South Dakota Conference UCC, South Dakota UCC C/O First Congregational UCC 123 N Highland Avenue, Pierre, SD (2026)

05/22/2026

Join us for a service of song, silence and contemplation. The Taize' Prayer Service is offered the 3rd Saturday of the month at 6:30p.m. at Mitchell (SD) Congregational United Church of Christ and is led by Pastor Matt Richards.

05/20/2026

Join Us at Mitchell Congregational United Church of Christ on the 3rd Saturday of the month for Taize' Prayer Service.

05/18/2026

Musings of a Traveling Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences Minister of the United Church of Christ
By Rev Roberto Ochoa

Confirmation Season in the United Church of Christ

On Sunday morning of May 3, 2026, it was my honor and privilege to confirm four young men at my home church, First Congregational Church in Pierre SD. It was a festive celebration as George Olson, Christian Woitte Kellar, Gunner Diedrich, and Ryken Langdeux completed a two-year study and presented themselves with their statement of faith to congregation. Each one of them then received their confirmation stoles by their parents, and with family and friends laying hands on them, I offered a prayer of encouragement as they begin their journey into Christian maturity and faith.

Prior to the confirmation service, I had the additional privilege and honor to provide the sacrament of baptism to George and Gunner with their parents by their side.

Congratulations and blessings to George, Christian, Gunner, and Ryken in their confirmation to our faith.

As this is Confirmation season, I had the honor to visit and preach at Jewell UCC and at Alden UCC for Mother’s Day on May 10th. I was an opportunity to celebrate all the mothers and mother figures at these churches, with the men of Alden UCC serving a Mother’s Day brunch. While in Alden UCC, Pastor Bob Miller and Pastor Kerryn Oliver introduced me to this years’ Confirmands and I enjoyed visiting them.

Congratulations and blessings to Landon Barber, Elijah Kinnetz, Rory Reifschneider, Isabella Schlachter, and Tate Thies who will be confirmed on Sunday, June 7th, 2026.

This past year, I have been able to visit various congregations with confirmation classes, which gives me great hope for the future of our churches in the United Church of Christ, I like to invite all our South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa congregations that are having Confirmation services to send the names and pictures for us to recognize the achievement of our young people in our Fast Five newsletter. Send them to my attention at [email protected] by June 22nd, and we will publish pictures and Confirmand’s name and church in the Fast Five for the week of June 29th! Let us celebrate the great achievements of our UCC youth.

Also, recent Confirmands or those being confirmed for 2027 and your parents/guardians are encouraged to save the date of September 18 and 19th for the Confirmation Youth Rally to be held at First Congregational Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Come and share your mission projects on the theme Living Together as Neighbors in Christ and experience music, creative workshops, youth centered worship and meet other youths in the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences. Look out for more information the first week of June.

May the blessings of God through the love of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit be upon y’all, always.

Bendiciones y Paz,
Rev Roberto

*Those pictured are the First Congregational Church in Pierre, SD Confirmand’s (left to right) George Olson, Christian Woitte Kellar, Gunner Diedrich, Ryken Langdeaux, and Rev. Roberto.

05/11/2026

Counter Surfing for Joy
by Rev. Dr. Jessica Margrave Schirm
Senior Pastor , Grinnell United Church of Christ - Congregational

This weekend I unexpectedly had an entire day at home with no place I had to be. Enneagram One that I am, I was excited to have extra time to do laundry and sort through piles of junk mail and catch up on some work. I also decided to make a few meals that would feed us with leftovers for a couple of days - one of which was a big bowl of chicken pasta salad.

I spent the morning slowly prepping all the ingredients - I cooked the pasta, boiled eggs, chopped veggies, made the sauce and cooked the chicken. Once I had everything ready, I arranged it all on the counter to throw together and chill in the fridge so we could eat on it all weekend long.

I told the smart speaker to play my favorite playlist, I was bopping around the kitchen singing like a goofball, peeling the eggs, throwing everything together and when I grabbed the bowl with the chicken in it - the last ingredient to add to the mix - I discovered it was empty.

“ALEXA STOP!” - I shouted, as if turning off the music would make the chicken reappear. I spun in circles - looking all around our small kitchen as if the chicken was somehow hiding behind a small appliance. I double checked that I hadn’t left it in the fridge. But no, the bowl was sitting exactly where I had put it on the counter just a bit ago - at that time filled with chicken - but now totally empty.

