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No Email on November 24 - Enjoy your Thanksgiving! | |
Becoming the Beloved Community is a 4-hour workshop that conveys not only facts and essential knowledge about race and racism but also seeks to help us experience some of the harm and hurt racial prejudice has caused.
November 12, 2022
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Hinsdale UMC
945 S Garfield Ave, Hinsdale, IL
Cost $20
Learn More and Register for this event here.
Learn More about future events or how to host a workshop at your own church here.
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Children can experience and participate in what a marketplace might have been like during the time of Jesus. Crafts to make; food to taste; stories to hear and sites to see! Free workshops for children of all ages: Rope Braiding, Bread Making, Pottery Sculpting, Weaving, Jewelry Making, Leather Crafting, Spice Mulling and the Nativity. Learn more on their website or email christumcalgonquin@gmail.com | |
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Step up for kids this holiday season! 4 ways to help
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Sponsor a Child - Purchase a gift for a child in one of our programs and help make their holiday wish come true.
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Donate a Toy - The drive needs new, unwrapped toys, games, or books for you of various ages. Online wish lists from Amazon and Target are available to help guide the gif selection process for the children and teenagers.
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Volunteer in the Toy Room - Join Kids Above All in the Toy Room and wrap, sort and organize gifts for distribution to our young people and families.The 2022 Toy Room will be available at Kids Above All's A Better Life Distribution Center, located at 1801 E. Oakton St, Des Plaines, IL 60018. Health and safety measures, including masks, may be required.
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Stand Up for Kids This Holiday Season - Make a financial contribution to help our kids build better lives.
Contact Catherine Inserra to learn more or to set up a time to volunteer Cinserra@kidsaboveall.org
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Things to Note:
- All phone extensions and email addresses will stay the same
- Apportionment & Health Insurance/Pension Checks will still be sent to the same address: Northern Illinois Conference, PO Box 5646, Carol Stream, IL 60197-5646
- Property Insurance Checks will be sent to a new address: PO Box 8246, Carol Stream IL 60197-8246
- United Methodist Foundation of the Northern Illinois Conference has a new address: 155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250, Chicago, IL 60606
Any questions? View the announcement online here or contact David Quinn at dquinn@umcnic.org
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Mission Links Highlight - United Methodist Student Day - Nov 27
Special Sundays are a way for your church to join with other congregations across our connection to recognize specific kinds of ministries. They may involve receiving an offering, having a “minute for mission” about the day, or recognizing a ministry in your specific context.
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United Methodist Student Day was the original Special Sunday created by United Methodist Church Sunday Schools who collected offerings to help advance education for their children. The fund was originally established in 1872 as the Children's Fund. Today United Methodist Student Day Sunday has the same purpose, calling upon the denomination to support their students as they prepare for life by adding knowledge to their faith. The funds received from the offering go into the United Methodist Student Loan Fund to underwrite scholarships for United Methodist students.
Currently, there are over 70 scholarships available for United Methodist students. The fund is administered by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). Financial support for all GBHEM loans and scholarships comes from five primary sources: 63% from endowments; 22% from wills and annuities; 13% from United Methodist Special Sundays and 1% from online gifts and fiduciary income. All donations received empower and encourage our students that we are investing in them and our future.
Without your generosity, this ministry could not be achieved! You gave $272,159 last year toward ministries funded by the United Methodist Student Day Special Sunday offering.
Students can apply for scholarships or loans at gbhem.org/loansandscholarships.
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HAPPENING AROUND THE CONFERENCE | |
Join us at the Albany UMC (at 502 First Ave in Albany, Ill) for the Town & Rural Festival on Saturday, Nov. 19 from 9 am - 12 noon. Keagy and PACK grant recipients will present their ministries. All are welcome to attend. | |
The Discipleship Task Force is excited about the Fall NIC Book Club selection, Soul Reset by the late Junius Dotson! Rev Dotson spoke at one of our Laity Convocations and also led the Bible Study for our Annual Conference.
It's not too late to join! You may register for the group that will be meeting during Advent or one of the two groups meeting at the beginning of 2023. You may read it on your own or gather your own small group.
Click here for details and to sign up today!
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Saturday, December 3, 2022
The Center UMC
400 N Walnut Street, Itasca, Illinois 60143
Speaker: Dirk Elliott
Cost: $20
Register Online Here
Churches come in all forms of health: some are healthy and growing, others are maintaining the status quo, and some are declining. But they all have one thing in common – they want to be fruitful and healthy. One way this can happen is through partnerships or mergers. Attending the Vital Partnerships workshop will help you explore new ways your church might become healthier through a merger.
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November is Native American Heritage Month. It is an opportunity to raise awareness about the unique challenges Native people face, and share the ways in which tribal citizens conquer those challenges. Find worship resources here and here. |  | |
Fresh Expressions Grants
After a series of teaching offerings across the conference in September, Rev. Martin Lee, Dir. of Congregational Development and Redevelopment, is offering micro-grants to churches that would like to start a Fresh Expressions project. If your church participated in a Fresh Expressions session and is interested in taking the next steps of joining the 2022-2023 cohort, the Office of Congregational Development and Redevelopment is offering matching $500 micro-grants. The churches will raise a minimum of $500 to support the project, and the conference will match up to $500. Please obtain a letter of support from your District Superintendent and your congregation's church council and submit your completed application along with support letters by Nov. 30, 2022, to mlee@umcnic.org. To download the application, click here. The grants are limited to 20 churches.
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2022 NIC Journal Available
The Journal of the 183rd Northern Illinois Annual Conference held June 8 - 10, 2022, is now published. A free downloadable pdf is available on the conference website at umcnic.org/journal. It is also available to purchase online through Amazon. The cost of the paperback is $14.
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Church Conference Forms Available Online
2022 Church Conference materials, including the agenda, are available online at umcnic.org/churchconference. Please encourage your church leadership to begin working on gathering the information as soon as possible. The forms are designed for online submission and will look very similar to last year’s.
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New November Devotion from Rev. Hwa-Young Chong, Annual Conference Shepherding Team Co-Chair and prayer focus. | |
Resources for the Local Church
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Native American Heritage Month (November) - Prayers and worship resources.
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All Saints Day (November 1) - Prayers and liturgy resources
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United Methodist Student Day (November 27) - Worship, communication, children, social media graphics, videos, and other resources.
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Advent Resources (starts November 27) - Candle Lighting, Graphics, and more. Visit the Discipleship Ministries resource page here.
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HIV/AIDS Awareness Sunday (December 4) - Prayers and more information
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#BeUMC Resources -Tool Kits, Social Media Kits, Graphics, and more.
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Social Media Shareables - Free graphics for social media for different events, months and ministries. (Through Outreach, log in is needed but resources are free)
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UMC Giving Resources - Mission Moments, Special Sunday Info, Leader Kits, Pew Cards and more.
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United Media Resource Center - Lending library of Christian materials for local churches - for small groups, pastors, children and individuals.
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Copyright © 2022 Northern Illinois Conference | |
Do you have news to share?
We are always looking for stories of what is happening in the local church. We welcome articles from churches highlighting ministries, outreach, and missions which 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.
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