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Recognizing the financial hardship that the current health insurance environment has placed on some of our pastors, the Conference Board of Pensions will present a group health insurance plan alternative to the 2017 Session of Annual Conference.
Four Pre-Conference meetings are set for Pre-Conference Briefings on the Health Insurance proposal.
- Friday, May 19, 3 p.m. -- Mt. Vernon West Salem Trinity UMC
- Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. -- Conference Center, Springfield
- Saturday, May 20, 3 p.m. -- Normal Calvary UMC
- Thursday, June 8, 8:30 a.m. -- Peoria Civic Center, Halls B and C, (prior to Clergy and Laity Sessions)
Details of the plan are still being formulated. The proposal on the table at this writing would be that the local church or charge would pay $1,100 each month to the Conference for each full-time pastor appointed to the church/charge
. This is currently the same amount that is being paid in a health insurance allowance to each pastor.
The pastor would then have the opportunity to choose between several plans and enrollment configurations with up to $1,100 to spend on premiums and ancillary plans. Any choices over and above the $1,100 figure would be the pastor's responsibility to pay. All of this would be on a pre-tax basis under the current tax rules.
The new plan would begin on Jan. 1, 2018. This is a "mandatory plan" - which means that full-time clergy serving local churches and on conference staff will enroll. However, spouse and child dependent enrollment is optional. Part-time pastors are not eligible for enrollment.
The Commission on Equitable Compensation's recommendation for 2018 is that if the Conference does not adopt a group plan for 2018, the pastor's health insurance allowance will increase to $15,000 per year. It is currently $13,200.
These proposals will NOT affect retirees who are on the IGRC Medicare Supplement plan. There are no plans to change the Medicare Supplement.
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2017 Annual Conference links
Registration for the 2017 Annual Conference is underway. Here are some helpful links:
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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.
Workshops for the 2017 Annual Conference:
- Building the Church in Prayer -- Rev. Dr. Terry Tekyl. 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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Religion and Race to host pre-Conference event
The Conference Commission on Religion and Race will host a program, A Day of New Beginnings, which will be from 2 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, prior to the start of Annual Conference
Refreshments consisting of fruits, cheese tray and crackers and cookies will be provided free of charge.
In order to have an estimated headcount, please indicate whether you will attend below. Should crowd exceed the size of the room, a change in rooms will be made to accommodate the crowd.
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Conference Prayer Vigil during Annual Conference
Each year during Annual Conference, laity ask each district to pray at a certain designated time for the Conference. This certainly doesn't mean that this is the only time you can pray but it gives each district a designated time.
Assignments for the 2017 Annual Conference are as follows:
Annual Conference Special offering and collections
Three offerings will be taken at the 2017 Annual Conference as well as collections for two agencies. Churches are encouraged to take up collections for each of these offerings and send them with their lay or clergy member to Annual Conference. This allows the church to write one check and the congregation to be credited for its gift.
An offering for the John Kofi Asmah School in West Point, Liberia, will be taken for furnishings for the school IGRC laity built several years ago.
An offering will also be taken for the Ordinands' Trip in Spring 2018 during the Service of Ordination and Commissioning. This trip is used to form spiritual leaders at the beginning of their ministry.
A third offering will be taken as part of the Black College Ambassador's report for the Tom Brown Scholarship at Wiley College. The relationship with Wiley College is long-standing and the offering is held annually in memory of the late Rev. Tom Brown, a former trustee of the school from the former Central Illinois Conference.
In addition, the Midwest Mission Distribution Center is asking for items for kits assembled by the Center:
- Kitchen dishwashing gloves
- Insect repellent spray, 6 to 14 oz. (ex. Off, Cutter)
- Scouring pads
- Pens -- no advertising
- Protractors
The Center will also be collecting the following items for Fair Hope Ministry, a Danville-area agency in the Iroquois River District. Churches are encouraged to have an Undie Sunday prior to Annual Conference to collect these items:
The Midwest Mission Distribution Center will be in the loading dock area outside the Peoria Civic Center lobby area to take collections.
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Duke Alumni to meet offsite for Thursday lunch
Duke Divinity School Alumni will be meeting offsite at a nearby restaurant during Thursday lunch. For more details and to register, contact Casey Taylor at 309-363-8868.
Ice cream socials following adjournment Thursday
Two ice cream socials will be sponsored by the Fellowship of Local Pastors and Asbury Seminary, Alumni, Friends and Family, following adjournment on Thursday.