Mysteriously…highly unusually…there were no labrador retrievers in the kitchen with me…coincidence? I think not. Somehow, while my back was turned and my ears and mind were distracted by the music, our biggest lab, Ebony, must’ve counter surfed her way over to the chicken bowl and silently helped herself to all the delicious goodness I’d conveniently left too near the edge. She’s the only one tall enough to reach and is known for her counter surfing antics. I couldn’t help but laugh at her sneaking the chicken out of the ceramic bowl without me even noticing. What a clever, opportunistic scoundrel of a dog.

I made the pasta salad anyway - chickenless of course. And thought all weekend about what it would be like to have the audacity of a black lab who just can’t handle themselves around unattended chicken on a kitchen counter.

I am certainly not - at all - a hashtag type of Christian. I spend way too much time thinking about what it says about God if only some of us get to claim blessings while others get kicked while they are down. I am also certainly not advocating for taking what isn’t ours - especially when stories of privilege, lack of consent and rampant abuse dominate our headlines on the daily. But I am thinking about what it means to intentionally seek out joy, goodness, deliciousness, happiness, delight - whenever we can, however we can as long as it is safe and respectful and consensual to do so.

We do not have to try very hard to find things that will stress us out, wear us out or bring us down. We don’t have to convince our minds to worry or fear. Our lizard brains are hardwired to prioritize remembering which berries and flowers are poisonous over which ones we think are the most tasty and beautiful. So, it takes a little extra effort to intentionally seek out joy when it is so much easier to despair.

We have to take full advantage of our ability to experience the goodness of this life if we have any hope of making it through the awfulness. As the Preacher in Ecclesiastes reminds us, “How good, how lovely it is to eat and drink and find satisfaction in everything we do under the sun during the few days of life God gives us - to embrace everything that comes to us! Regardless of how much wealth or possessions God gives us, we’re also given the ability to find joy in what we have, to accept whatever happens to us, and find fulfillment in our work - this is God’s gift to us.” Or in summary - as all the great bards have said - “Eat, drink and be merry - for tomorrow we die.”

So what are you joyously snatching off the countertops of life right now? What shows are you binge-watching? (Heated Rivalry?! Bridgerton?! The Pitt?!) What books are you devouring? (Dungeon Crawler Carl, Theo of Golden?) What songs are you adding to your favorite playlists? What seeds have you planted in the dirt (literally or metaphorically) that you are anxiously awaiting their bloom? When was the last time you were overwhelmed by something beautiful, or delicious, or awe-inspiring? When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried actual tears and your belly hurt? If you can’t remember when, make it a priority STAT!

If tomorrow we die, beloved ones, let’s at least go out with joyful hearts.

With love,
Pastor Jessica

05/07/2026

⏰APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APPROACHING⏰BE SURE TO GET YOUR'S SUBMITTED BY MAY 15, 2026‼️

🎓SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY!🎓
Please share the following information regarding the South Dakota Educational Scholarships with those you know who may be interested or benefit from this opportunity.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY MAY 15, 2026‼️
Questions? Please contact Jane via email: [email protected]

05/04/2026

To all our mothers and mother figures
On behalf of the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences
Of the United Church of Christ
We PRAISE GOD for you
And wish you a Blessed and Happy
Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10th.

A Time to Remember Giving
As we approach May, I am reminded of Mothers Day-assisting my family with planting flowers in paper cups for Mothers Day at the church or planting pansies in a window box for my mother-in-law. Often mothers are the unsung heroes in our families. They work quietly behind the scenes, getting work done and assisting others. In the same way, Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM) works silently in the background too. OCWM funds provide the South Dakota Conference with the funds to provide assistance in many ways but does not claim credit or shout its presence. OCWM assists congregations with the search and call process, leadership development of both lay and clergy, youth ministry, and publicizing Conference, Association and National events. Planning and support for Conference events such as Joint Annual Meeting, or South Dakota Conference meeting is funded by OCWM. OCWM funding pays for the work of the Tri-Conference Ministry staff. We see Rev. Roberto out and about but there are others behind the scenes. Think about who helps keep track of Rev. Roberto’s schedule and assists him with scheduling and arrangements. This is the TCM staff working for us. Executive assistant, Kim Springer, has sent out the notices about the special budget meeting, and set up the zoom sessions for various meetings. Conference Deacons, Rev. Emily Munger and Rev. Lorah Houser Jankord, employees of the SD Conference, make contact and support local congregations. There are more ways that OCWM funds assist local congregations but you get the idea!

