News & Updates

October 12, 2023

** Note ** You are receiving the district eNews because your name is in our Lay Leadership Database as a leader in your local church. If you are no longer interested in receiving the District eNews, please click the Update Profile link at the bottom of the email. (Clicking UnSubscribe means you will not receive ANY emails from the conference including appointment announcements, sympathy notices and weekly eNews)

Grace and Peace to you from Jesus Christ!

I’m writing to you today with a heart full of gratitude and joy. In this church conference season, I have conducted 13 church conferences with 19 churches so far. Every church I was honored to visit was unique, reflecting the beautiful tapestry of our district’s spiritual life. From the grand old sanctuary to the more modern worship space, it was a heartwarming experience to witness the diversity and unity of Prairie North. As I traveled from one congregation to another, I sensed one common thread that bound us together: a shared mission to do God’s work and share Christ’s love with the world. We are indeed one body in Christ.

I have posted some pictures on our district's Facebook page. I didn’t get to remember to take pictures at every church conference. If a picture from your church is missing, please forgive me. At the same time, if you have any pictures from your church conference, please send them to me. I will keep adding church conference pictures.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. I have 32 more church conferences for the rest of the season, and I look forward to each and every one!

In Christ,

Hwa-Young

Prairie North District Superintendent

Hispanic Rockford Area Architect Daniel Saavedra Celebrated

Daniel Saavedra is the mastermind architect behind many buildings that you’ve probably driven by or even been inside of, from the YMCA of Rock River Valley to the First United Methodist Church in Belvidere. Over a dozen buildings across the Stateline have been designed and brought to life by this very talented Hispanic architect. Saavedra also designed the Popular Grove UMC building, where he worships.

Rockford Area CROP Hunger Walk

The CROP Hunger Walk is Sun., Oct. 15, the Riverfront Museum Park, 711 North Main. Registration begins at 1 p.m., and the step off is at 2 p.m. sharp. Over 30 religious and civic organizations as well as businesses will support 200 walkers who raise money from sponsors. Former Rockford Urban Ministries; director Stanley Campbell will be honored at this year’s CROP Hunger Walk. Learn more.

Prairie North District UMM Potato Drop

All are welcome to pick up potatoes for themselves or others, on Oct. 28th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church in Rockford at 3555 McFarland Rd. The event is a joint effort between the Society of St. Andrew, NIC United Methodist Men and Grace UMC. There will be 40,000 pounds of potatoes to distribute to Food pantries or anyone else who would like FREE Potatoes. For any local churches that would like a pallet of 10# bagged potatoes, we will have the means to load you. Help is also needed for distributing the potatoes. Please call Dave Hilton for information at 815-218-0577. Read more.

“Let’s Learn Spanish” Class update

We recently had our first Spanish class. The participants shared a common desire to learn Spanish to serve our neighbors better. Many thanks to Pastor Audrey Rochet, our teacher of this class, and to the people of Christ UMC in Rockford, who let us use one of their rooms for this class!

Wednesday, November 15, 9:30 a.m. We will begin with a centering prayer led by Rev. Jenny Weber. Rev. Doc Newcomb will share his call story. And then we will share what’s happening around the district. Watch for the email next month with the link.

Prayer for Peace in the Middle East

Rev. Jane Eesley (pictured), a Northern Illinois Conference clergy member, is Methodist Liaison advocacy coordinator with the Methodist Liaison Office in Jerusalem.

The organization has released this call to prayer after the attacks in the region:

We are witnesses to the escalation of violence in the region and we call on the global methodist people to continue to pray for peace and for an end to the violence.

Pray for those who have lost family members and livelihoods, for the injured, for those who perpetuate violence, for world leaders that they may work for peace, for the churches, and for all religious leaders and for those who work for peace in the region.

The situation is complicated, and we recognize the fear and sense of injustice that are felt, but we call on both sides not to resort to further violence and to engage in negotiation to establish a peaceful solution for all who live in the Holy Land.

Class list and registration here.

