This Week's Current Week in Review

The Current Week in Review

April 27, 2018

Annual Conference registration is open!

Registration for the 2018 Annual Conference is now open through May 17. Registration has also opened for Youth Camp and Childcare during Annual Conference.

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.

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.

VISIT THE 2018 ANNUAL CONFERENCE WEBPAGES

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.

Special meals speakers announced

Special meal tickets are part of the Annual Conference registration process. 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.

Wesleyan Covenant Association, Friday breakfast – This special meal will be held off-site at Peoria First UMC, 7 p.m.

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.

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.

When Americans say they believe in God, what do they mean?

According to a study released today by the Pew Research Center , 72% of self-identified religious “nones” believe in a higher power. How is your congregation reaching out to them?

Nine-in-ten Americans believe in a higher power, but only a slim majority believe in God as described in the Bible.

Volunteer marshals, pages needed for 2019 Special Session of General Conference

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.

MARSHAL AND PAGES APPLICATION

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.

VISIT THE GOLDEN CROSS PAGE

DOWNLOAD GOLDEN CROSS SUNDAY RESOURCES

The May issue of The Current should be reaching your mailboxes this weekend. But you can have an early peek at the issue which celebrates the disbanding of the segregated Central Jurisdiction as part of the union of The Methodist Church and The Evangelical United Brethren denominations.

Click on the cover above to go to the page to view the issue.

PEACE WITH JUSTICE SUNDAY IS SUNDAY, MAY 27

DOWNLOAD RESOURCES

Upcoming events

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

Email: info@igrc.org

UPS and FedEx deliveries only use the street address:

United Methodist Center

5900 S. 2nd Street

Springfield, IL 62711

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