Eighty-five percent of the funds given to OCWM remain within the South Dakota Conference. Churches may choose to designate OCWM giving as shared or unshared. Unshared OCWM giving stays entirely within the SD Conference.

Like all the ways that our mothers supported our faith development and worked behind the scenes, I urge you to consider making a donation to OCWM either through your local church or directly to the SD Conference.

Remembering all those who work behind the scenes,

Deb Kraft Chair, SD Conference Board of Directors

*Ms. Deb Kraft is the Chair of the South Dakota UCC Conference Board of Directors and a member of First Congregational UCC in Redfield, South Dakota

If you are led to DONATE to the OCWM in your Conference, you may do so at the following link:
*DONATE TO IOWA CONFERENCE: https://ucctcm.org/donateiowa/
*DONATE TO NEBRASKA CONFERENCE:
https://ucctcm.org/donatenebraska/
*DONATE TO SOUTH DAKOTA CONFERENCE: https://ucctcm.org/donatesouthdakota/

04/28/2026

Musings of a Traveling Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences Minister of the United Church of Christ
By Rev Roberto Ochoa
April 27, 2026

Intergenerational Missions – UCC Affiliated Camps and Retirement Communities

“The glory of youths is their strength, but the beauty of the aged is their gray hair”* [*gray hair = wisdom – my interpretation] Proverbs 20:29 (NRSVue)

My dear friends of the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences of the United Church of Christ and beyond, continued Eastertide greetings.

One of the things that makes me proud of being part of the United Church of Christ is our commitment to mission for our local communities and the world. Every local church I have visited usually has several active missions that are important to them. Food pantries, clothing donations, backpacks for children, volunteer opportunities for local shelters, preventative domestic abuse centers, safe spaces for LGBTQ+ communities; or hosting AA/NA gathering groups are some of the examples of mission works I have witnessed in action. Global contributions to provide relief for natural disasters, world hunger, shelter, and medical care are all part of the UCC DNA.

Two missions of the United Church of Christ I’d like to highlight this week are the church camps and retreat centers and retirement living communities.

THE CAMPING MISSION:
Most who know me are aware of my commitment to faith formation camps and retreat centers. These camps have been essential for spiritual growth and well-being not only for our young, but for all generations. UCC affiliated church camps offers opportunities for sabbath and respite for all ages. This summer, I encourage all to explore the three UCC affiliated camps of Placerville Camp in Rapid City, SD; Kamp Kaleo in Burwell, NE; and Pilgrim Heights in Montour, Iowa. Supporting our camp programs is a mission that strengthens the future of the church. It provides a way for us to experience the beauty and wonder of God’s creation that are inspirational and life renewing. Below are links to find out what programs each camp is offering:

Placerville UCC Camp and Retreat:
https://www.placervillecamp.net/
Kaleo on the River: https://kampkaleo.com/
Pilgrim Heights: https://www.pilgrimheights.org/

RETIREMENT COMMUNITY MISSION:
Last week, I had the privilege of attending a conference gathering of employees and supporters of the Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF) in Long Beach, California. I was able to meet all the personnel dedicated to offering the best low-cost retirement housing communities for retired and people with disabilities. The RHF was founded in 1961 by two UCC clergy and one lay person, in an effort to make housing affordable for a growing aging population.

RHF serves 19,000 residents in 29 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including seven retirement housing communities in Iowa (two more opening in Clear Lake and Ottumwa in 2026) and four in Nebraska.

Iowa also has a UCC affiliated retirement community in Grinnell which originally began as a home for congregational retired clergy and missionaries called Mayflower Community. The Mayflower Community has since grown to offer independent, assisted living and nursing care units for those of an abundant age, including many retired UCC clergy. The Mayflower Community is a mission of the Iowa Conference of the UCC. I also have had the privileged of hosting a breakfast with our retired clergy and have enjoyed listening to their stories of ministries in the UCC. What an honor!

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota*, the Dow Rummell Village, is a retirement residential community that was created with the assistance of the South Dakota Conference in 1964. This expansive community also provides independent, assisted and nursing care units for their residents. Several retired UCC clergy and church members reside there. Dow Rummell is a planned site to host several workshops on aging and wellbeing for the Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) of the South Dakota Nebraska Iowa Conferences, September 17-20, 2026.