Other Lay Academy offerings:

Prairie South: Oct. 21 & 28, Mount Morris: Disciples UMC
Prairie Central: Nov. 4 & 11, Schaumburg: Our Redeemer's UMC

Click here for resources, suggestions, and more.

What do churches get from paying apportionments?

Around the end of the year, conference staff are asked, “What do churches get from paying apportionments?” When church members ask this, they may be hoping for an answer in a dollar amount to maybe calculate some return-on-investment figure. But participation in paying apportionments is not just a “get this for that” financial transaction. It is an element of a connectional system that was established by John Wesley in the very early days of Methodism. The connectional system—including apportionments—provides to churches many benefits, even those that can’t be measured in dollars and cents.

Learn more about NIC Apportionments.

Those who are on WesPath health plans should plan on joining WesPath and the NIC Board of Pensions as they host a workshop on our Health Plans. Attend to find out if you are paying too much for your plan, and learn how to evaluate different plans and some policy changes regarding insurance coverage before open enrollment Nov 1-16. The free workshops are offered Wed., Oct. 18 at 9:30 a.m. (in person at Our Saviour's Schaumburg) and Tues., Oct. 24 (via Zoom). Registration information and more will be emailed to all clergy and plan participants. Learn more.

WARNING: You May Receive a Fraudulent Email

We have seen an increase in email scams from senders pretending to be the bishop or district superintendents. If you receive emails from the conference that are not from email addresses that end in @umcnic.org, do NOT respond to them. They are not from the conference office. Those messages are spam and fraudulent. The conference will NOT contact you or solicit anything via generic email. All financial gifts must be sent only through the conference's regular collections process. If you ever get an email or phone call that seems strange or odd, do not respond to it. First, contact your district administrative assistant for verification.

HAPPENING AROUND THE CONFERENCE

Tuesday, October 17 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Multiplying Love Presentation

The NIC Book Club will be wrapping up their book study of Living Our Beliefs, the United Methodist Way by retired Bishop Kenneth Carder by early November. The book study and the renewed interest of living out our faith as followers of Jesus Christ and as United Methodists has led us to host a presentation and Q&A on Mon., Nov. 6, 1 p.m. Noted Wesleyan Scholar, Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote, will be presenting on “Multiplying Love” which comes from his recently released book, Multiplying Love: A Vision of United Methodist Life Together. Read more.

Vital Partnerships: New Models of Cooperative Ministry

Attend this workshop and explore new ways your church might become healthier through a merger.

Saturday, November 4, 2023 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Journey of Hope UMC

37W040 Highland Ave, Elgin, IL

Cost: $20 Box Lunch Provided

Learn more.

Other Upcoming Conference Events:

Oct. 23: Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness with Dr. Amy Oden: This online course occurring over 6 Mondays discover the ways mind fulness can empower lives of faith and justice in the world. Read more.
Nov. 4: How to Raise Up an Inclusive Church: Learn how to become a Reconciling Congregation that affirms LGBTQ+ people in your church, engages in intersectional justice, and advocates for changing the UMC's discriminatory policies that harm LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones. Read more.
Nov. 9: Kids Above All Annual Celebration Dinner: Event to celebrate the accomplishments of young people, recognize leaders, and raise funds to directly support Kids Above All. Read more.
Nov. 11: Safe Sanctuaries Training: Free in-person training option to help meet our goal of ensuring safe spaces in our churches. Read more.
Nov. 14-16: Facing the Future 2023: Event for clergy serving in cross-racial/cross-cultural/multicultural ministry settings. Read more.
Nov. 30: 2023 Film Seri es: Latinx History & Culture: Meal, presentation, panel discussion, and table discussions around Latinx history, representation, and culture.Read more.

LOCAL CHURCH RESOURCES

Stone Soup Recipe for Vital Small-Church Worship

Small congregations have a powerful worship planning option that expands participation, emphasizes lay leadership, ends meeting burnout, invites local gifts, and heightens anticipation, says Teresa Stewart for the Lewis Center. It’s called Stone Soup worship planning. It relies on recruiting, encouraging, and giving tasks to laypeople—for a specific amount of time. Read more.

