Advertisement
But Sunday, he’ll give his final sermon here, and at the end of this month, he’ll take a decade of experience at First Congregational to Longmont, Colo., about 15 miles northeast of Boulder.
 |
Rev. Rick King leads a service at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Winona recently. (Photo by Andrew Link/Winona Daily News) |
A calling draws him to Colorado, something King said couldn’t be explained any other way besides the Holy Spirit pushing him to find another church home.
“I began searching in earnest a year ago February,” he said.
Leaving, however, won’t be easy for King, due to his love for the “sheer beauty” of Winona and the friendships he has developed within his congregation. It won’t be easy on his parishioners, either. King departs with a legacy of charity, community involvement and a reputation as a passionate idealist.
“There isn’t anyone who can pull somebody through a difficult, agonizing and inexplicable tragedy like Rick can,” said Barbara Beeman, the congregation’s coordinator. “He developed real legs with us.”
When King arrived at First Congregational, the church had gone through many pastors in a short time.
“They needed someone who wouldn’t cut and run,” King said. “They needed someone who would stick around for a while.”
When he arrived, King was the church’s youngest pastor in recent history, and First Congregational helped him hone his skills.
“I needed a church that would grow with me as I matured as a pastor,” he said.
During his time at the church, King co-founded the Winona Poverty Roundtable, which helps the community meet the needs of low-income families. The idea first came to the church in August 2001 and was started in January 2002. Poverty rates have tripled since 2005, said King, and the roundtable assists people by working together in a different form.
“(King) has been a great face for our church in the community,” Beeman said. “It surprised us to learn the depth of poverty in Winona.”
Since the flood, the roundtable has begun work on long-term flood recovery, which is far from over, King said. Besides the roundtable programs, the church has helped a flood-damaged family rebuild their house and helped clean up Whitewater State Park earlier this month.
“It’s wonderful to see these plants growing,” King said. “I feel like a gardener. The growth comes because of something.”
King also opened the doors of the church for local groups such as Narcotics Anonymous, La Leche League and the annual Prelude to Spring Orchestra Tea, which the church has hosted for the past 10 years.
King said he enjoys watching the congregation become more involved in the community through these outreach and open-door programs, and congregants suspect he’ll fit well into his new church.
“Rick was a young minister who was full of idealism,” Beeman said. “I think we discovered he has an enormous capacity to see the positive in any situation.”
King’s final sermon in Winona “will focus on a healthy community,” he said. A reception from 1 to 3 p.m. will follow at the church, 161 W. Broadway St.
