Pastor Ron Ruggles
Pastor Ron Ruggles has been an Authorized Minister (Licensed) for the past 33 years. Pastor Ron and his wife Jane make their home in Paducah, KY. He has served local churches primarily in the Illinois South Conference, but has also served in the Indiana-Kentucky Conference.
“I am both honored and excited to have been called to the United Church of Paducah. This sacred place has a rich heritage and a tradition of caring for all of God’s people,” Pastor Ron commented following the acceptance of the call to UCP. “We are admittedly a small congregation, but one filled with hope and desire. With that, we will reach out in hope to this community in the months and years to come,” he concluded.
Pastor Ron’s financial development career spans the past 35 years, having served first as the Director of Consultation, Prevention and Development for the Region 1 Mental Health/Mental Retardation Board in Paducah, Kentucky. In 1979, Ron became the first Director of Finance and Development for the Hoyleton Children’s Home, a Health and Human Service Ministry of the UCC. Three years later, he was the principal in the foundation of the Hoyleton Children’s Home Foundation as a separate charitable entity serving the needs of the Children’s Home. In January of 1991, he established his own financial development and non-profit management consulting firm, Ronald W. Ruggles & Associates, in St. Louis, MO. Ron and his staff served primarily churches and church related organizations throughout southeast Missiouri, southern Illinois, southwest Indiana and western Kentucky.
Feeling anew God’s call to return to parish ministry, Pastor Ron closed his firm in January of 2000 and returned to ministry as pastor of Zion United Church of Christ in Metropolis, IL. He has also served St. John United Church of Christ in rural Metropolis, and a two point charge, St. Peter United Church of Christ in Centralia, IL together with Zion United Church of Christ in Central City, Il, just prior to accepting the call to become the pastor of the United Church of Paducah.
In the wider United Church of Christ, Ron has served on the Boards of Directors of both the Indiana-Kentucky and Illinois South Conferences; served on the National Planned Giving Advisory Board with the Rev. Don Stoner for approximately five years; one six year term on the Office of Communication; one six year term as a member of the Stewardship Council; and for one year served on the newly created Local Church Ministries (LCM) board as a transitional member. After a one and one-half year absence, the Illinois South Conference elected Ron to fill the un-expired term of the Rev. Dr. Robert Page. After completing that term, Pastor Ron was elected to his own six-year term on the LCM Board, which expired in March of 2010 when he returned to the Indiana-Kentucky Conference and the United Church of Paducah. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Cornerstone Fund, where he serves as Treasurer. His term with the Cornerstone Fund ends December 31, 2010.
While serving with LCM, Ron has served as chair of the Stewardship and Local Church Finance Ministry; chair of the Audit Committee; chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and was the first Chairperson of the LCM Development Committee. Ron was elected by Local Church Ministries as their representative to the Restructure Evaluation and Oversight Committee whose report was presented at General Synod in 2005.
His educational background includes studies at Brigham Young University, Harrisburg (Pa.) Area Community College, Virginia Commonwealth University and Murray State University’s Bachelor of Independent Studies program. His theological education includes completed studies through the Evansville Tri-State Association’s Licensed Ministry Program as well as classes at Eden Theological Seminary.
Ron and Jane have three adult children: Ron, Jr., a Product Manager for the Symantec Corporation in Orlando, FL; one married daughter Tracey Waldespuhl, an Account Service Representative for the R. R. Donnelly Company in Covington, KY; and their youngest daughter, Erin Ruggles, Senior Manager of Employee Relations in the corporate office of Macy’s in Cincinnati, OH.
