The Current Week in Review
May 4, 2018
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Council of Bishops meeting in Chicago
An anxious yet hopeful church is watching as United Methodist bishops finalize their recommendations for the denomination’s future, Bishop Bruce R. Ough told his episcopal colleagues.
More than 100 active and retired bishops
are finishing today a week of deliberating on their final proposals to next year’s special General Conference. The bishops called
the special meeting of the denomination’s top policymaking body to address decades of division over how the church should minister with LGBTQ individuals.
Ough said he expected the denomination, for the most part, to take its cues from its bishops.
“If we fight and retreat to our various corners and turfs, the church will follow our example and fight,” he said
in a sermon that doubled as his final address to the Council of Bishops as the body’s president. He also leads the Dakotas and Minnesota conferences.
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Bishop Beard's prayer at the COB meeting
During the Council's meeting this week, Bishop Frank J. Beard was called upon to offer a prayer. Here's the prayer he offered Thursday, which he entitled
A Prayer for Overcoming Racism:
“Lord please listen to your children praying.
Hear us as we call upon you for guidance and direction. You alone, O Lord, know the way through the wilderness. The way is littered with pitfalls, perils, hurts, and hurdles. We need you to guide us, O thou great Jehovah, for we are pilgrims in this barren land.
We need you to help us navigate this path that is often cluttered with the debris and sin of racism.
Free us to challenge racism and bigotry, in all its current and emerging forms. Reveal this sin to us and show us the places of darkness where racism seeks to hide.
Order our steps that they may move towards peace, unity, reconciliation, and community.
Give us courage to call out, curse, and challenge the evil of racism in order that it may be dismantled and fall powerless at the feet of the one who continues to pray that we shall be one.
In the name of the one who is the Prince of Peace and the Light that overcomes all darkness, Jesus, Our Lord. Amen.”
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Fire causes damage to Bluford Otterbein UMC
The congregation at Otterbein United Methodist Church will be attending their service at a different location this Sunday after their church was heavily damaged in a fire.
Three fire departments responded to the fire on Wednesday just before 11:30 a.m. when the pastor's nine-year-old son noticed smoke coming from the window of the church.
It took them nearly two hours to put out the blaze which heavily damaged the building.
One of the few things that was not damaged was a painting of Jesus, and fire investigators say they were able to save the sanctuary as well as some parts of the kitchen.
Investigators blame an electrical issue, from an earlier power outage, for sparking the blaze.
Church officials say they plan to hold a service at Mt. Vernon Wesley UMC at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
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Annual Conference registration is open!
The Annual Conference will get underway at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 7, with workshops and conclude by noon on Saturday, June 9 following the Service of Ordination. A
tentative agenda has been posted and persons can use the Sched app to create their own customized schedule for the Annual Conference. The Sched app also allows for last-minute changes that are pushed out to everyone who is using it.
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New process for Annual Conference materials
All 2018 Conference Registration Material packets will be picked up ON SITE in the Registration Office in the Terrazo Lobby beginning Thursday, June 7 at 7:30 a.m. Registration materials include parking passes, special meal tickets, roll call card, name badges and supplemental packets.
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Tornado totes offering at Annual Conference
Churches in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference are urged to purchase plastic totes that are invaluable during tornadoes and floods. This is an item not a part of UMCOR's response but are warehoused by the Midwest Mission Distribution Center and distributed when the need arises.
Specific sizes are still being finalized but what would be envisioned is that totes could be filled with heavy duty trash bags, work gloves and permanent markers.
More information will be shared shortly.
The in-kind offering is in addition to special offerings for Our Conference, Our Kids; the Tom Brown Scholarship at Wiley College and an offering for the Ordinands' Trip.
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Special meals speakers announced
More speakers have been announced for special meals at Annual Conference. Special meal tickets are part of the Annual Conference registration process. Deadline for tickets is May 17.
The following groups have announced speakers as part of their luncheons:
Fellowship of Local Pastors and Associate Members Luncheon, Thursday noon –
Speakers will be Buzz Swett, who will talk about College of Christian Life and Randy Azbell, who will update attendees on the national happenings for the FLP&AM’s.
Commission on Archives and History Luncheon, Thursday noon –
Churches that are celebrating milestones in the past year (150, 175 and 200th anniversaries) will be recognized and presented with a certificate of recognition.
IGRC Youth Ministry Luncheon, Thursday noon –
Findings of an assessment of IGRC Camping and Youth Ministries will be presented by representatives of Ministry Architect, the group working with the Conference on the assessment.