Christmas Service Resources

Advent is just around the corner. Discipleship Ministries has resources already available as you begin to plan your Christmas services. With the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve falling on the same day, this year presents unique worship planning challenges and opportunities. On this page, you will find materials for your Christmas Eve worship service. We hope these resources inspire and assist you as we begin the day at the close of Advent and end the day by celebrating the birth of Jesus, our wondrous Light!

2024 Property & Casualty Premiums May Rise

The NIC risk management department is in the midst of assembling insurance coverage for the 2024 property insurance renewal. Driven by global factors that include significant climate change, ongoing rise in health care expenses, and the impact of political and economic shifts, the 2024 insurance renewal is shaping up to be rather challenging. Our continuing goal is to procure comprehensive coverage that provides appropriate limits with fair deductibles to our valued churches. For the upcoming insurance renewals, church members may well see premium increases for their own home/renters, auto, and medical insurance coverage. Based on these market conditions, the conference is similarly expecting to experience substantial increases in insurance premiums. Consequently, NIC churches preparing their 2024 budget should factor a 12 to 18 percent increase above the 2023 allocated insurance premium. We will provide an update when 2024 insurance renewal terms are finalized. If you have questions, contact Dwayne Jackson, NIC Director Risk Management and Ministry Protection.

2023 Church Conference Reports

Just a quick reminder that all Church Conference (CC) forms & reports are due at least 1 week prior to your CC date. There is plenty of time to submit them in time if you plan ahead and submit them early. We encourage everyone to be working on them now. All-Things-Church-Conference can be found here.

NIC Prayer Network Monthly Zoom Meetings

The NIC Prayer Network is an entryway for joining in common prayer for the ministries of the Northern Illinois Conference. The next meeting is Friday, October 13 at 10:00 am. All are invited to join. No preparation is necessary; just log in. The Zoom link is available here. Meeting ID: 897 7835 0821 Passcode: 152529

If you’d like to pray but have other appointments at that time, email us DiscipleshipTF@umcnic.org and request the agenda or add to the agenda. Also, pray along each week for clergy, churches, leaders, and NIC Advances by visiting the Prayer Network website.

Other Resources

#BeUMC Resources -Tool Kits, Social Media Kits, Graphics, and more.
Social Media Shareables - Free graphics for social media for different events, months, and ministries. (Through Outreach, log-in is needed, but resources are free)
UMC Giving Resources - Mission Moments, Special Sunday Info, Leader Kits, Pew Cards, and more.
United Media Resource Center - Lending library of Christian materials for local churches, small groups, pastors, children, and individuals.

Like Us on Facebook: Prairie North District

Rev. Hwa-Young Chong

Prairie North District Superintendent

hychong@umcnic.org

312 346 9766 Ext. 781

Debra Rogers

Administrative Assistant

drogers@umcnic.org

630-465-2941

Do you have news to share?

We are always looking for stories of what is happening in your church. We welcome articles from churches highlighting ministries, outreach, and missions that tell the story of being vital Christians. Events considered should be of conference-wide appeal and United Methodist-related.

District eNews are sent out the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. Please submit stories and events by end of business on the 2nd and 4th Mondays. Space is limited. Stories of fewer than 250 words are preferred. Submissions will be edited at the discretion of Communications staff. Information can be emailed to communications@umcnic.org.

Check out our Submit News page for more details.

Keep Up To Date With All Conference Events

in the Weekly Email!

If you would like to receive the weekly Conference eNews and other important announcements, including sympathy notices and appointment announcements, please sign up online or click the Update Profile button at the bottom of this email.

NOTE - Clicking UNSUBSCRIBE below means you will be unsubscribing from ALL Constant Contact emails from the NIC (Appointment Announcements, Sympathy Notices, etc). If you want to stop receiving one newsletter, please click "Update Profile" below.