The Current Week in Review
November 20, 2020
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In-person worship suspended through Dec. 13
Bishop Frank J. Beard announced Tuesday that he was directing the 800 congregations of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference to suspend in-person worship beginning Sunday, Nov. 22 and continuing through Dec. 13.
A determination will be made Dec. 9 concerning services on Dec. 20, Christmas Eve and the weeks to follow.
The announcement came just before the Illinois Department of Public Health announced moving the entire state to Tier 3 mitigation standards following a surge in cases and positivity rates in all regions of Illinois.
The major points of the new mitigation are as follows:
- Indoor or outdoor in-person church services and gatherings should not be held.
- Churches may gather for drive-in worship services of any size with proper distancing (refer to the Pressing On document for details).
- For the purpose of producing or broadcasting worship, groups of 10 or less may gather with facemasks and proper social distancing
- Church buildings should close, and staff should work from home, except for essential and minimum, basic operations that need to be conducted in the building such as social service ministries.
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Covenant Keepers 2021 will be virtual Jan. 28
Bishop Beard has announced that Covenant Keepers 2021 will be held virtually on a single day -- Thursday, Jan. 28.
Speakers for the event will be Rev. Susan Beaumont, author of How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You Are. Beaumont is a consultant, coach, author and spiritual director who worked with hundreds of congregations and denominational bodies across the United States and Canada. She is known for her ground-breaking work in the leadership dynamics of large congregations.
Before establishing her own practice, Susan worked for nine years as a Senior Consultant with the Alban Institute. Susan has also served on the faculty of two business schools, teaching graduate level courses in leadership, management and organizational behavior. She has corporate experience in human resource management and organizational development. She currently teaches at Wesley Theological Seminary.
The other platform speaker, Romal Tune, is a thought leader, speaker and author. The focus of his life’s work is using the power of storytelling to bring about meaningful change. I teach individuals, non-profits and companies how to tap into the uniqueness of their stories and experience exponential growth.
Joining Covenant Keepers and preaching will be Bishop Sharma Lewis, episcopal leader for the Richmond, Va. Area of The United Methodist Church. Lewis made history when she was elected as the first African-American woman bishop in the Southeastern Jurisdiction in 2016.
Details on registering and obtaining online credentials will be forthcoming in the next few days.
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December issue of The Current
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The December issue of The Current will be reaching your mailboxes this weekend.
The cover story features the conference Camping program and how it is adapting to pandemic times.
You can also view the issue online by clicking the cover on the right.
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Cunningham to host Luminaries of Hope, live nativity
Help Cunningham Children’s Home bring the light of hope this Christmas season to the youth, adults and families they serve with a special event, Luminaries of Hope and Live Nativity!
Along with a live nativity, luminaries will be lit throughout our campus, from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5, 12 and 19. For a suggested donation of $5, the community is encouraged to drive through and enjoy this special event.
Help Cunningham “light up” Cunningham’s campus with 777 Luminaries of Hope, representing each of the youth, adults and families we served this year.
For just $10, a luminary may be purchased, in honor or memory of someone special.
Purchase you luminaries on our website cunninghamhome.org or mail a check to P.O. Box 878, Urbana, IL 61803.
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Midwest Mission Distribution Center sets up collection sites throughout IGRC
The Midwest MIssion Distribution Center, in cooperation with the Conference, has set up collection sites around the Conference for churches to drop off their donations for the Center.
A flyer was developed to include items most needed.
The Center's most urgent needs are laundry detergent, dish soap, household cleaner and toothpaste. Any in-kind donations for the Center are welcome except bikes and sewing machines. There is currently a surplus on those items due to a smaller number of volunteers working at the Center during the pandemic. Persons that are uncomfortable with shopping can send a monetary donation to MMDC, 1001 Mission Drive, Pawnee, IL 62558.
JUST IN: An appeal has been received by the Center for blankets and flashlights with batteries to assist relief efforts for Hurricanes Eta and Iota.that have devastated the Honduras. These items are in addition to those listed above.
The collection site network was developed since the IGRC was unable to hold an in-person session of Annual Conference. Deadline for donating items at these sites are Sunday, Nov. 22.
The list of contacts and locations can be found by clicking the button below.
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The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
Bishop Frank J. Beard will be releasing the sixth and final session in his study, The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit later today.
The previous five sessions are already available by clicking the button below. Worksheets for each session are also available.
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Igniting a Prayer Revolution online video series
All IGRC churches are invited to Ignite a Prayer Revolution. The short series of videos found at https://www.igrcreach1000.org/revolutionary-prayer will challenge your church to take simple, yet powerful, steps to open yourselves to the next season of ministry God has for you.
All seven (currently; more will be added) videos can be watched in less than 30 minutes. Some will provide concrete examples of how IGRC churches are engaged in revolutionary prayer.
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United Methodist Student Day Nov. 29
United Methodist Student Day is Sunday, Nov. 29. In 2019, United Methodists gave $370,123 towards the ministries funded by the United Methodist Student Day Sunday offering -- the United Methodist Student Loan and Scholarship program. This offering, combined with income from endowments provided more than 70 scholarships available for thousands of United Methodist students to further their education and enrich the life of the Church.
Remember you can celebrate this Sunday and any Special Sunday on a day of your choosing.
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2020 charge conference forms online
Charge conference forms for 2020 are now available to pastors and churches via their Church Portal page on the IGRC website.
To access the forms, click on the Church Portal link located in the upper right hand corner of the homepage.
- Choose your District Name
- Choose your Church
- Supply the six-digit GCFA number as the password. This number can be found on the church's local remittance forms used for apportionment payments
Once into the Church Portal Page, select: Church/Charge Conference forms from the right-hand menu and then click on the 2020 Charge Conference Form link. Links are also there for 2019, 2018 and 2017 should you need to reference any of them.
This year's forms can be saved without completing all of the required fields on a form. However, a church will not be able to submit the forms to the District office unless all required fields are answered.
District offices may have additional instructions for your church and a schedule of charge conferences will be announced in the near future.
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Clergy Assistance Program
Make sure your IGRC pastor knows about this benefit provided through your apportionment dollars at work.
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Suicide prevention training offered
Pastors are encountering people experiencing mental health challenges more frequently than they have in the past. This trend indicates that the needs of congregations and community may be shifting. As these needs shift, so does the role of the pastor. IGRC’s Pastoral Care and Counseling wants our clergy and clergy spouses to have the ability to recognize when someone may be suicidal and know what to do next. For this reason, PCC has sponsored an evidence-based and peer-reviewed online QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Gatekeeper Training at no cost to IGRC clergy and families ($29.95 value).
Due to the response to this training, PCC is now opening the training not only to clergy, but clergy family members, lay church leaders, laity, mental health professionals, front line workers and others desiring to be equipped in this very timely matter.
The interactive online QPR Training generally takes an hour and all learners receive an electronic version of the QPR booklet and printable wallet card immediately after completing training. Key components covered in training include:
- How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal
- How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide
- The common causes of suicidal behavior
- The warning signs of suicide
- How to get help for someone in crisis
Register for the free online suicide prevention training. You will then receive an email from Pastoral Care and Counseling Coordinator Shauna Summers with a link to the training website as well as account and password information.
Please complete the training the week you receive the account information as the links do expire.
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United Methodist Center Contact Information |
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USPS (U.S. Postal Service)
P.O. Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62794-9207
Office Phone: 217-529-2040
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UPS and FedEx deliveries only use the street address:
United Methodist Center
5900 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62711
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