The Current Week in Review
April 15, 2022
BMCR to present The Seven Last Words Good Friday

The IGRC chapter of Black Methodists for Church Renewal will present for the second year in a row The Seven Last Words of Christ. The video will premiere at 9 a.m. April 15 and be available from that time forward.

Speakers for the service include:
  • Rev. Laron Stover, East St. Louis Trinity UMC – "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
  • Rev. Gifty Smith, – “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with e in paradise.”
  • Rev. Tanya Edwards-Evans, Associate Pastor, Bloomington Wesley UMC – “Woman, behold, thy son! Behold thy mother!” (this is the one to take from last year’s service)
  • Rev. Arthur Francis, Belleville Signal Hill UMC – “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?”
  • Rev. Bobby Davis, Divernon-Pawnee-Thayer UMC’s – “I thirst”
  • Rev. Aletha Weatherall, Atlanta-Ebenezer-Hopedale UMC’s – “It is finished.”
  • Rev. Sylvester Weatherall, Normal Calvary UMC – “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”

The link will be placed on the IGRC Facebook Page, IGRC Online Worship page, the IGRC website and the video is embedded and play by clicking the play button above.
Conference Center closed today
In observance of Good Friday, the Conference Center is closed today.

It will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, April 18.
Getting involved when disaster strikes

With spring here and bad weather in the forecast, remember that the Conference has an organized disaster response team.

You can hellp in three ways:
  • Donate to the IGRC Disaster Response Fund. You are always welcome to give to UMCOR, but when the disaster is local, the Disaster Response Fund provides a vehicle to make sure the money gets directed An UMCOR grant is not always needed.
  • Join an upcoming training and be ready to respond locally or join an Early Response Team and travel to help others.
  • Pray for those affected by the disaster

Also included on the iGRC website is a copy of the IGRC Disaster Response Plan. It includes information about how you can get involved as well as the roles of all the different conference leaders.

Most importantly, though, if a disaster hits your community, the pastor needs to contact their District Superintendent and IGRC Disaster Response Coordinate Curt Franklin so that resources can be deployed without delay.

First people can help by supporting the IGRC Disaster Response efforts by donating to the IGRC disaster Response fund https://igrc-reg.brtapp.com/DisasterResponseMinistry People are always welcome to give to UMCOR but when the disaster is local we can make sure the money gets directed here. We don’t always need a grant from UMCOR.
Second they can join an upcoming training and be ready to respond locally or join an Early Response Team (ERT) and travel with us to help others. https://www.igrc.org/disasterresponse
Third they can pray for those effected by the disaster.
Applications being accepted for two positions

Administrator of Ministerial Services: The Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference is seeking an individual with a servant’s heart and a passion for supporting the development of ministerial leaders by creating and maintaining an effective administrative system undergirded by excellent relational, communication and organizational skills. Application deadline is April 22.

Director of the Wesley Foundation at University of Illinois/Senior Pastor of Urbana Wesley UMC: The Board of Trustees of The Wesley Foundation and the Staff Parish Relations Committee of Wesley United Methodist Church announce a search for the Director of The Wesley Foundation and Senior Pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church (UMC).

In this role, the selected candidate will be chief executive officer of both The Wesley Foundation at the University of Illinois and Wesley United Methodist Church. The Director and Senior Pastor is responsible for coordinating the life of the campus ministry and congregation, communicating the vision and mission of the Foundation and Church, promoting the general interests of the Foundation and Church, conducting the day-to-day administration of the Foundation and Church, and organizing activities toward the strategic goals of the Foundation and Church. Closing date for applications: May 6. Pastors under appointment are reminded they need to seek permission from their District Superintendent in order to apply.
Annual Conference update

Plans are being finalized for the 2022 Annual Conference which will be a hybrid event June 9-11 at the Peoria Civic Center.

Clergy session will be June 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Melvin Price Convocation Center at McKendree College in Lebanon. The clergy session will also be a hybrid event.

Registration for the Clergy Session and the June 9-11 session at Peoria are now open. Clergy session registration continues until June 1, while the June 9-11 session closes registration on May 27. Clergy need to register for both sessions. Laity only need to register for the June 9-11 session.

A draft agenda shows that the 2022 Annual Conference will begin with opening worship at 10 a.m. June 9. Bishop Jonathan Holston will be preaching.

The laity session will follow at 11 a.m. and the afternoon plenary session is slated to start at 2 p.m.

The Memorial Service with Bishop Holston preaching will be 7 p.m. Thursday. The recognition of 28 retirees with a combined service of nearly 700 years will be at 11 a.m. Friday. Rev. Janice Ringenberg, one of the retirees in the Class of 2022 will be preaching.

Saturday's schedule includes a Prayer Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and the Service of Ordination and Commissioning begins at 9:30 a.m. Bishop Frank J. Beard will be the preacher. Adjournment is expected to be around noon on Saturday.
2021 Journal-Yearbook posted online

The 2021 Journal-Yearbook is posted online for your viewing and reference.

The proof is now being sent to the printers for print copies and the duplicators for the CD copies. It will be 4-6 weeks before the final product will be available for distribution.

Given that reality, print copies and CD's will be distributed to those that attend in-person during the 2022 Annual Conference. For those joining online, these materials will be mailed to you.
Assuring financial integrity

Statistics indicate that one in 10 Protestant churches experiences some type of embezzlement, but most leaders assume that fraud will never occur in their church. And they are caught off guard when it does. Respond to these challenges and protect your congregation with Keeping Our Sacred Trust: “Assuring Financial Integrity,” a new online course that explores issues of maintaining financial integrity and preventing fraud in congregational settings.
Cabinet produces new handbook for Pastor/Staff Relations Committees

This booklet contains guidelines which reflect traditions and practices of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of The United Methodist Church. This booklet has been approved by the Bishop and Cabinet of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference for use in local churches.

This handbook can be viewed online or saved to your computer as a 40-page PDF. Click on the cover image to open the document. This is not meant to be a document to print. However, if you choose to do so, you will need 11 x 17 paper in order to print the pages full size as 8 1/2 x 11 sheets.

Should legislation impact information in the booklet, it will be updated prior to printing any copies for wider distribution.

The handbook replaces two older booklets -- Pastoral Expectations and Understanding Pastoral Changes
Denman, Cartwright award nominees sought

Nominations are now being accepted through April 25 for the Denman Evangelism Award for clergy, laity and youth, and for the Peter Cartwright Lifetime Achievement Award in Ministry. These awards are presented 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.
Native American Ministries Sunday May 1

Native American Ministries Sunday is coming up on May 1!
Make a gift through your local church or online in support of the vital ministry occurring within Native American congregations and communities in the U.S.
United Methodist Center Contact Information
USPS (U.S. Postal Service)
P.O. Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62794-9207
Office Phone: 217-529-2040
UPS and FedEx deliveries only use the street address:
United Methodist Center
5900 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62711
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