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Breakfast to provide info on Bishop's Wesley Heritage Tour
You are invited to join Kathy Bouchard from Educational Opportunities Tours for a complimentary breakfast, Thursday June 8, at 8 a.m. in Room 135.
Learn more about Educational Opportunities Tours and about the IGRC Wesley Heritage Tour to England with Bishop Frank Beard.
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Aldersgate Federal Credit Union breakfast
Aldersgate Federal Credit Union will hold their annual meeting Friday June 9, at 7 a.m. during Annual Conference. A variety of pastries, fruit and coffee will be served at no charge.
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Special meal speakers announced
Several sponsors of special meals have announced speakers for their dinners.
- Brynne Howard, a member of the Iowa Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) ministry, will speak at the Hispanic Ministries dinner on Thursday evening. Iowa Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON) is a faith-driven ministry, welcoming immigrants into our churches and communities by providing free, high-quality immigration legal services, education, and advocacy. Iowa Justice For Our Neighbors has been serving clients in our communities since 1999.Established by the United Methodist Committee on Relief in 1999, Iowa JFON helps people from all over the world. Services are available to all without regard to race, gender, or religion.
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IGRC retired pastor Richard McGuire will be portraying Judge Joseph Cunningham at this year's United Methodist Women dinner Thursday evening. Recently while serving on the Board of Directors of Cunningham Children's Home, McGuire was asked to portray Champaign County Judge Joseph Cunningham, who along with his wife Mary, in 1895 donated their 15-acre Urbana house and estate to start a home for needy children and youth. Cunningham was a newspaper owner, writer and editor, lawyer, judge, close friend of Abraham Lincoln, author, historian, public speaker, philanthropist, Christian and Methodist. McGuire will tell those gathered about Cunningham in a first-person portrayal as well as the origin of and the continuing mission of Cunningham Children's Home in Urbana.
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Rev. Dr. Thomas Logsdon will be the guest speaker at the Social Justice Dinner on Thursday evening.
Logsdon will speak on the church and people with disabilities in a presentation entitled, A Place at the Table. Other sponsoring groups of Social Justice dinners include the Board of Church and Society, Status and Role of Women, and the Commission on Religion and Race as well as one of MFSA's sub group RUMI.
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Register for your clergy directory photo
Appointments are now being accepted on June 8-9 by LifeTouch for clergy to have a new photo taken for the 2017 Clergy Directory.
Persons can click on the photo to the right to be taken to the appointment page. Persons getting a photo taken will received a free 8 x 10 or wallet size photos. Photo badges can be obtained for $3.
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Internship applications being accepted through June 30
The IGRC Intern Program is currently accepting applications from both prospective interns and prospective host churches/ministries for paid internships to be served during the 2017-18 academic year. Application deadline is June 30.
Further information and application links are available at
www.igrc.org/interns. Questions may be directed to Beth Fender (
bfender@igrc.org, 217-529-2611).
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Russian group in concert at Pawnee, Thayer UMC's
The public is invited to special musical event. The Russian choral ensemble from St. Petersburg, Russia, "LYRA", will be presenting a concert of Russian Folk music and Sacred songs of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Thayer United Methodist Church tonight at Pawnee UMC, and on Tuesday, May 9, at Thayer UMC. Both concerts are at 7 p.m.
The concert is free but a free-will offering will be taken to help defray travel expenses.
The main goal of "LYRA's" activity is exploring and popularizing Russian choir music. Through their performances, they want to help introduce the enormous musical heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as traditions of Russian folk music to all people who are interested in Russia, its history and culture.
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'Gathering Time' exhibit at the Foster Gallery
Gathering Time, a series of photographic prints and Time Based Media by the Leunigs, will be on display at the Foster Gallery for Christianity and the Fine Arts in the First United Methodist Church from April 23 through June 4.
The opening reception will be from 5 to 9 p.m. May 5, during the monthly First Friday event at the church. Music will be provided by Paul Adams.
As frequent travelers, the Leunigs have taken photographs all over the world. While they have photographed many unique sights, the images in "Gathering Time" represent something more universal.
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The Well opens registration with an early registration discount
Registration is open for The Well, a seminar for local church youth workers and children's ministry workers. The event will be hosted in O'Fallon Oct. 5, and in Normal Oct. 12..
The identical events begin run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., concluding with lunch.
