This Week's Current Week in Review

The Current Week in Review

October 28, 2022

Trustees announce updated disaffiliation process aimed at streamlining

The IGRC Board of Trustees announced today a streamlined process for disaffiliation that will enable churches a much quicker means for processing requests.

The new process enables all professing members of the congregation from initial inquiry through a final church conference to participate in the process. It specifically is designed for churches requesting to disaffiliate under paragraph 2553 of The Book of Discipline (2016) and reflects best practices that have been utilized in the previous three disaffiliating congregations while addressing the needs of the present.

The financial terms are as follows:

The local church’s share of pension liability at market rate. This figure is computed quarterly by Wespath, the board that administers the pension program of The United Methodist Church. The local church’s share is calculated by taking the church’s current apportionment total and dividing it by the Conference’s total apportioned budget amount, and then multiplying this percentage by the Conference’s total unfunded pension liability.
Two years of apportionments – the current year and the following year. Any amounts already paid are deducted from this total. See www.igrc.org/apportionments for your 2022 and 2023 amounts.
A 10 percent additional assessment calculated upon the aggregate total of the church’s share of pension liability plus apportionments. This assessment seeks to cover the costs of releasing the Trust Clause and transferring the assets pursuant to the terms of the disaffiliation settlement agreement.

VIEW AND DOWNLOAD IGRC DISAFFILIATION PLAN

Bishop to host virtual clergy meetings on disaffiliation Nov. 7

Bishop Beard also announced this morning that three virtual sessions for IGRC clergy will be held on Monday, Nov. 7.

The 90-minute sessions will start at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The sessions will be a time where questions may be asked concerning disaffiliation issues and its effect on clergy status.

Registration for the three sessions is required and the form will be live early next week.

The power of the United Methodist connection

Bishop Frank J. Beard, writing from Africa University’s 30th anniversary, notes, “One of the many unintended consequences of disaffiliation and schism is that some of our finest connectional work faces the possibility of losing ground. I challenge ALL OF US, especially those seeking disaffiliation to keep mission and ministry at the center of our plans. There are countless ministries that are depending on our help. Please do not forsake these vital and essential ministries.

“Our United Methodist denomination faces some tough days ahead. It will be crucial that we are prayerful and strategic about continuing our help and financial assistance for ministries that depend on our generosity. I have noticed that folks are going to great lengths both in the IGRC and around the connection to make sure that their own personal financial needs do not suffer irreparable harm. We should do the same for the mission and ministries that need our help!”

Delegates pen Open Letter to IGRC

Several members of the IGRC delegation to General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference have penned an Open Letter to the Illinois Great Rivers Conference.

Modeled after a similar letter circulated in the Texas Annual Conference, the letter reflects the work and mission to be done by those continuing in The United Methodist Church.

The letter also is invitational as persons which wish to be added as a supporter of the letter may contact Paul Black by email, requesting they be added.

READ THE LETTER

ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LETTER

NCJ delegates to elect up to three bishops Nov. 2-5

Delegates from 10 annual conferences across the Midwest will gather in Fort Wayne, Ind., Nov. 2-5 for a regular session of Jurisdictional Conference in which up to three new bishops will be elected.

In a quadrennium marked by postponement of 2020 jurisdictional conferences due to a global pandemic and a special NCJ session held in November 2021, delegates will gather for several items of business and will handle two of its major responsibilities – election of bishops and the approval of a jurisdictional budget for the quadrennium.

A live stream of the proceedings can be viewed at: https://www.igrc.org/ncj2022. Additional information can be found on the NCJ website, www.ncjumc.org.

VIEW LIVE STREAM

November issue of The Current

The November issue of The Current should be arriving this weekend and the center spread is on the North Central Jurisdictional Conference which will be Nov. 2-5 in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Click on the cover to read online or to download it to your computer.

Listening Sessions slated

Each of the five regions comprising the new districts will be invited to attend Listening Sessions during the month of November aimed at hearing concerns and feedback to the proposed reorganization plan. The sessions are designed at providing additional explanation and clarify details to the plan.

Bishop Beard is inviting United Methodists to consider these three questions during the Listening Session:

“What if anything, is unique about this district, that we do not want to lose?”
“How do we assist two districts in coming together to form a new district?”
“How do we assist our district laity and clergy in being better connected?”

After the listening sessions are completed, each district’s leadership team will be formed and will begin functioning to ensure a smooth transition.

The webpage will be updated as additional sessions are announced by the Superintendents. Check back often to find one near you.

VISIT THE IGRC REORGANIZATION WEBPAGE

Invitation to Breakthrough Prayer

Psalm 127:1a says, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.” IGRC is undergoing a restructuring. The 2022 Annual Conference approved going from 10 Districts to five Districts effective July 1, 2023.

The Bishop, Extended Cabinet, and IGRC Committees are working on how to “build our [IGRC] house.” We are inviting the entire Annual Conference to join with us in calling upon God to breakthrough and guide our plans.

Throughout October and November, we are covenanting together to pray for ONE MINUTE each day asking God to breakthrough and reveal God’s will. You are welcome to utilize the prayer provided below or your own prayer. Opportunities will be provided throughout the IGRC to receive what you are hearing from God during this prayer time.

In light of Psalm 127:1, you are invited to join with the Bishop & Extended Cabinet to pray wherever you are at 1:27 p.m. for one minute. It is suggested that folks set a daily alarm on their phones at 1:27 p.m. (to begin your prayer time) and at 1:28 p.m. (to close your prayer time).

Potential Prayer:

Gracious and Merciful God, we come before You acknowledging that Your ways are higher than ours and Your wisdom is greater than ours. While we love and care deeply for our communities and congregations, Your Love for the people of and in IGRC is greater than ours. We also know that You do nothing except in believing prayer. So, we are calling out to You and asking for You to breakthrough in new and fresh ways. Reveal to us and our leaders Your will, Your guidance, Your direction. Bring Your wisdom as we seek to restructure in ways that will allow us to be more faithful and fruitful in making disciples of Jesus the Christ that will lead to our world being transformed in God-glorifying ways. Thank You, in advance, for working in and through us to accomplish Your plans and purposes. Please speak for Your servant is listening…. Amen.

A possible devotional companion to the breakthrough prayer is Dynamite Prayer: A 28-Day Experiment by Rosario Picardo and Sue Nelson-Kibbey. The book is available through Amazon.com as a paperback for $14.99. A Kindle version is instantly available.

DOWNLOAD "BREAKTHROUGH PRAYER CALENDAR

Updated clergy photos, church photos needed

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.

UPLOAD CHURCH OR CLERGY PHOTO

Internship program opens for applicants,

host churches

Applications for the 2023 and 2023-24 IGRC Intern Program open Saturday, October 1. Prospective interns, mentors, and host churches/ministries are all invited to apply. The program handbook and application links are available at the IGRC Intern page by clicking the button below.

Priority deadline is Jan 17, 2023. Final deadline is March 1, 2023.

Charge conference forms online

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.

Churches that have been identified as receiving an additional member to annual conference for equalization purposes should elect that person at the church's charge conference.