‘A bigger picture, a broader view and a better idea’
Retiring A Corporation President Kathy Lueckert is honored Thursday for nearly six years of significant contributions
LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Campbell, an original member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation Board, may have said it best during Thursday’s gathering in the Welcome Center at the Presbyterian Center to honor retiring A Corp President Kathy Lueckert.
“I can’t think of a meeting where I didn’t learn something about leadership from you,” Campbell, the former president of McCormick Theological Seminary, told Lueckert and a roomful of colleagues wishing her well as she returns to her former position as director of finance and administration at Village Presbyterian Church in the Kansas City area. After A Corp Board members — many of them people “with strong opinions,” Campbell noted — would launch into a discussion on an important matter, “Kathy would give us a bigger picture, a broader view and a better idea.”
“You always sign your notes with ‘God is in the midst.’ God is in the midst,” Campbell said, “and will be with you in all the steps of your journey.”
Last month, Lueckert announced her decision to rejoin her former colleagues at Village Presbyterian Church. This week, the A Corp Board named Ian Hall, the A Corporation’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, as interim president. He begins Monday.
The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency, recalled first meeting Lueckert when Lueckert served as a tracker backstage at a General Assembly. When Lueckert became the A Corporation’s first president, Oh noted it was her task to “establish a separate entity, build a culture, bring about cohesion and build a new thing. I’m so glad you were called to that work,” Oh said. “I have really appreciated the wisdom you bring from being involved in the church in various ways.”
Kerry Rice, the Associate Stated Clerk in the Interim Unified Agency, said he wanted to take credit for Lueckert’s years as A Corporation president. “I recommended her to the headhunter,” Rice said. “Stupidly, I was also a candidate for the job, but she was the right person in the right place for that job.”
“With all the transitions we have been through, you have been a non-anxious presence,” said Clare Lewis, president and CEO of the Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program. “You have been a blessing to our board, and from PILP staff, we want to thank you for being an awesome landlady. You kept us safe and functioning during Covid.”
Susan Jackson-Dowd, executive director of Presbyterian Women, said she’s always appreciated Lueckert’s “direct, compassionate, no-nonsense approach” as well as how quick she is to respond to emails. “We pray for all the best as you return to Village Church,” Jackson-Dowd said. “The Presbyterian Women group there is looking forward to having you back.”
“Thank you for your encouragement and for always pushing the ball down the field and helping us get to places where we know we need to go,” said Dr. Corey Schlosser-Hall, deputy executive director in the IUA. “What I will miss most about you,” he told the resplendent Lueckert, is your fantastic colorful style.”
When Lueckert was named A Corp president in 2019, Angela Duffy, who’s now president of New Covenant Trust Company, recalls colleagues agreeing that “God is good. God has brought the right person at the right time.”
“We are a connectional church,” Duffy said, handing Lueckert one of the many gifts she received on Thursday, “in a faithful denomination.”
Rob Fohr, a vice president for both the Presbyterian Foundation and New Covenant Trust Company, told the story of how during the 223rd General Assembly (2018), Lueckert, working as the aforementioned tracker, had to inform a committee it had sent a conflicting recommendation for GA commissioners to consider. “With grace, clarity and confidence, you showed them how they had royally messed up, and you gave them the tools to fix what they’d done,” Fohr recalled. “You navigate the complexities of our connected Church very well, and I will miss that. Your organizational acumen and ability to collaborate is second to none.”
“When I think of the wise women, I think of you,” and a few others who received mention from Sara Lisherness, another IUA deputy executive director. “We have had moments of great joy, and even during what were traumatic times for many of us, there were moments of sisterhood and being wise women.”
“The word ‘shalom’ is both a welcome and a farewell,” Lisherness noted. “Please take the peace you have shared with us all as you go to Kansas City and make more peace.”
Human Resources director Ruth Gardner read a letter on behalf of the Rev. Dr. John Wilkinson, director of Ministry Engagement and Support. As a ruling elder in the PC(USA), Lueckert promised to serve with energy, intelligence, imagination and love, Wilkinson noted. “There are times when Presbyterian vows seem cliché, but not in Kathy’s case,” he wrote. “Your good work will continue to go before you.”
“You are a big part of why I am standing here today,” Hall told Lueckert. “You have articulated clearly how administration can be ministry. You and I are clear about that, and I am going to miss you. You leave a legacy of service.”
Brelin Tilford, the CEO and video creative with Media Pros Productions, which also operates out of the Presbyterian Center, thanked Lueckert “for believing in us and trusting our mission.” He said Media Pros “will continue to do what we can to keep pushing your vision and moving forward.”
Representing Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, the Rev. David Maxwell credited Lueckert with a long ago accomplishment. “You had me with the toll-free number into the Presbyterian Center,” he said. Maxwell presented her with a gift that will take some effort to transport to her new job: the 2,288-page Westminster Study Bible.
While no longer representing PILP, former CEO and President Jim Risler stopped by to “say thank you for all the support you gave us. On a personal note, thank you for all the times we commiserated together” and “for being a valued and trusted voice and confidant.”
When it was her turn at the microphone, Lueckert quipped she could “hardly recognize who you’ve been talking about.”
In 2019, when Rice and others “put my name in the hat” for the top A Corp job, Lueckert felt “maybe God is nudging me, and the idea of starting a new thing felt like a good way to end a career. I hope I’ve done that.”
“We have focused on helping ministries flourish, and Ian and team will keep that moving forward,” she said. “I will miss you, but it feels right. It feels like I am done, like I have done what I came to do. I cannot thank you enough for your friendship and support.”
“I give thanks to God for the opportunity to work with you. God is in the midst,” she reminded those gathered. “May God give you peace and keep you safe. I love you all. Thank you.”
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