Beloved Community,

The UUCK Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Kristina Church as our new Contract Minister.  Rev. Kristina will be joining us ¾ time effective September 1, 2024.

Rev. Kristina has most recently served the UU Congregation of Erie as its ¾ time Minister, and has also ministered to the UU Church of Hamburg, and the First Unitarian Society of Westchester.  Along with her ministerial training and experience, Rev. Kristina comes to us with a background in social work and the performing arts.

She will be relocating to the area with her husband, Greg, a retired chemistry professor, and her son, Rafael, who will be in 8th grade in the fall.  In her free time, she enjoys singing, reading, cooking, and hiking.  Read more about Rev. Kristina in her full bio.

After almost three months of interviewing several very qualified candidates through multiple rounds of interviews, the Transitional Ministry Search Team was delighted to come to unanimous, enthusiastic agreement on Rev. Kristina’s appointment.  We are confident that her energy and enthusiasm, pastoral presence, passion for life cycle RE and collaboration, commitment to social justice, and growth mindset (both personally and collectively) will serve us all well as we continue to build our shared ministry into the future.

Rev. Kristina is looking forward to working with us, saying “I want to share with you how honored I am to say ‘yes’ to the opportunity to serve your congregation in the coming year …. The future is unknown, but it tingles with possibility, energy, and hope …. I will strive to respect and understand the complexity of your beautiful and bittersweet past … while savoring and appreciating the present … and the ways that we can make meaning together as the future unfolds.”  Read Rev. Kristina’s full message here.

We will be hosting a series of meet and greet sessions for various committees and teams, for and the broader UUCK community this summer and into the fall, as Rev. Kristina begins her ministry with us.  We encourage everyone to participate as they are able.

Thank you to the members of the Search Team (Rev. Christie Anderson, Ginny Horvath, Rhonda Richardson, Randy Ruchotzske, and Susanna Smart), who committed many, many hours of time and much invaluable insight to discerning the right match for our needs both today and as we move into an exciting future.  Also, thank you again to all who completed the Transitional Ministry Feedback survey in March, as that input was incredibly helpful.

With excitement for the future together,

Kara Kramer
UUCK Board Moderator