For more information on these UCC affiliated retirement communities and on how you can offer support to ensure affordable housing for our aging population, below are the links:

Retirement Housing Foundation: https://rhf.org/
Mayflower Community: https://mayflowerhomes.com/
Dow Rummell Village: https://www.dowrummel.com/

These are just a few ways that the United Church of Christ honors the teachings of Jesus Christ to care and love our neighbor, for a just world for all.

Bendiciones y Paz,
Rev Roberto

*Please note this was originally published with the error of Sioux City. It should be Sioux Falls, as is corrected.

04/21/2026

Musings of a Traveling Conferences Minister of Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences of the United Church of Christ
April 20, 2026

A Season to Reflect Discern Re-Imagine

“For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1 – NRSVue

Eastertide Greetings my friends of the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences of the United Church of Christ.

Springtime always reminds me of new beginnings as trees and flowers begin to bud and the land being prepared for planting. For me, it is that continuous cycle of creative life granted to us by the Divine One. It allows me to reflect on God’s love for all creation.

Almost ten years ago, Iowa Nebraska South Dakota conferences embarked on a model to share one staff and collaborate with each other in common ministries to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Clearly indicating that this covenant called the Tri Conference Ministries was not a merger but a relationship of cooperation with one another for mutual benefit.

The journey has had its peaks and valleys which had significant impact on Iowa Nebraska South Dakota’s congregations, congregational leaders, clergies, Associations and the conferences. When I arrived as the Executive Conference Minister for TCM, I committed to be present, listen and learn from local congregational leaders and clergy their assessment of the successes and challenges of being part of the TCM.

What came out of these conversations is the creation of the Conference Minister’s Task Force to Reflect Discern Re-Imagine the Tri Conference Ministries. In late 2025, the Board of Directors of all three conferences voted to create the Task Force that will prayerfully consider the future of TCM and make recommendations by the summer of 2028.

I am pleased to announce the 21 Task Force members and alternates that I will have the honor and privilege of working with over the next two years:

Iowa: Mr. Jim Coppoc (alternate), Ripley UCC, Traer, Rev, Cathy Jurgens – Zion, Waukon, Rev Daniel Moore, St Paul UCC, Kahoka, MO, Rev David Boogerd, Immanuel Reformed UCC, Klemme and Belmond UCC, Belmond, Rev Craig Henderson, Congregational UCC, Iowa City, Rev Heidi Hulme (alternate), Faith United UCC, Davenport, and Rev Carolyn C Blair, Zion UCC, Burlington.

Nebraska: Mr. Bruce Baker, Vine Congregational UCC, Lincoln, Ms. Ashley Iliff, Friedens UCC, Goehner, Rev Lisa Hadler, First Congregational UCC Ogallala and Brule UCC, Brule, Rev Brad Hindsley (alternate), Kamp Kaleo, Burwell, Pastor Helen “Bea” Ingram, First Congregational, Burwell, Rev. Kathy Rahorst, Congregational UCC, Hallam, and Rev Grant Speece, Countryside Community UCC, Omaha.

South Dakota: Ms. Mary Edelen, UCC Congregational, Vermillion, Mr. Chuck Frieberg, First Congregational, Pierre, Rev. Cindy Hoy (alternate), Spirit of Peace, Sioux Falls, Pastor Mike Kampa, Congregational UCC, Brentford, Rev Russell Seger, Chadron, First Congregational, Chadron, NE, Ms. Adriane Two Hearts, Messiah UCC, Little Eagle, and Ms. Kylie Steever-Laki (alternate), South Park UCC, Rapid City.

There will be a special worship service for commissioning the members of the Task Force at the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences joint annual meeting (JAM) on Saturday, September 19th.

Please join me in thanking them for their willingness to reflect, discern, and re-imagine the Tri Conference Ministries. I ask that you keep all of us in the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences of the UCC in your prayers as we seek the wisdom through the Holy Spirit and the Love of Jesus Christ during this season.

Bendiciones y Paz,
Rev Roberto

04/13/2026

Musings of a Traveling South Dakota Nebraska Iowa Conferences Minister

Hospitality – UCC Rural Style – The Potluck Casserole Feast
By Rev Roberto Ochoa

“Do this in the remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19)

Dear friends of the South Dakota Nebraska Iowa Conferences of the United Church of Christ:

Spring is here! Christ Has Risen! Christ Has Risen Indeed!

