Laywoman Cara Nicklas to Deliver Opening Address at the WCA’s 2019 Global Gathering
The Wesleyan Covenant Association is pleased to announce that Cara Nicklas, an Oklahoma laywoman, will deliver the opening address at its Fourth Global Gathering at Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
A founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association Council, Nicklas was a speaker at the association’s 2017 Global Gathering. She has also made presentations at events in the Great Plains, West Ohio, North Texas, and North Georgia Annual Conferences.
“Cara Nicklas combines a compassionate response to all those across the theological spectrum with the strength to stand for her convictions,” said the Rev. Tom Harrison, Senior Pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church, the WCA Global Gathering’s host site. “I have had the privilege of serving with her as a General Conference delegate from the Oklahoma Annual Conference and know Cara as a serious, wise and gracious layperson. She possesses a strong faith. She is a respected leader in our Annual Conference. It’s an honor to have her as a speaker for the WCA’s Global Gathering.”
Nicklas’ presentation, “Me, a Theologian?” is part of the Gathering’s “Transformed” theme. The event is expected to attract thousands of United Methodists across the connection.
A partner in the law firm, McAlister, McAlister, Baker & Nicklas PLLC, in Edmond, Oklahoma, Nicklas practices law in the area of business and trust litigation, as well as estate planning, probate and guardianship. She says she is blessed to be partners with believers who support and encourage her expanded work within the church. She is also involved in the Congo Initiative, an effort to promote the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As conditions allow (the country is contending with the Ebola virus and civil unrest), she travels to Beni, DRC, every other year to participate in a Justice Conference involving Christian lawyers in Eastern DRC, who seek to elevate justice in the context of a broken system.
Nicklas was elected a General Conference delegate in 2015, and so represented the Oklahoma Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2016, and at the special 2019 General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. Earlier this year she was re-elected to represent her conference at the 2020 General Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has been an active member of local UM churches in Oklahoma, serving as chair of several committees, and in various teaching capacities. Her priority is leading a small group focused on Bible study using a Wesleyan approach to Scripture.
“When Cara spoke at our 2017 Global Gathering we had a great line-up of clergy who gave excellent presentations,” said the Rev. Keith Boyette, President of the WCA. “But afterwards it was Cara’s address that people requested and clicked on the most to view. She touched a chord with laity and clergy, challenging all of us to take our Christian discipleship far more seriously. Cara brings her head and her heart to the faith, and then she lives it out in her daily walk with Christ. Her presence on the WCA Council the past three years has been critical. I’m very grateful she’s willing to deliver our Gathering’s opening address.”
A life-long Methodist, Nicklas was born in Fort Eustis, Virginia, and raised in Oologah, Oklahoma. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and her juris doctorate degree from Oklahoma City University in 1990. She and her husband Tim live in Oklahoma City; they have two adult sons, Connor and Evan, and they recently welcomed a daughter-in-law, Michelle, to their family.
To learn more about the conference visit Transformed online. People can register to attend the host site at Asbury UM Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, or a number of simulcast sites across the country.