The Rev. Laura Everett has been approved by the Massachusetts Council of Churches Board of Directors to become its next executive director.

The appointment of Everett, an ordained UCC minister who has served on the UCC's Council for Ecumenism, will be effective Nov. 1. She will succeed the Rev. Jack Johnson.

Everett has served as associate director of the Council since 2004. A graduate of Brown University and the Harvard Divinity School, she recently completed the Foundations of Christian Leadership Program at Duke University Divinity School.

“The United Church of Christ formed me for ecumenical ministry with our denomination's steadfast commitment to healing the divisions of the Body of Christ,” said Everett. “I am grateful for that commitment and carry it with me as I work and minister with the 17 Orthodox and Protestant churches of the Massachusetts Council of Churches.

“As ecumenists, we stand with one foot in our particular tradition and one in the broader Church,” she said. “As a Council of Churches, we stand with one foot in the Church world and one foot in the broader culture that we seek to transform. And as Christians, we must always stand with one foot on earth and one in the kingdom that is to come.”

In its nomination statement, the search committee said, “Mentored in the ministries of the MCC, Laura knows us well, has built strong relationships in this community and with our ecumenical and interfaith partners. She has many gifts to lead the MCC in the opportunities and challenges of the years ahead.

“For several years, Laura has been immersed in the ministries and relationships of the ecumenical community in Massachusetts and elsewhere, and is well experienced and skillful in advocacy and justice ministries,” the statement continued.