Johnston Ordination a Double Take from 30 Years Ago

By Stan Friedman

DETROIT, MI (July 3, 2013) – When Kelly Johnston was ordained Saturday night during the worship service at the 128th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church, it was a sense of déjà vu for her mother, Meagan Gillan.

Thirty years ago Meagan was pregnant with twins when her husband, Scot Gillan, was ordained at the Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. One of those twins was Kelly. Today Kelly is pregnant—with twins.

“It’s just so crazy to think about,” said Meagan, who is now the executive minister of the Department of Women Ministries. She joked that the Arizona meeting was the first Annual Meeting Kelly attended.

Kelly said she was concerned that she might not make it to her own ordination service. She is in her seventh month of pregnancy, and Detroit is more than 800 miles from Wakefield, Nebraska, where she pastors the Evangelical Covenant Church.

In some ways, Kelly said, the parallels give her a sense that she was “called from the womb.”

Scot said simply, “I’m just really proud and grateful for her.” During the ordination ceremony as pastors prayed for the new ordinands, Scot was able to lay hands on Kelly to pray for her.

Kelly’s twin brother, Cooper, also attended the worship service.

Picture of The Covenant Companion

The Covenant Companion

The Covenant Companion brings together stories and voices that connect, inform, and inspire. Subscribe to our print edition.
CONTINUE READING

Explore More Stories & News

Arts & Culture

Pearls, Arrows, and Grace

Amy Muia’s A Desert Between Two Seas traces the ripple of one boy’s drowning across generations of afflicted, often violent characters in post-mission Baja California.

Commentary

A Burglary and a Lesson in Love

A burglary tested Mike Guerrero’s habit of helping strangers in need—but didn’t stop him from loving them.

News

Gather 2026: The Work of One Another

Last week, delegates gathered to mark fifty years of ordaining women, share stories of God’s faithfulness, welcome new churches, and ordain and commission new ministers.

News

Christine Cikanek Honored for Outstanding Lay Ministry

Christine “Chris” Cikanek of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Princeton, Illinois, received the Theodore W. Anderson Award for outstanding lay ministry at the 141st Annual Meeting.

Features

Fifty Years After Yes

Fifty years after ordaining women, the Covenant Church is still learning to make room for the gifts it has already affirmed.