Thoughts on the Fly!
Welcome to updates and thoughts from your Christian Church in Nebraska leadership. This page will act as an ongoing log of thoughts, reactions, and general information pertinent to the Regional Church. Stay connected by checking the Regional website frequently for the latest updates and information!
October 16th, 2025
Dear Beloved Disciples,
October is Pastoral Appreciation Month, and I’d like to take a moment to say how thankful I am for the incredible ministers who serve as chaplains, teachers, counselors, non-profit leaders, and pastors across the region.
This month is a wonderful opportunity to let your pastor(s) know just how much they mean to you. A handwritten note, a phone call, or even a simple “thank you” can remind them that their ministry is a gift to all of us.
Ministers do so much more than what we might see on Sunday mornings. They prepare sermons, lead worship, and organize ministries—but they also sit at hospital bedsides, pray over kitchen tables, listen when hearts are heavy, advocate for justice, hold space when worlds are crumbling, teach faithful practice, nurture growth, celebrate when there’s joy, and carry us through the everyday moments of life. So much of their care goes unseen, and yet it makes all the difference in the lives of people.
To our clergy: please know how deeply you are appreciated. Your commitment, compassion, and persistence in following Christ’s call help keep our communities grounded in faith and lifted in hope. The love you share reflects the love of God so beautifully.
Let’s surround our ministers not just in October but throughout the year with encouragement, prayer, and support. We give thanks to God for each of you who serve so faithfully.
With gratitude and joy,
Rev. Robin Blakemore
Interim Regional Minister
October 9th, 2025
Dear Beloved Disciples,
October is Pastoral Appreciation Month, and I’d like to take a moment to say how thankful I am for the incredible ministers who serve as chaplains, teachers, counselors, non-profit leaders, and pastors across the region.
This month is a wonderful opportunity to let your pastor(s) know just how much they mean to you. A handwritten note, a phone call, or even a simple “thank you” can remind them that their ministry is a gift to all of us.
Ministers do so much more than what we might see on Sunday mornings. They prepare sermons, lead worship, and organize ministries—but they also sit at hospital bedsides, pray over kitchen tables, listen when hearts are heavy, advocate for justice, hold space when worlds are crumbling, teach faithful practice, nurture growth, celebrate when there’s joy, and carry us through the everyday moments of life. So much of their care goes unseen, and yet it makes all the difference in the lives of people.
To our clergy: please know how deeply you are appreciated. Your commitment, compassion, and persistence in following Christ’s call help keep our communities grounded in faith and lifted in hope. The love you share reflects the love of God so beautifully.
Let’s surround our ministers not just in October but throughout the year with encouragement, prayer, and support. We give thanks to God for each of you who serve so faithfully.
With gratitude and joy,
Rev. Robin Blakemore
Interim Regional Minister
October 2nd, 2025
Dear Beloved Disciples,
October is Pastoral Appreciation Month, and I’d like to take a moment to say how thankful I am for the incredible ministers who serve as chaplains, teachers, counselors, non-profit leaders, and pastors across the region.
Ministers do so much more than what we might see on Sunday mornings. They prepare sermons, lead worship, and organize ministries—but they also sit at hospital bedsides, pray over kitchen tables, listen when hearts are heavy, advocate for justice, hold space when worlds are crumbling, teach faithful practice, nurture growth, celebrate when there’s joy, and carry us through the everyday moments of life. So much of their care goes unseen, and yet it makes all the difference in the lives of people.
This month is a wonderful opportunity to let your pastor(s) know just how much they mean to you. A handwritten note, a phone call, or even a simple “thank you” can remind them that their ministry is a gift to all of us.
To our clergy: please know how deeply you are appreciated. Your commitment, compassion, and persistence in following Christ’s call help keep our communities grounded in faith and lifted in hope. The love you share reflects the love of God so beautifully.
Let’s surround our ministers not just in October but throughout the year with encouragement, prayer, and support. We give thanks to God for each of you who serve so faithfully.
