News & Updates

September 8, 2022

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Stewarding our Resources for the Glory of God

Do you have that worry that keeps you up or wakes you up in the night? Sometimes we can’t exactly name the fear and other times we know exactly what it is. One thing that keeps me from sleep is that I have not stewarded our churches well.

I use the word steward intentionally. In scripture, this word most often appears in relation to the care of resources. Joseph’s household manager is a steward. The one that tastes Jesus’s homemade wine is a steward. In Titus, a Bishop is called one of God’s stewards. As I survey the resources within our district, I greatly desire to steward all that God has blessed us with so that we can radically share the love of Jesus Christ with the broken and hurting world we live in.

What helps me to sleep at night is that I am not the only steward of our district. I am so grateful to have a District Board of Church Location and Building that is full of technical knowledge, deep wisdom, and a similar desire to steward our building resources. Each district is required to have one of these committees. You can read more about the official description here in ¶2520. The committee is made up of a mixture of clergy and laity. Among the laity is an architect, city planner, real estate lawyer, and business strategists. Our clergy have also done strategy work and several are involved in major building projects for ministry appointment. All members desire to be good stewards of the resources we have.

In short, this Board partners with local churches in two ways: First, by responding to all proposed local congregation building projects with an eye for the future, including working to resource our congregations that are struggling in aging buildings. Second, by creating an intentional strategy and plan for planting new churches and faith communities in our district.

Recently members of this team sent out a survey to each church so that we can better understand the buildings of our church, both the joys and the pain points. It is our hope to create a vision and a strategy for our district as it relates to our buildings and growth. Our struggles to maintain our historical and larger buildings is a sign that we need to be creative in our approach. I do think this will mean more churches sharing space together. This often works best when the two or three congregations speak different languages or target different demographics. Though we are grateful for our buildings and all they mean to us, they are expensive to maintain. This can limit our resources and funds for direct ministry and mission. I invite you to be in prayer for this Board and their work. May they indeed resource us for the vision of Christ in the Lake North District.

Rev. Brittny Isaacs,

Lake North District Superintendent

Help needed to welcome incoming Immigrants

Welcome the Stranger/Foreigner/Alien -- this is a theme throughout the Bible. We have an opportunity to do that for immigrant families and individuals who have recently arrived in the Chicago area on buses from Texas. Volunteers and donations are needed immediately.

Join us for an urgent Zoom meeting on Friday (9/9) at 12:00 Noon to get more information about this pressing need. (link here)

Meeting ID: 842 3931 7497

Passcode: 307759

Contact Pastor Jonathan Crail (jcrail@firstumc.net) with any questions.

Lake North Churches are invited to come together to Worship on Lawn on Sunday, Sept. 25 @ 3 pm at Glenview United Methodist Church (727 Harlem Ave, Glenview). There will be a potluck meal, everyone is welcome to enjoy. Drinks will be provided. Please bring a lawn chair. Worship will move inside in case of rain.

Registration and more information here.

Fresh Expressions makes space for leaders and pastors to use both traditional services as well as innovative forms of church to live out Christ’s mission. One does not replace the other, but rather creates a mutual benefit for both—a “mixed economy of church.”

Lake North Event

Wednesday, September 21 - 9:00 am to Noon

Park Ridge: First, 418 Touhy Ave, Park Ridge

Other Events

Sunday Worship Experience with Rev. Dr Beck - Sunday, September 18 at 9:30 am at Schaumburg: Our Saviour's, 701 E. Schaumburg Rd., Schaumburg, Ill. (847) 352-8181
Teaching Option - Sunday, September 18 at 2:00 - 5:00 pm at Schaumburg: Our Saviour's, 701 E. Schaumburg Rd., Schaumburg
Prairie North Teaching Option - Monday, September 19 - 9:00 am to Noon - Freeport: Harmony, 2600 W Pearl City Road, Freeport
Prairie South Teaching Option - Monday, September 19 - 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm - Dixon: First, 202 S. Peoria Ave, Dixon
Lake South Teaching Option - Tuesday, September 20 - 9:00 am to Noon - Oak Lawn: First, 10000 Central Avenue, Oak Lawn
Prairie Central Teaching Option - Tuesday, September 20 - 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm - Naperville: Grace, 300 E. Gartner Road, Naperville

Save the Date - Lake North

United Women in Faith

Virtual Annual Celebration

The New is Here!

Saturday September 24, 2022

9:30 a.m. - 11 :30 a.m.

Guest speaker: Valerie Clark, member of the Board of Directors of the United Women in Faith

Join us for worship, memorial service, fellowship and our business meeting.

Watch for further details

Apportionment Highlight - Pastor leads by example with Apportionment Challenge

After attending Annual Conference, Pastor Hyo Sun Oh at Roselle UMC prayed and prayed and focused on how to resolve a budget deficit. The Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CCFA) presented how Apportionments are distributed to fund the ministry and mission of the Northern Illinois Conference and the General Church.They used pie charts to show how the seven funds are allocated. The presentation sounded like God talking to her, showing the answer to my prayers. She returned home ready to share the information and has been seeing great results. Learn more about her process and story here.

Speaker Series: Race, America, and the Church

The Northern Illinois Conference, in partnership with the Indiana Conference and other groups, is pleased to announce the third event in the 2022 Speaker Series.

4-Hour Healing Workshop

Sat, Oct 8, 2022

9:00am - 1:00pm

St. Mark UMC, 8441 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, IL

The content of this 4-hour workshop is for people of Black African heritage and will:

Define racial trauma.
Discuss the significant impact that racial trauma has historically had and continues to have within the Black community including the UMC.
Discuss coping strategies that have been used within the Black community for healing our trauma.

Cost: $25 (includes lunch) Space is limited.

Registration and more info here.

at First United Methodist Church, 232 S. York Street Elmhurst, IL

Lecture is FREE. A catered dinner will be available for $12 with advance registration.

More information and tickets here.

World Communion Sunday is Oct. 2

Need downloadable resources to get your congregation ready for World Communion Sunday? Look no further! UMC Giving has assembled a collection of resources that you can download to promote this Special Sunday to your members before Sunday, Oct. 2.

Grant Applications Due

Applications are being accepted for three grant programs operated by United Methodist Church and Society. The deadline is Sept. 16 to apply for Ethnic Local Church, Human Relations Day and Peace with Justice grants, which range from $2,000 to $5,000.

Click here for more information.

The UM Foundation’s grants program annually offers funding of $500 – $2,000 to local churches and church-related organizations as they develop new or expanded creative ministries. Grant applications are due Sept. 15.

Click here for more information.

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.

New devotion and prayer focus posted for September

Resources for the Local Church

Pastor Appreciation Month (October) - Ideas and starters for appreciating your pastor.
World Communion Sunday (October 2) - Worship resources, social media resources, communications and more.
United Voices for Children Sunday (October 30) - Information and videos to share with your congregation.
#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 - for small groups, pastors, children and individuals.

Rev. Brittany Isaac

Lake North District Superintendent

bisaac@umcnic.org

312-346-9766 ext. 785

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 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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