Northern Illinois Conference communicator Anne Marie Gerhardt has the story.

#AskTheUMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications, has received many questions from congregations wondering about the future of the #UMC. This is the first in a series of articles aimed at addressing some misperceptions or misinformation.

The United Methodist Church has released the 2021 State of the Church Report, which centers around the theme of claiming our identity. Beginning with Jesus' question to Peter in Matthew 16, "Who do you say that I am?" the question is posed to the UMC, "Who do we say that we are?" as the church seeks to affirm the basis of their identity in faith and service to Christ.

“This State of the Church Report is about how The United Methodist Church over the past year has sought to better define its missional and theological identity,” said Bishop Christian Alsted, chair of the Connectional Table. “We have done this at a very sensitive time in the life of our church and in the context of a global pandemic, multiple postponements of General Conference and our decades-long struggle over our understanding of human sexuality and how to be in ministry to all people.”

With this in mind, the report is built around the engaging #BeUMC campaign, which celebrates how the church sees itself as United Methodists. Celebrating the life-changing, diverse and global nature of the UMC, the report includes related articles that illustrate the four themes reflected in the #BeUMC campaign:

Forms for charge conferences which will be held in the fall are now available through your Church Portal Page.

To access the documents, click on Church Portal on the IGRC Homepage or go to: https://www.igrc.org/churchportal to find the log-in page. Select your District from the dropdown menu. This will trigger a second drop-down menu where you select your Church. The passcode is the church's six-digit GCFA number which can be found on the monthly remittance form for apportionment payments.

In preparation for charge conferences in the fall, the Finance Office has prepared two pages of information that will assist you in your budget building for 2023.

A document outlining the Clergy Benefits and Costs for 2023 includes action taken by the 2022 Annual Conference with regard to minimum salaries for full-time elders and full-time local pastors.

A second document Important Numbers for Charge Conference provides additional information and background. The Apportionment calculations and the Charge Conference forms will be published in the next few weeks.

If you DO NOT place an order by July 31, you will receive your free copy of the Journal Yearbook in CD form rather than in printed form, unless you've opted out of receiving the Journal in the past in which case you will receive neither.

With the 2022-23 Conference Year just getting starteda new updated Appointment list has replaced an older version that was available for the 2022 Annual Conference.

Several have contacted us with "corrections" in what really is just a snapshot in time. The information was accurate as of June 6 but that changes have occurred since that time.

The July 1 version includes all Appointment notifications that have been filed by District offices. Certainly, as is the case with any paper form, the first change will make the form "out of date"; but we endeavor to keep the information accurate.

Also available is the 2022-2023 Clergy Directory. This is current as of July 5. Please check your information and send any corrections to Michele Willson and Devoria Barner so information can be updated.

Applications are being sought for the vacant IGRC Director of Congregational Development position have been extended through July 31.

The position became vacant due to the appointment of the Rev. Mike Crawford as Spoon River District Superintendent July 1.