The Rev. Nicolette Papanek, Seabury Western Class of 2002, died June 17, 2023 in Shaker Heights, Ohio, aged 72. We are grateful to her classmate Pamela Sten for reporting her death to us.
Born in San Francisco, Papanek lived on the West Coast and followed calls throughout the US, Canada, and Germany. She attended Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, where she studied weaving, dyeing, and ceramics, and was certified in Design and Development of Instructional Material and Analysis and Instructional Design. She was awarded her undergraduate degree in Human Resources Design from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri before receiving her Master of Divinity from Seabury Western.
Most of Papanek’s career centered on the changes that come when congregations enter a period of transition in ministry, and she served much of her ministry as an Intentional Interim, associated with four congregations of the Diocese of Kansas, including Grace Cathedral, where she served as Interim Dean from 2018-2019, as well as Trinity Church, Covington, KY.
Papanek discovered Appreciative Inquiry in industry and applied it by instinct in teaching creativity. She began to live into what she referred to as “living incarnationally” when she attended the Clergy Leadership Institute in 2003, where she continued to serve as a facilitator for many years.
A writer by trade, Papanek formerly worked in industry in public relations, advertising, and training. She spent many years leading retreats, workshops, and quiet days in industry and the church.
Her memorial service was held on Saturday, September 2, 2023, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.