Celebrating Tricia Dykers Koenig’s
16 Years of Ministry as National Organizer
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is celebrating the ministry of its national organizer, the Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig. Tricia will leave the organization’s staff this month after 16 years of service that included strategy, advocacy and education on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
At a dinner in Tricia’s honor at a meeting of the Board of Directors last week, members gave the stalwart organizer much of the credit for major changes in church policy over the past decade. Church leaders have admired Tricia’s effectiveness and praised Tricia’s tenacity for years—even when they were themselves in a position not to take sides.
“I experienced Tricia’s good work from both sides,” said Cliff Kirkpatrick, who was stated clerk of the General Assembly for eight years of Tricia’s tenure. He is now a member of the Covenant Network Board. “And I think it’s fair to say there is no single person who has had more impact in changing General Assembly policy on the role of LGBTQ people in the church.”
Tricia, who worked from her home office in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, remains an active teaching elder member of the Presbytery of Western Reserve and is open to other ministry possibilities. But she will be profoundly missed in this role by her colleagues at the Covenant Network and across the country.