Welcome Home: Laurel Cockrill Accepts Interim Call

As we continue this season of transition and discernment, we are delighted to share some good news! The Interim Presbytery Pastor Search Committee has announced that the Rev. Laurel Cockrill has accepted the call to serve as Interim Presbytery Pastor for Indian Nations Presbytery, beginning August 15.

For many in our presbytery, Laurel's arrival will feel like a homecoming. A longtime member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City, Laurel completed her preparation for ministry as an Inquirer and Candidate under the care of Indian Nations Presbytery. She is currently serving as Pastor of Old South First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, where she received the Frederick Buechner Award for Excellence in Preaching.

Laurel brings extensive pastoral experience, deep affection for this presbytery, and a strong sense of call to this ministry. Reflecting on the work ahead, she shares, "I have a heart for small churches and the challenges they face. I feel God's call to be a strong and sympathetic advocate for our small churches through the assimilation process. Having participated in an assimilation before on the congregational level, I understand that God has prepared me uniquely for the way forward for the INP."

Laurel and her husband, Jason Padgett, have a blended family of four children and recently welcomed twin granddaughters into the family. We look forward to welcoming Laurel back to Oklahoma and invite you to keep her, her family, and Indian Nations Presbytery in your prayers as we prepare for this new chapter together.