With gratitude and joy,
Rev. Robin Blakemore
Interim Regional Minister
September 18th, 2025
Greetings Disciples!
As the Moderator for the Board in NE, I am excited to share with you a couple of updates. The Board voted to extend an offer for Robin to continue her work with us as Transitional Regional Minister for another year. As a result, she and her husband Stan are moving to Nebraska to be more available to the needs and work in our region. Please join me in welcoming Robin and Stan as new Nebraskans!!
Also, a word of thanks to those individuals who have agreed to serve on the Executive Search Committee:
– Rev. Kerry O’Bryant, chair Minister, Southview Christian Church, Lincoln
– Rev. Elba Nazario, Minister, First Christian Church, Hastings
– Gary Thompson, Member, First Christian Church, Beatrice
– D’Arcy Blosser, Member, First Christian Church, Lincoln
– Eddie Schweikert, Member, Northside Christian Church, Omaha
During the process of identifying and calling a new Regional Minister, the Search Committee is paired with a Search Partner – a Regional Minister who guides and supports the committee in their work. Nebraska’s Search Partner is Rev. Don Gillett, Regional Minister of Kentucky. We are excited and thankful for his leadership through this process. As they progress in their work to identify a settled regional minister, the search committee will provide periodic updates to the region.
Please join me in praying for our region, our search committee, our search partner and the candidates who will be discerning a call to regional ministry in Nebraska.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out and I will answer as best as I can.
Blessings,
Rev. Melissa Strong, Moderator, Regional Board, CCN
melissatherev@gmail.com
816-500-4332
September 4th, 2025
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Across Nebraska, we are blessed by the presence of immigrant and refugee neighbors. They are our co-workers in fields and plants, our children’s classmates, and, in many places, our fellow worshippers. Their lives bring gifts of culture, faith, and energy to our communities, even as many face hardship, uncertainty, and fear of separation from loved ones.
As Disciples of Christ, we remember that Scripture calls us again and again to welcome the stranger. At the Lord’s Table, we are reminded that all of us are guests of God’s grace, and there is room for every child of God. This is why I am so grateful to be part of “All God’s Children: A Christian Response to Immigration.” I hope you’ll join me for a day full of these important conversations.
Our calling is clear: to welcome with open hearts, to accompany with practical love, to advocate for compassion and justice, and to learn from the witness of our immigrant siblings. When we do this, we bear witness to Christ himself, who said, “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”
Let us commit together to be communities where no one is a stranger, but each is seen, heard, and embraced as a child of God.
May our welcome reveal the kin-dom of God among us.
In Christ’s peace,
Rev. Robin Blakemore
Interim Regional Minister
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Nebraska
A Special Thanksgiving Prayer…
Holy One,
As this season gathers us in, we pause to give thanks for the wide, spirited community that is the Christian Church in Nebraska. From the Panhandle to the Missouri, from tiny rural sanctuaries to bustling city congregations, you weave us together into a people learning—day by day—how to follow Jesus with courage, generosity, and a bit of good-natured grit.
We give thanks for pastors who preach hope when the week has been long…
for elders and deacons who show up early and stay late…
for musicians, tech teams, youth, children, and the saints who make coffee strong enough to raise the dead.
We give thanks for every congregation discerning its next faithful step, for every leader daring to imagine a future shaped by your Spirit.
We remember, too, those for whom this season is tender—
those grieving empty chairs,
those carrying heavy worries,
those who could use a gentle word or a warm meal.
Surround them with your comfort and with neighbors who embody your love in practical ways.
As we move into the days ahead—grateful, hopeful, and maybe a little overstuffed—renew our imagination for your Kin-dom. Make us bold in compassion, steady in justice, and joyful in service. Let our shared ministry reflect the good news we proclaim: that love is stronger than fear, that grace is abundant, and that none of us walks this road alone.
With hearts full, we give thanks.
Amen.