodist pastor at El Pueblito here in Taos, where I became the music director and helped him prepare worship services. A few years after the passing of my dear friend, Pastor Pamela Shepherd, I became the liturgist of this church she founded. Now, as the Worship Shepherd at Taos UCC, I enjoy the freedom to invite speakers to join us and nourish our beloved community with their perspectives and experience as we become who we are meant to be in service and love to all we meet."
As Worship Shepherd, Eileen carries forward a legacy of worship that is warm, creative, and open-hearted, shaping sacred space where the whole community can encounter God.
Jerry Kennell, Taos UCC
Jerry Kennell is a member of Taos United Community Church, where he serves as Council Chair, speaker, and Vision Shepherd. He brings nearly forty years of leadership and ministry experience in church, educational, and nonprofit settings. A trained spiritual director, Jerry has spent decades preaching, leading worship, mentoring others in faith, and writing about contemporary spirituality. He describes his calling this way:
"Growing up in the peace church tradition, I have spent my life enamored by the cry for justice and fairness from the Old Testament prophets, and the singular invitation of Jesus to join a movement of compassion, healing, peace, justice, and love. Taos UCC's founding pastor, Pamela Shepherd, called this the 'Kindom of Heaven.' I am thrilled, as a lay minister in the United Church of Christ, to serve as Vision Shepherd for this progressive congregation, representing a wide variety of faiths and practices, focused on creating a just world for all."
Davin Franklin-Hicks, Church of the Painted Hills UCC
The Conference also celebrates Davin Franklin-Hicks, who will serve Church of the Painted Hills UCC in Tucson and continues on the path of discernment as a Member in Discernment in the Southwest Conference. Davin's ministry is marked by compassion, courage, and a deep commitment to the congregation and community. We give thanks for the covenant partners walking alongside Davin in this season of formation, and we look forward with hope to what God is unfolding in this call.
Lay ministerial standing and membership in discernment are not merely administrative categories. They are the church's way of saying, out loud and together, that we see God at work in a person's life. To the Committee on Ministry, to the congregations of Taos UCC and Church of the Painted Hills, and to Eileen, Jerry, and Davin themselves: thank you for your faithfulness. May your ministries bear fruit in service and love to all you meet, and may the whole Southwest Conference be blessed by what God is growing among us.
Grace and peace,
Committee on Ministry A