This Week's Current Week in Review

The Current Week in Review

March 26, 2022

Bishop calls IGRC to prayer

Bishop Frank J. Beard is inviting you to participate in a 24-hour Prayer Vigil for Peace and Unity, beginning at noon on Friday, April 1 and continuing until noon, Friday, April 2.

Bishop Beard will kick off the prayer vigil at noon on April 1 with a pre-recorded message which can be viewed on this page at that time.

A sign-up list launched Friday, which includes 15-minute blocks that persons can sign up for one or more time blocks. Each time slot is limited to three persons and the time slot will disappear when all three spots are filled.

The Bishop is also inviting prayers of 25 words or less to be posted on threads on his Facebook Page which will launch at noon April 1. One thread will be for Prayers for Peace and Unity for Ukraine and Russia. The second will be for persons to post Prayers for Peace and Unity for our United Methodist Brothers and Sisters Around the World.

Bishop Beard to host open forums on disaffiliation March 28-29

Bishop Frank J. Beard is inviting clergy and laity to an open forum on disaffiliation on March 28 and 29. You will note that some of the sessions are for clergy only; others are for both clergy and laity.

Seating is limited to 500 persons and registration will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

In an effort to be responsive to questions you might have, you have an opportunity to ask your questions by submitting them with your registration. Because we are dealing with matters that are complex and involve legal issues, Bishop Beard is requesting these questions be submitted in advance.

Persons may choose from the following four sessions:

Clergy Only Sessions -- March 28 at 1 p.m. and March 29 at 6 p.m.
Sessions for Everyone -- Clergy and Laity -- March 28 at 6 p.m. and March 29 at 10 a.m.

Clergy Session moved to McKendree June 4

After reviewing the initial proposed agenda with Bishop Beard and the Cabinet, the Committee on Sessions recommended that the Clergy Executive Session of Annual Conference be held a week earlier on Saturday June 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. at McKendree University in Lebanon.

The session will be in the Melvin Price Convocation Center on the McKendree campus and will be a hybrid event where persons will be able to join in-person or online.

This will open up the Thursday schedule for more plenary business time as the Annual Conference has received a lot more legislative business than usual. With the consent of the Bishop in charge and support of the Superintendents, the time and location of this part of Annual Conference may be changed. This scheduling option is becoming fairly common among other Conferences, as it allows for more flexibility with the unique scheduling of Clergy Session.

Laity Session will still be held in Peoria on June 9. As with all of this year’s Annual Conference, both clergy and laity will be hybrid sessions, so that members may participate online. Registration for all sessions will be part of the Annual Conference registration, and there will be no additional cost to members.

2021 Journal-Yearbook posted online

The 2021 Journal-Yearbook is posted online for your viewing and reference.

The proof is now being sent to the printers for print copies and the duplicators for the CD copies. It will be 4-6 weeks before the final product will be available for distribution.

Given that reality, print copies and CD's will be distributed to those that attend in-person during the 2022 Annual Conference. For those joining online, these materials will be mailed to you.

VIEW OR DOWNLOAD THE 2021 JOURNAL-YEARBOOK

Annual Conference childcare arrangements

The Committee on Annual Conference Sessions has been reassessing childcare needs due to those who will choose to participate online instead of bringing young children to childcare.

After conducting a survey of those who have used Annual Conference childcare in recent years, the Committee on Sessions is making the following changes:

On-site childcare will not be offered in Peoria for this year’s Session.
Offsite childcare will be provided for K-8th graders at the East Bay Mini Bay-Cation camp which is happening at the same time as Annual Conference. During Annual Conference registration, members will be provided a discounted registration code so that the camp will cost only $125 for registered members. East Bay Camp is willing to work with members to accommodate their needs and drop-off times. More information can be found about the camp here: https://www.eastbaycamp.org/campsessions. Although the link says this camp session is for grades 3 to 5, the age range has expanded to K-8 for families attending Annual Conference. Specific questions about the camp may be addressed to the IGRC Coordinator of Camping & Retreat Ministries, Rev. Nancy Lane: nlane@igrc.org.
For younger children, their adults may choose to use the online participation in Annual Conference or their regular childcare providers.

The Committee on Sessions recognizes that these are not perfect solutions. With the option to participate online none of our surveyed members indicated that providing on-site childcare was absolutely necessary for their participation in Annual Conference. The Committee on Sessions will continue to evaluate and plan for the best ways to support our members needs for childcare and balance those with available resources.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out the Chair of the IGRC Committee on Annual Conference Sessions, Rev. Curtis Brown: cbrown@igrc.org.

Preachers announced for Annual Conference

Bishop Frank J. Beard has announced the preaching schedule for the 2022 Annual Conference which will be held June 9-11 as a hybrid event online and in-person at the Peoria Civic Center.

Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, episcopal leader of the South Carolina Conference will be preaching the opening worship service and the Memorial Service.

Bishop Beard will be preaching Saturday's Service of Ordination and Commissioning.

Rev. Janice Ringenberg, pastor of Boyd's Grove and Bradford Leet UMC, will be preaching the retiree recognition service. Rev. Ringenberg is one of 28 pastors retiring with more than 675 years of service.

A final agenda is still being assembled and registration will be opening in early April.

Cabinet produces new handbook for Pastor/Staff Relations Committees

This booklet contains guidelines which reflect traditions and practices of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of The United Methodist Church. This booklet has been approved by the Bishop and Cabinet of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference for use in local churches.

This handbook can be viewed online or saved to your computer as a 40-page PDF. Click on the cover image to open the document.

Should legislation impact information in the booklet, it will be updated prior to printing any copies for wider distribution.

The handbook replaces two older booklets -- Pastoral Expectations and Understanding Pastoral Changes

Denman, Cartwright award nominees sought

Nominations are now being accepted through April 25 for the Denman Evangelism Award for clergy, laity and youth, and for the Peter Cartwright Lifetime Achievement Award in Ministry. These awards are presented by the IGRC Evangelism Committee.

The Denman Evangelism Award honors an IGRC United Methodist lay, youth lay and clergy person who exhibits unusual and outstanding efforts for work in Christian evangelism by faithfully carrying out the mission of “making disciples of Jesus Christ.”

The Peter Cartwright Lifetime Evangelism Award of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference is awarded to someone who has exceptional leadership qualities to help our conference in making disciples of Jesus Christ. This person’s lifetime example challenges pastors and lay people to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Where the Denman award is given for a period of work, the Peter Cartwright Lifetime Evangelism Award is given to a retired pastor who has reflected this work throughout their ministry career.