In this pastoral position, Rick provides support for North’s congregation by training and equipping lay persons to be in ministry through parish visitation and the Stephens Ministry program. A related responsibility is developing small groups for prayer and outreach to support people in transitional life circumstances such as birth, death, marriage, divorce, illness, grief, job and financial changes.

Also, through the Adult Council, he provides pastoral support for ministry with senior adults and young adults.

His relationship with North Church began four years before he came on staff through his work as campus minister at Ball State University . He directed college students employed by North to conduct a summer outreach program for children and youth from the surrounding neighborhoods. After that, he began to work at North as Pastor for Visitation.

“I was attracted by North’s ongoing commitment to serve its neighborhood rather than to look beyond to a more generalized vision of ministry to the larger community from which it draws its membership. I believe in the value of staying connected with the place where human need is real and acutely felt, which is exhibited through the outworkings of the life of this congregation.”

His primary goal is “to help the congregation to fulfill the baptismal promise made by all to ‘care for one another.’ Toward that end, he says, “we must enable each of our members to realize her or his strengths and limitations, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to respond with self-giving compassion to the joys and sorrows, the accomplishments and setbacks that life brings. Ultimately, I want North Church to be as well-known throughout the community for the way we care for one another as we are generally known for other areas of our ministry, such as preaching and worship.

Rick, an elder in the North Indiana Conference, is a Purdue graduate in political science and international relations. He earned a master of divinity degree at Christian Theological Seminary and attended Drew University School of Theology and Princeton Theological Seminary.

He is married to Sally Lynn (Eldridge) Pickering , and they have one daughter, Kathryn Lauren Pickering, a graduate of IU.  

His hobbies include gardening and sailing, and he enjoys outdoor activities such as wilderness hiking, climbing and canoeing. He says the physical challenges are invigorating, and he enjoys identifying wildlife and plants that he encounters.