This Week's Current Week in Review

The Current Week in Review

January 28, 2022

Update on Boy Scout bankruptcy, re-chartering

IGRC Director of Administrative Services and Conference Treasurer Mike Potts issued the following update Thursday on the bankrupcty proceedings with Boy Scouts of America.

The statement read as follows:

"In the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) bankruptcy filing, there were more than 80,000 claims of sexual abuse occurring since 1940, several thousand of which are alleged to have taken place in United Methodist-chartered Boy Scout troops and Cub packs.

"The United Methodist Church does not tolerate sexual abuse in any form. We grieve for those who have experienced such abuse and take seriously our responsibility to persons who have been victimized as part of a Scout troop sponsored by a United Methodist congregation. Together, United Methodists must address any harm and work to aid survivors in the path to restoration.

"The Illinois Great Rivers Conference is tentatively committing $604,288 toward the BSA Survivor Trust settlement as allocated to our conference based on claims associated with our conference. The BSA allocation agreement will be presented for a vote at the IGRC annual conference session and conference leadership will provide a funding proposal for our contribution to the Survivor Trust Fund.

BSA Rechartering Update

"The BSA and the UMC came to an agreement to extend 2021 chartering agreements until March 31, 2022. The General Church legal counsel is recommending to not sign a new BSA chartering agreement currently. The BSA and UMC are working together to create a new chartering agreement with updated language that protects the interests of the chartering organization to a higher degree. The new chartering agreement has not been released at this time and we do not know when it will be.

"If a BSA representative claims that the new chartering agreement is now available, this is not accurate information."

Covenant Keepers 2022 Jan. 31-Feb. 1

There is still time to register for Covenant Keepers 2022 which will be an all-virtual event from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31, and from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Log-in information for Covenant Keepers 2022 was sent to the 302 persons that have registered as of Wednesday. This same information was sent Jan. 7 and has been included in confirmation emails for registrations since Jan. 7.

Registrants that haven't paid the $25 registration fee, please do so. Checks can be made to IGRC, P. O. Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62794-9207 and please place Covenant Keepers in the memo line of the check.

Sexual ethics training videos now posted

IGRC Communications has just produced -- in two 2 1/2 hour segments -- a recording of the quadrennial sexual ethics/boundary training held Jan. 13-15 online with Dr. David Olsen. Both videos are embedded on this page along with the link to the handout of Dr. Olsen's presentation.

Watching the videos now will not qualify persons as meeting their quadrennial training since they did not actively participate in the training.

For those unable to participate in this training, information on the Alternate Training event through the Lewis Center for Church Leadership can be found here as well. On a separate page, which you can find in the right-hand menu listed under this page is the list of resources referenced during the training.

Continuing education certificates were sent out Jan. 25 to those that had completed the requirements from the training. Persons are to complete the certificate, print out a copy for their records and send a copy to their District office for their records.

VISIT THE VIDEO PAGE

DOWNLOAD HANDOUT OF PRESENTATION NOTES

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALTERNATE TRAINING

Ministry opportunity with United Media Resource Center

United Media Resource Center Director Jill Stone is retiring at the end of May and new UMRC management using volunteers will be needed.

Does your church or community feel a calling to serve churches by connecting them to a wide variety of resources for Christian education, leadership development, and personal spiritual growth? Do you live in the Springfield area OR have a large space for housing the UMRC’s collection and office?

Having a small group of volunteers to share responsibilities would be ideal.

Please contact Jill Stone, UMRC director (jstone@igrc.org), or Curtis Brown, Director of Connectional Ministries (cbrown@igrc.org), for more details.

February 2022 issue

of The Current

The February 2022 issue of The Current is on its way to your mailbox.

The cover story in this issue focuses on the legacy of Methodist author, teacher and missionary, the Rev. E. Stanley Jones. Although it has been nearly 50 years since his death, Jones' legacy lives on.

Read about the impact Jones had on a farmer's wife from Kewanee and what IGRC pastor just was named executive director of the Christian Ashrams organization Jones founded.

Read more by clicking the cover to the right.

Applicants sought for IGRC scholarships

The Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry Illinois Great Rivers Conference Undergraduate Scholarship is being offered. Applicants must be members of a United Methodist Church in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference for a minimum of one year. Scholarships awarded will be sent to the community college, college or university that the student will be attending during the 2022-2023 school year to help pay for their undergraduate tuition.

The scholarships awarded will be a minimum of $500.

Applications must be submitted by midnight on Feb.15.. If you have any questions, contact Christy Blickensderfer at cblickensderfer@igrc.org.

EZRA portal open for year-end reports

The Ezra portal for year-end statistical reports is now open through Feb. 28. Remember - your user name is the church's six-digit GCFA number and the password on the initial log-in is password This is reset annually.