Committee on Disability Concerns, Thursday evening --
Tracy Bollinger of Colchester, director of the Wee Care Center in Macomb, will be sharing her story of raising a child with autism. Bollinger and her husband, Rick, are parents of a 12-year-old living with autism. Tracy has a degree in child development which prepared her for her career but not for raising an autistic child. Her daily struggles, humor and insight will provide insight into the world of an "Autism Mom."
Wesleyan Covenant Association, Friday breakfast –
This special meal will be held off-site at Peoria First UMC, 7 p.m. However, you can order tickets as part of the Annual Conference registration.
Conference Board of Church and Society/Utah Wilderness Alliance, Friday breakfast --
Guest speaker will be Clayton Daughenbaugh, Midwest Coordinator for the
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
.
Clayton is a member of First UMC in LaGrange,
The Alliance is involved in efforts to protect the natural places and cultural resources pursuant to the United Methodist
Social Principles
and
Resolutions
.
Hispanic Luncheon, Friday noon --
The Hispanic luncheon will be held off-site at Peoria First UMC at noon. Lunch is $5 and includes two steak tacos with rice, salsa and drink. For more information or to register your plans to attend,
contact Rev. Adrian Garcia
at 309-673-3641.
United Methodist Women’s dinner, Friday evening –
Dinner’s theme will be Stop the Violence. Speaking will be Mary Kay Mace, daughter of retired pastor Miley Palmer and mother of Ryanne Mace, one of four students at Northern Illinois University killed and 21 injured in a Feb. 14, 2008 mass shooting.
Additional information on speakers will be added to the Sched app as it is received.
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Volunteer marshals, pages needed for 2019 Special Session of General Conference
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The Commission on the General Conference is seeking applications of volunteers to serve as marshals and pages during the 2019 Special Session of General Conference. About 150 volunteers will be needed to serve all four days of the Special Session.
Volunteers are responsible for their own travel and expenses. Deadline is July 31. Questions can be directed to Dick Hooton at
revshoot@gmail.com
NOTE: Beginning in July, the Illinois Great Rivers Conference will be seeking persons to serve in Hospitality as a co-host for the Special Session. This will be a separate process from the Commission on General Conference.
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Golden Cross Sunday May 13
God works through your prayers and support in acts of mercy to bless the lives of individuals of all ages and at all stages of life.
- More than 30,000 individuals are served each year
- 19,000 hours are given by more than 2,000 volunteers
- More than $10 million of benevolent care is given by these ministries
Your 10 Golden Cross ministries are hard at work every day in their individual settings across our conference bringing hope and healing to people from cradle to grave.
Golden Cross Sunday is always the second Sunday in May, Mother’s Day. When you give, your offering is divided equally among all 10 ministries.
And it is also multiplied, because we are stronger and more efficient together. When you give to support these excellent ministries, God blesses your generosity and the lives you touch will be forever changed.
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Produced on the 50th Anniversary of the 1968 Uniting Conference, this brief film is well suited for local churches and annual conferences to help celebrate 50 years of
The United Methodist Church transforming the world. The film features the denomination’s “Our Social Creed” set against the sweeping history of the Wesleyan movement, from John Wesley being saved from a fire in his childhood home, to the contemporary events that helped shaped the denomination’s birth.
Using historical and contemporary imagery, the film is a moving tribute to how The United Methodist Church has helped shaped history. The film was produced by Discipleship Ministries and The General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH) in cooperation with United Methodist Communications (UMCom). The video can be viewed and downloaded for use at:
www.umc.org/umc50.
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Peace With Justice Sunday May 27
Peace with Justice Sunday enables The United Methodist Church to have a voice in advocating for peace and justice through a broad spectrum of global programs. The special offering benefits peace with justice ministries in the annual conference and through the General Board of Church and Society.
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Sexual ethics makeup session
A Sexual Ethics Training makeup session has been scheduled for those who were unable to attend any of the three February sessions, on Saturday, June 23, at the Sugar Creek UMC, 1022 New City Road, Chatham. The session will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is mandatory for all pastors and laypersons appointed or assigned to local churches.
Registration is open through June 16.
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United Methodist Center Contact Information
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USPS (U.S. Postal Service)
P.O. Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62794-9207
Office Phone: 217-529-2040
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UPS and FedEx deliveries only use the street address:
United Methodist Center
5900 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62711
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