Topics are "The Emotionally Healthy Ministry Leader" and "More Than Enough Volunteers." Every participant receives five months of personalized follow up coaching (in partnership with Ministry Architects)!
Register before June 1 to receive the best registration rate! Visit harvestconferences.org/thewell for more information, or contact Tim Price (tim@troyumc.org).
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Missionary to itinerate this summer in IGRC
Connie Wieck, a missionary through the General Board of Global Ministries will be itinerating in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference from July 15 to Aug. 28.
Her Sunday mornings are filled but there are many opening throughout the weeks and churches who would like to have her visit may do so by contacting Carolyn Yockey at
CLPY508@aol.com,or by calling 309-452-3936. Travel time will be taken into consideration so that her schedule can be clustered to make maximum use of the time available.
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Native American Indian Festival planned in conjunction with total solar eclipse
Southern Illinois is gearing up for a total solar eclipse which will take place Aug. 21.
A three-day Native American Indian Festival is scheduled for Little Grassy Camp Aug. 19-21. The festival will run from noon to dark on Aug. 19 and 20 and from 8 to 11 a.m. Aug. 21.
The "
Great American Total Solar Eclipse" will darken skies all the way from Oregon to South Carolina, along a stretch of land about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide. People who descend upon this "path of totality" for the big event are in for an unforgettable experience, said eclipse expert Jay Pasachoff, an astronomer at Williams College in Massachusetts.
The eclipse, scheduled for just before noon. Aug. 21, will last up to 2 hours, 40.2 minutes along a path that directly goes through Makanda, Ill. Makanda's duration will be 2 hours, 38 minutes and the greatest eclipse will be in Western Kentucky.
"It's a tremendous opportunity," Pasachoff told Space.com. "It's a chance to see the universe change around you."
A total solar eclipse last darkened soil on the U.S. mainland on Feb. 26, 1979. But August 2017 will mark the first time in 99 years that such an event is "readily available to people from coast to coast," Pasachoff said.
Read more...
Register for the Native American Indian Festival...
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Mazon UMC 7th Annual 5K Run
The Mazon United Methodist 7th Annual 5K run will be on Saturday, June 3.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. under the pavilion in Mazon City Park. Race day registration is $35, cash or check only. Race starts at 9 a.m. on Seneca St. A total of eight trophies and 72 medals will be awarded.
Pre-registration is available at www.active.com for $30. Entry by May 15 guarantees you a T-shirt in your selected size. Paper entry forms are also available from Pastor Karen Fabian by emailing her at mazonmethodist@aol.com or by calling/texting 815-483-9343.
Churches, businesses, and individuals can also sponsor this event and get their name and/or logo on the back of our official 5K T-shirts. Contact Fabian no later than May 15 if you are interested in being sponsor.
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FUMMWA hosts Awaken 2017 in Little Rock
The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts will gather to July 24-27, in Little Rock, Ark., to explore what it means to engage in transformative worship in communities that are full of complexities, conflicts, and politics during its biennial convocation.
Titled
Awaken 2017: Wake up! Worship. What's next?, the convocation is a unique event for
musicians, dancers, visual artists, preachers, and all who seek to serve God's people by
designing and leading participatory worship experiences.
During the event, attendees will gather for daily worship in addition to learning through a wide
variety of seminars and hands-on experiences, as well as numerous choral reading sessions.
A highlight of the event will be a panel discussion on the Little Rock Nine held at Philander Smith College, a historically Black college affiliated with The United Methodist Church.
A special registration link is offering a discount for IGRC registrants.
If you register by May 10, the rate is $349, a savings of $115 off the current non-member registration fee of $464. After May 31, the Illinois Great Rivers rate will be $399.
ALSO, by May 10, you'll receive a complimentary transportation pass for the evening events where parking is limited. This $50 option will be complimentary for you if you register by May 10.
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Upcoming church finance webinars
The General Board of Discipleship is offering an upcoming webinar free to church leaders and clergy. There is no cost to participate in the seminars, which have been made possible through generous support of churches to the World Service Fund.
Offering Electronic Giving: What Are You Waiting For?
Thursday, May 11
6:30 p.m. Central
PRESENTER: Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship and Connectional Ministries
Electronic giving is not the future of charitable giving, it is the present reality. If your church is not offering this as an option for those who attend your church, you are missing out on generous giving. If there have been obstacles to making this option available to your church, we will talk about them in this webinar.
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Sincerely,
Paul Black
Illinois Great Rivers Conference
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