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Greetings from New Orleans where the United Methodist Association of Communicators is completing its three-day annual conference.
At Thursday evening's awards banquet, IGRC Communications won six awards in the 2017 UMAC showcase of work completed in 2016.
Graphic designer Kim Halusan won three awards, including a first place award for newsletters among conferences and local churches. The award was for the newsletter,
Where Miracles Happen, for the IGRC Camping program.
Halusan also garnered a third-place award for her design of a booklet for the Office of Pastoral Care and Counseling and shared with IGRC Director of Communication Ministries Paul Black a third-place award for
The Current among conference and local church magazines. Due to the changeover in format in mid-2015,
The Current is now classified as a magazine and not a newspaper.
Black also won a first-place award for his work with the IGRC Board of Ordained Ministry for the board's candidacy mobile app and a second-place award in the same category for the 2016 Annual Conference app which utilizes
www.sched.org. This app will be used again at the 2017 Annual Conference.
Black also earned a third-place award for his story on McKendree University men's baskeball coach Harry Statham, which appeared in the March 2016 issue of
The Current.
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Granadosin appointed Spoon River District Superintendent
Bishop Frank J. Beard announced the appointment of the Rev. Stephen Granadosin, pastor of Industry and Vermont UMC's as Spoon River District superintendent, effective July 1.
"Steve was an easy pick for DS," Beard said in making the announcement. He is a man of integrity that has the respect of his peers and is a prayer warrior."
Born in the Philippines, Granadosin is no stranger to The United Methodist Church as his father, Paul Locke A. Granadosin, served as a bishop of the church in the Philippines, elected in 1968 until his death in 2001. His mother is a deaconess specializing in sacred music. He is married to the Rev. Cecilia Granadosin, an IGRC ordained elder.
Granadosin is in his 13th year of ministry in various capacities. He started as a lay missioner and a local pastor in Washington state -- experience which Beard cited as "invaluable to the Cabinet" as more and more local pastors are filling churches previously served by elders that have retired.
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Keaton heads IGRC delegation to Africa University
Retired Bishop Jonathan Keaton is in Zimbabwe this weekend where he is heading a delegation at the 25th anniversary celebration of Africa University.
Bishop Keaton is leading the group at the request of Bishop Frank J. Beard. Keaton's wife Beverly, IGRC Africa University Chair Beverly Wilkes-Null and IGRC Coordinator of Mission and Outreach comprise the IGRC contingent.
Keaton will be presenting the Conference's $1 million endowment which was named in he and his wife's honor at the 2016 Annual Conference. In an email earlier today, Keaton said he was to speak either Saturday or Sunday during the multi-day celebration and shared his prepared remarks with the IGRC.
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Stroble to preach Prentice Sermon at Mt. Carmel Trinity UMC April 23
Mt. Carmel Trinity UMC will host the annual Prentice Sermon, sponsored by the IGRC Commission on Archives and History on Sunday, April 23, at the church's 9 a.m. worship service.
Dr. Paul Stroble, chair of the Commission on Archives and History, will be the preacher.
The Prentice Sermon began with a bequest from a Methodist layman in Springfield to honor a group of persons who are well known for their untiring proclamation of the Gospel, the pioneer Methodist circuit riding preachers. Hiram Buck Prentice made his bequest to the Illinois Conference in 1922 to pay the expenses of one of the ministers of the Illinois Conference to preach upon the topic, "the Ministry and service as exemplified by the lives and labors of pioneer preachers of the Illinois Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church."
Mt. Carmel is one of two IGRC communities that will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2017 and three Methodist ministers were instrumental in the community's founding.
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2017 Annual Conference links
The Annual Conference Sessions Committee met March 10 and finalized a draft agenda for the 2017 Annual Conference, which will be June 8-10 at the Peoria Civic Center.
The agenda can be viewed by visiting the IGRC website at:
www.igrc.org/ac2017agenda. Additional information will be added.
Persons are able to set up a mobile app and pre-select which agenda items apply to them. Once set up, the app sends a daily schedule to the user each morning prior to the start of Annual Conference. Any last-minute changes to room assignments and schedule will be pushed out through the app to those using it.
The main page for the 2017 Annual Conference is:
www.igrc.org/ac2017.
Secondary pages are found to the right-hand menu area. Additional pages will be added as information becomes available.
Registration will open April 1. However, the following information is available now:
- Secretary's letter from Annual Conference Secretary Joy Caschetta. This letter along with an annual conference checklist will be arriving in the mail but you can view it online now.
- Annual Conference Checklist includes a list of deadlines, some of which have changed due to the shortened annual conference schedule.
- Hotel list of the Annual Conference block of rooms. Conferees are responsible for making their own reservations. Now is the best time to reserve your room. Rates are guaranteed through May 16, but rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Request for Display Space. Setup and tear down times have been modified to conform to the new schedule. Requests need to be made by March 27.
- Information on submitting reports/resolutions. Provides a summary on the process for submitting items for consideration by the Annual Conference. Includes the deadlines, dates and responsibilities.
- Information on A/V and tech support. Information for presenters at the Annual Conference. Includes deadlines to ensure third-party items work with the equipment and those who seek help for creative assistance by IGRC Communications. Deadlines are strictly enforced! Plan early!
