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United Methodists expecting to see proposals from the Commission on a Way Forward will need to wait until the bishops weigh in.
"We as a commission serve the Council of Bishops, and the bishops serve the church," said the Florida Conference's Bishop Ken Carter, one of three episcopal leaders who serve as commission moderators. Carter is also president-elect of the Council of Bishops.
Carter addressed questions about the Commission in a conference call Thursday.
The bishop-appointed commission, which includes
32 members from nine countries, has the task of trying to find a way through the denomination's impasse around ministry with LGBTQ individuals. The moderators are not members but facilitate the commission's discussions. The 32 members include nine bishops --
one just elected this year.
"Finally, the work that the commission does will flow through the Council of Bishops," Carter said. "They will take the work that the commission has done. They will respond to it. They will shape it. They will adapt it. And then they will offer it to the church particularly through the delegations of the called General Conference in February 2019."
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Update on Carol Russell
I thank everyone for the prayers, calls and cards on behalf of Carol and myself. Carol has improved with the withdrawal of the ventilator. She is talking now.
However we request a new prayer focus. As she continues to recover please pray she responds and participates positively to the physical therapy. As she does she will be relocated to a rehab hospital close to home.
Thank you for your support. It is much-needed and appreciated.
It has been beautiful to experience the church being the church to us.
Roger Russell
Cache River District Superintendent
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Save the Date for several upcoming events
Covenant Keepers 2018 will be Jan. 29-30 at the Regency Conference Center in O'Fallon. Theme for the event is Fanning the Flames. Speakers for the event are the Revs. Rudy and Juanita Rasmus, pastors of St. Johns Church in downtown Houston, Texas. Online registration will go live Nov. 1 at:
www.igrc.org/ck2018.
Sexual Ethics Training events will be Feb. 5-9, at various sites throughout the Conference. The training is required for all persons who are providing pastoral leadership in local churches. The training is a one-day event. Sites for the training are still being secured and will be announced in the near future.
Self-Care Retreat, sponsored by the Office of Pastoral Care and Counseling will be April 25-27, at Pere Marquette State Park Lodge near Grafton. The retreat has been extended an extra day and will include more free time in response to feedback from the 2017 retreat.
2018 Annual Conference is slated for June 7-9 at the Peoria Civic Center. And for those that plan ahead -- the dates for future years, as set by Bishop Beard following the 2017 Annual Conference action to remain in Peoria are: June 6-8, 2019; June 4-6, 2020; June 10-12, 2021 and June 9-11, 2022.
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Upcoming clergy mentor training events
The Board of Ordained Ministry will conduct training events for clergy mentors.
Clergy Mentors work with Local Pastors who have not completed the Course of Study and Provisional Members. This support during the first few years of appointive ministry is essential for the formation of our pastors.
Local Pastors who have completed the Course of Study, Associate Members, and Full Member Elders and Deacons are eligible to be trained and assigned as Clergy Mentors.
There is no cost to participants, but registration is required.
The following sessions are scheduled in the Mississippi River, Kaskaskia River, LaMoine, Illinois River, and Spoon River districts. Additional training sessions are being scheduled by the Mentor Coordination and Training team. Locations that we are considering include Decatur and Pontiac, but those are still unconfirmed at this time and will likely be scheduled for January or February 2018. All sessions are from 9 a.m. to noon.
- Nov. 13 -- Edwardsville St. Johns UMC
- Nov. 14 -- Mt. Vernon West Salem Trinity UMC
- Nov. 16 -- Peoria Northwest UMC
- Nov. 28 -- Rushville UMC
- Jan. 16, 2018 -- Galesburg First UMC
Questions?
Contact Shane Smith
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Global Migration Sunday webinar
The partnering agencies of The United Methodist Church will be offering a webinar on the subject of global migration Nov. 8, 2017, at noon EDT. The goal is to raise awareness of the 65 million displaced people around the world and support them financially through Global Migration Sunday.
The webinar will run approximately 55 minutes, and feature three subject-matter experts speaking about their experiences in various regions of the globe. Participants will have the opportunity to ask the speakers and moderator questions at the conclusion of the presentations.
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Bishop urges churches to hold prayer walks Nov. 18
Pointing to Jesus' command that the church was to be a House of Prayer and urging us to get outside the walls of the church, Bishop Beard is asking churches to engage their communities through prayer walks.
Bishop Beard offers some suggestions in an article in the October issue of
The Current and
additional prayer resources are posted on the IGRC website.
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Disaster response training events scheduled
Peoria Bethel UMC has announced an early response training event for Nov. 4. Many of the requests from the Texas, Rio Grande and Florida conferences will be requesting persons that are trained early responders so getting trained will position you for opportunities to assist hands-on with disaster response.
A recertification for early responders who need to renew will be Nov. 10 at Fairbury UMC in the Vermilion River District.
Register online by Nov. 3...
An early response training for new early responders will be Nov. 11 at Fairbury UMC.
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Disaster Response Quick Links
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Our Conference, Our Kids resources
available in District offices
Promotional materials to assist in your raising of funds for the Our Conference, Our Kids campaign are now available in District offices. Plan now for your year-end giving approach by getting the four-color brochures. Request a number equal to your average worship attendance so everyone can get one.
IGRC Communications has also prepared a DVD-ROM that has a music video suitable as an offertory as well as two promotional segments explaining the campaign which can be used in the weeks leading up to a special offering. The DVD-ROM, when played in a computer, also has closed captioning of the three video segments as well as PDF masters of the brochures and a bulletin insert that can be reproduced and printed.
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How to thrive in a culture of shouting
"We live in a culture of shouting," writes Dr. David Watson.
"Social media has turned the marketplace of ideas into a zero-sum game. The internal logic of this game is that, not only must I express my own ideas loudly, but I must intimidate, shame and silence those who disagree with me. This is true not only among the "right" and the "left," but among self-styled "centrists" as well. "Centrism" can become its own moral island, no less dogmatic than the "extremists" it criticizes.
"Our culture has developed a poisonous cocktail of moral expression. It consists of two parts. The first is the individualization of truth. Truth is what I will it to be. I decide the truth about myself, about how I should regard other people, and how they should regard me. I decide what is right and wrong, and woe be unto the person who calls this into question. Such a perspective is called voluntarism, and because it abandons critical reasoning and debate, its end game can only be a clash of wills."
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Click on the cover to view the November issue |
The Liberia Partnership at 10 years old
The November 2017 issue of The Current is now posted online and should be in your mailboxes this weekend. The cover story features the 10-year-old IGRC-Liberia mission partnership that has provided more than $4 million in giving and more than 250 United Methodists from the IGRC visiting the west African country.
BONUS RELATED STORY: In a quest to help Bishop Samuel J. Quire Jr. take the church "back to the soil," the Gbarnga Mission Station is growing swamp rice that will enable the station to supply most area farmers with seed rice.
"Our initial plan is to engage in seed-rice multiplication as a way of combating food insecurity, which is threatening this part of Liberia," said the Rev. James Labala, mission station director.
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Sincerely,
Paul E. Black
Illinois Great Rivers Conference
217-529-2848
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