Real change begins when we repent. The Hebrew word for repent is teshuva (pronounced “teh-shoo-vah”). Teshuva is much more than feeling sorry or being remorseful, it is a decision to change directions. It is deciding to turn away from where you are headed and turning back toward God. To repent means to rearrange your entire way of thinking, feeling, and acting to abandon that which is wrong.

Church have two options -- they can access the direct year-end reporting option from the AC Stats link on the homepage or they can access it through a new Church Dashboard that is replacing the Church Portal page on the IGRC website. The long-term goal is to create a one-stop shop for local churches when it comes to interactions with the conference.

Each option for AC States has a different user name and password for access so please read carefully!

Bishop Beard is inviting all students that are engaged in confirmation classes or were recently confirmed to join in a Day of Celebration and Witness with him on Saturday, March 25 at Springfield First UMC, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The celebration will be a day of interactive fun, worship, fellowship and of course, food!

There is a small pre-registration fee of $5 per student. Adult leaders are free but must register so there is an accurate headcount for lunch.

The theme for the event is Joyful Resilience, based upon Psalm 30: 11-12 and Isaiah 55:12.

Bishop Frank J. Beard has ruled that a resolution passed at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in November is "null, void and without effect."

In a ruling issued Dec. 1, 2022, Bishop Beard indicated several deficiencies in the resolution entitled, "Queer Delegates Call to Center Justice and Empowerment for LBGTQIA+ People in the UMC." The ruling came in response to Question of Law posed during the NCJ session which overwhelmingly passed the measure. As presiding officer of the proceeding, Beard had the responsibility of responding to any legal challenge.

As is the case with any bishop's rulings at the Annual Conference, Bishop Beard's ruling will be reviewed by the Judicial Council.

The text of Bishop Beard's ruling was included in the NCJ Conference Journal and provided to delegates this week electronically.

All five jurisdictions had parallel resolutions offered. The Southeastern Jurisdiction's final version had several key amendments to it and the presiding bishop in the South Central Conference ruled the resolution "out of order," in that the language was more than aspirational in nature and sought to direct the actions of bishops and other bodies of the church in fulfilling their responsibilities.

Camp makes a great Christmas gift! Want to give the gift of camp and still have something wrapped under the tree? Send an email to camping@igrc.org for assistance.

IGRC Communications is updating clergy and church information on the IGRC website in preparation for a launch Jan. 1 of a clergy portal that will enable clergy to update their information in real time.

Churches will also migrate over to a new Church Dashboard that will enable churches to update its leadership roll at any time during the year as well as contact information. The Church Dashboard also will have online journals that enable the church to see what money has been remitted to the Conference as well as itemization of benevolent and mission giving.

You can assist in this transition time by uploading a photo of the church below. The photo should not be downsized nor taken from Facebook but rather a photo that can be attached to an email (do not embed the photo in a Word document either).

Pastors can take a look at the Clergy Locator to view their current photo. If a different photo is desired, the photo can be uploaded and it will be put in the clergy locator file for that pastor. Pastors also will have the opportunity to get a new photo taken at the 2023 Covenant Keepers event Feb. 27-28 in O'Fallon.