It is my prayer that the Eastertide Blessings of the Resurrected Hope has surrounded you, your loved ones, and ministries. In times like these, when unsettling national and global news are coming at us so quickly, it can be understandably overwhelming.

Sensing that his disciples and followers were about to experience a grief so shattering, I believe Jesus left behind an incredible promise at the Passover meal. He instituted a tradition by using bread and wine so as a community we would remember that the Christ is always with us. The sharing of our food with others is one of those fundamental tenets of our faith, especially to those that are hungry. The support of food pantries is one of the most common missions of most of our churches in the United Church of Christ.

This past Second Sunday of Easter, I had the privilege of worshiping with the good folks of Winfred Congregational Community UCC in South Dakota. In my sermon on “Skeptical Thomas” (John 20:19-31), I shared that I believe Thomas often gets a raw deal, and that having the ability to discern if proof is required to sustain a belief is not a bad thing. That Thomas declared he must see to believe…and Jesus did come, I don’t believe Jesus attempted to shame Thomas, rather I think Jesus marveled on blessed are those that believe in him by faith. And it is by faith that gets us through the rough patches in our lives and that the United Church of Christ invites all, no matter where their journey in faith may be, to Christ’s table.

Afterwards, the Ladies Fellowship of Winfred UCC…hosted me with an after-worship feast of potluck casseroles, sandwiches, salads and dessert. I was able to hear their stories of Winfred (population 38) UCC’s history as well as theirs. Most of the members had deep family ties to the church which was founded in 1884. I was able to tell them a little about myself, including my roots in Los Angeles, CA, when a member remembered I was in L.A. last year during the worse fires in its history, that also destroyed a UCC church in Altadena. She informed me Winfred contributed to help the fire victims through the UCC. That touched my heart almost to tears…that this church would help those in need of my birthplace, so far away, is pure UCC.

When they learned that lemon meringue was my favorite pie…because I gave a very undignified gasp when I saw it…they made sure I received two additional slices for the road. What can I say…these 25 pounds that I have gained since becoming Conference Minister has been well earned. Thank you Winfred UCC for your amazing hospitality.

Later that day, I had a beautiful drive, listening to my playlist, to attend the Prairie Lakes Association Spring gathering held at the Templeton Church UCC in Wessington Springs which sits on a country road surrounded by farm fields. The meeting featured fellowship, worship, ministries reports, a program on the history of Templeton Church founded in 1883 and by a great dinner. They had a great turnout and quorum from UCCs in Aberdeen, Ipswich, Brentford, Watertown, Redfield, and Wessington Springs. (My apologies if I missed a congregation).

Rev Keith Kraft, pastor of Redfield UCC gave a wonderful sermon on Peter “Petra the Rock” from the Matthew account of Jesus walking on water during a storm…and how Peter’s attempt to walk towards Jesus ended with him sinking…yet Jesus was there to pull him up. I was impressed by Pastor Keith’s metaphor of Peter being the “rock” of our church and that still the imperfections sometimes make us sink when we lose faith in Christ.

During worship, we experience communion together in remembrance of Christ.

The Prairie Lakes Association ministries’ reports went well and there were elections for new officers and SD Conference board/committee representatives. Due to the Association’s favorable financial position and understanding that South Dakota Conference was proposing a deficit budget for 2026, they moved to approve $5,000.00 to the conference to lower the deficit. As the Conference Minister, I am so grateful for this unexpected generous gesture by the Prairie Lakes Association to the SD Conference.

Once the meeting was adjourned, I experienced another example of rural church hospitality by Templeton Church…and this time I had ice cream. Thank you Templeton Church UCC for your hospitality to all of us that attended the PLA gathering.

What I love about my ministry…is the privilege of being invited to our local churches and Associations’ table of welcome in remembrance of Christ. Yes, our tables in the United Church of Christ can be messy at times when we disagree, however I praise God for all our UCC congregations that hang in there together in our covenant to be as one in Christ’s Body with one another.

Spring is here…Christ Has Risen…Let us share the good news to a nation and world divided and offer a hospitality of Jesus’ Hope, Faith, and Love.

Bendiciones y Paz,
Rev Roberto

South Dakota Conference UCC

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