A Texan Returns

The Rev. Kenneth Richter was called into the office of Senior Minister of First Congregational Church of Houston on Sunday, September 20.  His ministry will begin on January 1, 2010.

Raised in Rosenberg, Texas, Ken was graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. degree in Political Science and received his Master of Divinity degree from the Houston Graduate School of Theology. 

He is married to Kim, a mental health counselor.  Their family includes three adopted children, Andrei, Natasha and Hannah, and two teen-agers from Kim’s previous marriage, Megan and Kyle.  Since 2002, Ken has served as pastor of two churches in rural Southern Illinois:  Zion UCC in Addieville and St. John’s UCC in Johannisburg. 

Ken and a Mid-October Phone Interview

Q:  What are the most important contributions a church the size of First Congregational (FCC) can make in today’s society?

A:    FCC is big enough to be diverse and small enough that people can more easily have close relationships with one another.  It’s also large enough to help people become involved with mission work and outreach into the community and the world

Q: Membership in the Christian church is declining in the U.S. Is the United Church of Christ (UCC) doing any better than other denominations? Why or why not?

A:  The UCC is doing about the same as other mainline denominations in losses per year.   Beginning perhaps with my generation, the baby boomers, there has been too much emphasis on tradition in the mainline churches.  That has tended to turn off people. Many seeking a spiritual experience found mainline churches were too much into an intellectual approach and not enough into the spiritual. We need balance.  We need to find more ways to address people’s spiritual needs. This may require different approaches, a new understanding of how the church operates, of what the church is all about.  We need to look at what people are seeking in a spiritual relationship while remaining faithful to our calling as Christians.

Q.  You said you liked the idea of moving to Houston because you grew up near here and because you and your wife Kim wanted your younger children to experience a multi-cultural big city.  Now consider the church you’re going to serve: Were there any particular characteristics about FCC that attracted you?

A.   The main thing is its progressiveness, that you are open and affirming and open to individual spirituality as well – that its members can take different paths, hopefully to reach the same point. 

Social Networking

Q. How might online social networks be affecting religion today?  Do you make use of them yourself?

A.  I’m still traditional – using e mail, instant messaging and cell phone.  I look at U Tube occasionally and am totally in the dark with regard to Twitter. As for Facebook, to be honest, I haven’t felt that I have anything to put on it -- here is Ken raking leaves?  I’m going to look into it. My wife Kim will have a specific use for a Facebook page.  She’s a mental health counselor working with children and will certainly establish one to help her become known in her new community.

           However, as a church, FCC needs to increase its presence on the Internet – go beyond our website and make our presence interactive.  Teens are very much into that, and while it can be a distraction, being in touch online with the church promotes the feeling that there is more to church than Sunday morning.  If a teen feels she or he has an online connection to the church, it can enhance the youth’s spiritual relationships and encourage the awareness that a spiritual life is not just for Sunday morning.  I was glad to hear that FCC youth leaders are working on this!

Q.  The two teens in your family are undoubtedly aware of social networking.  Are you concerned about their safe use of the Internet?  What have you and your wife Kim taught them about that?

A. One of them, Megan, has a Facebook page.  Kyle does not as yet, at least he didn’t the last time I asked him. He uses his phone and texting.   We’ve talked about it. The agreement we established with Megan before allowing her to have a Facebook page was that Kim would have the password and can visit it.  When she found that Megan had put her phone and address on there, she asked her to remove the personal information.  Other than that, it’s been o.k.; Kim looks at it only occasionally, and Megan is a good, responsible kid.  But kids are innocent, and there are too many opportunities online to fall into something they don’t understand.  Parental guidance is absolutely needed.

Adoptions

Q. Can you talk a bit about how you went about adopting your three youngest children from India and Russia? 

A.  Originally, we had intended to adopt domestically and went through foster parent training with that in mind.  But we then learned that in Illinois younger children are seldom released for adoption, and we wanted a pre-school child.  So we went with adopting a child from another country.  Friends had adopted from Russia and had had a good experience.  We learned that Andrei, 3 years old, and his sister Natasha, 2, were available and flew to Russia the last week of July, 2003.  Andrei was in an orphanage, a “baby home” in Vladimir.  Natasha was in a different orphanage.  We met both children – a requirement of the Russian government, incidentally.  Then we were required to wait three weeks.  We flew home, then flew back and went to court in Moscow to handle the adoption. We arrived home with the children the day before Labor Day, 2003.  Neither child had heard English before, so we started from scratch.  But they adjusted pretty fast.  Andrei likes basketball and baseball.  Natasha is an artist.

          In 2005, Kim wanted one more child. I went from neutral to enthusiastic over this one.  Kim found an adoption agency in Friendswood, Texas, with a relationship with an orphanage in Mumbai that had a one-year-old girl available.  To jump to the end of a ten-month process, while I stayed home with Natasha and Andrei, Kim flew to India, spent a week there, picked up Hannah and got home December 3, 2005, two days before our new daughter’s second birthday. 

          Hannah is in kindergarten this year.  She has never known a stranger.  She’s a very personable little girl who can do anything and be happy in or out of school.  Right now she’s playing soccer, and I’m trying to coach it.  However, she is extremely headstrong.  If she decides she wants to do something in a certain way, that’s the way it has to be.  She’s a real character, a delight.

Quick Picks

And now for a few for-fun questions on your personal preferences:

Q. If on a particular evening you had to choose to attend either the symphony, or a play or a movie, which would you choose?

A.  The play, because plays tend to draw me in more than the others.

Q.  What’s your favorite form of outdoor exercise?  If you say “gardening,” watch out.  FCC has a garden in the middle of the parking lot!

A .  Yes, I’ve seen the garden.  At this point, I’d say walking, and I bicycle every now and then.  I like golf.   But I do like to garden.  I like to do almost anything outdoors.  Before I was in seminary,  I directed junior and senior high camps at Slumber Falls and enjoyed that.

Q.  Here’s a chance to get into hot water with half the congregation, no matter how you choose:  Do you prefer cats or dogs?

A.  Dogs. I’ve had cats, but dogs are more friendly and devoted.

Surprise Us!

Q. What can you tell about yourself that the Search Committee and others at FCC don’t already know about?

A.  I don’t think I mentioned to anyone that I like to cook. I took a gourmet cooking class many years ago and still like to experiment in the kitchen.  I’m around the house and cook for the family during the week.  On weekends, Kim, who is an excellent cook, takes over with cooking and baking.  Since Hannah arrived, I’ve tried my hand at Indian cuisine, and I like to work with seafood.