Workshops announced for 2017 Annual Conference
Four workshops will be offered each of two days on Thursday and Friday noon at the 2017 Annual Conference. Identical sessions will be offered both days and each person will be able to register for the workshops as part of the Annual Conference registration that will open April 1.
Workshops for the 2017 Annual Conference:
- Building the Church in Prayer -- Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl, author of several books, including Pray and Grow, Pray the Price, Blueprint for the House of Prayer, Acts 29, Preyed on or Prayed For, Making Room to Pray, How to Pray After You've Kicked the Dog and Outside the Camp. Dr. Tekyl will also be the Friday Morning Manna speaker and speaker at the Saturday Morning Community Prayer Breakfast that will be held at nearby Bethel UMC and hosted by the Conference's United Methodist Men.
- Can We Talk?: Respectful Communication in a Polarized Church and Society -- Rev. Stephanie Ann Hixon, executive director of the JustPeace Center for Mediation and Conflict Transformation.
- Evangelism for Non-Evangelists -- Rev. Dr. Mark R. Teasdale, E. Stanley Jones Associate Professor of Evangelism, Garret-Evangelical Theological Seminary.
- Reaching New and Next Generations: Ministry with Gen Xers and Millennials -- Rev. Dr. Joe Scheets and Rev. Jessica Baldyga, pastors of Effingham Centenary UMC in the Embarras River District.
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LifeTouch Studios is now setting up online appointments for clergy to have their photos taken at the 2017 Annual Conference on June 8 and 9.
A new clergy directory will be produced this year. Clergy who had their photos taken at Covenant Keepers 2017 will not need to have them taken again.
There is no cost for having one's photo taken. Persons will receive a free 8 x 10 or wallet size photos and clergy photo badges can be purchased at the time of the shooting.
Click the photo to the right to be taken to the appointment page.
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Nominations sought for evangelism awards
Nominations are being sought for the Harry Denman Evangelism awards and the Peter Cartwright Lifetime Achievement Award by the IGRC Evangelism Committee.
The Denman Evangelism Award honors an IGRC United Methodist lay, youth lay and clergy person who exhibits unusual and outstanding efforts for work in Christian evangelism by faithfully carrying out the mission of "making disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Peter Cartwright Lifetime Evangelism Award of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference is awarded to someone who has exceptional leadership qualities to help our conference in making disciples of Jesus Christ. This person's lifetime example challenges pastors and lay people to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Where the Denman award is given for a period of work, the Peter Cartwright Lifetime Evangelism Award is given to a retired pastor who has reflected this work throughout their ministry career.
Nominations must be sent via email to:
[email protected] The downloadable forms are in Microsoft Word form. You may download the forms, type in the information and the form as a file to an email. If you require a different format, please contact us. Nomination deadline is April 14.
Read more and download forms...
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Nominations sought for the Cramer-Heuerman Social Justice Award
Nominations of clergy are being sought for the Cramer-Heuerman Social Justice Award which is awarded in the odd-numbered years by the IGRC chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action.
In essay form, nominators are asked to explain why the nominee exemplifies the work of MFSA and lives a life in accordance with the objectives of MFSA. Work, volunteer activities, lifetime and lifestyle characteristics and pursuits, as well as any relevant dates, activities or achievements will be considered.
The objectives of MFSA are:
- to witness prophetically to the Biblical faith in solidarity with persons who are oppressed;
- to establish a society based on democratic social-economic principles, according human dignity to all without discrimination based on race, gender, age, sexual identity, handicapping condition, or class distinction;
- to defend civil liberties and human rights as set forth in Biblical tradition and the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights; and,
- to work to abolish nuclear arms and eliminate war between nations.
The award will be given at the Social Justice Banquet at Annual Conference Thursday evening.
All nominations must be
submitted by May 1, and should be sent to:
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UMCOR Sunday March 26
The 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season, which included Hurricane Matthew, was one of the most active in recent years. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) knows that being prepared allows one to have a sense of control and hope during an unexpected event. It also places individuals, churches and communities in a better position to assist neighbors.
UMCOR Sunday (formerly One Great Hour of Sharing) is March 26. UMCOR's ability to respond is due to the generosity
of United Methodist congregations and individuals around the world. Gifts to UMCOR Sunday underwrite UMCOR's costs of serving local churches in times of disaster. This helps keep the promise that 100 percent of every gift made to UMCOR projects goes directly to those in need. Please encourage your congregations to give on UMCOR Sunday.
When you give to the UMCOR Sunday offering, you help UMCOR be prepared.
Download free UMCOR Sunday resources and start planning now for this special day.
Print materials are also available.
Read more and download resources...
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Year-end reports available online
EZRA - the on-line tool for local churches to report their year-end statistics - is now available. One church has already submitted all three tables! We will be sending out instructions and reminders, but if you want to get a jump on it, the website is
http://ezra.gcfa.org
The username for your church is the six-digit number assigned to your church by GCFA (it is the same number found on your remittance reports from my office). The initial password is password. You will be prompted to change the password when you enter the system for the first time.
Deadline to submit your reports is March 31, 2017.
Only one week remains!
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Sincerely,
Paul E. Black
Illinois Great Rivers Conference
217-529-2848
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