This Week's Current Week in Review

The Current Week in Review

April 1, 2021

BMCR Good Friday service

The IGRC chapter of Black Methodists for Church Renewal, in cooperation with IGRC Communications, is producing a Good Friday service built around the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross.

The virtual service will air on Good Friday at 6 p.m.

Links will be added to the IGRC homepage, the IGRC Black Methodists for Church Renewal homepages, as well as the IGRC Online Worship Facebook group and Bishop Frank J. Beard's Facebook group at the time of the broadcast.

Bishop Beard's Easter message

Bishop Frank J. Beard's Easter message will be available on the IGRC website and on the IGRC Facebook group, the IGRC Online Worship group and the Bishop Frank J. Beard group at 7 a.m. Sunday.

Links will be added to the Event items on the Facebook groups and on the IGRC homepage at the time of the broadcast launch.

Monthly email reminder: receiver beware!

t's the first of the month so here is your monthly reminder about receiving emails purportedly from the Bishop or other Conference staff members. Apparently, a scam involving an email purportedly from Rev. Mary Kathryn Pearce is now circulating.

While some of us may have a Gmail account, all official business is conducted with an IGRC account.
If the Bishop is asking for your help or directing you to do something, more than likely it would be communicated by phone or in person which makes for easy verification.
There really isn’t anything that can be done from the Conference end as it isn’t necessarily a breach of anyone’s email. The best remedy is to utilize the advice to be skeptical and verify before deciding your response.

These three steps pretty much covers the recurring problems with email hoaxes. However, the list isn’t exhaustive as each new day brings another creative attempt to get something for nothing.

"... be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

Bishop's Pre-Easter meeting playback

You may watch the Playback of Bishop Beard's Pre-Easter meeting by clicking the graphic above.

Covid-19 guidelines updated

Some people have asked for more details about the upcoming Bridge Phase of COVID-19 precautions. In short, we're on track for hitting vaccination targets, but cases and hospitalizations are increasing, which will keep us from entering the Bridge Phase.

According the Illinois Department of Public Health: "Illinois will move to the bridge phase when 70% of the population 65 years and older has received at least one dose of vaccine, and to Phase 5 when 50% of the population 16 years and older has received at least one dose of vaccine. In addition, when moving to both the bridge phase and Phase 5, hospital ICU bed availability needs to be higher than 20%, and new COVID-19 hospital admissions, total COVID-19 patients in the hospital, and death rates are not increasing significantly statewide over the most recent 28 days."

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Annual Conference plans announced

Bishop Frank J. Beard, in consultation with the Cabinet and Sessions Committee Executive Team, has announced the 2021 Annual Conference will be June 11-12 and will be conducted virtually.

The theme for the 2021 Annual Conference is A Time to Heal, based upon Ecclesiastes 3

Utilizing the knowledge gained from the virtual 2020 Annual Conference, participants will be able to offer speeches for and against and ask questions during the plenary session, slated for Saturday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. The Annual Conference will be using the Zoom platform, utilizing the polling feature for voting (the same as last year) and the Q & A feature for posting questions or asking for recognition to speak for or against the motion.

No amendments or changes to the legislation will be possible. However, the Sessions Committee will be holding Pre-Conference meetings to address both technological issues as well as answer questions on the legislation.

Registration will open April 6 on the Zoom platform and because of needing secure access to the room, persons will register and receive two log-ins – one for either the clergy or laity session on Friday, and one for the joint plenary session on Saturday. These registrations will be cross-checked and verified prior to issuing the unique access code to the participant.

Conference Prayer Team seeking devotions

Laity and Clergy:

The IGRC Prayer Team is in need of devotions to be publish as part of this weekly devotional. If you will, write a short devotion and email it to: Aletha Weatherall at aletha.warner@att.net

Thank you in advance.

The IGRC Prayer Team

Native American Ministries Sunday

April 18

Native American Ministries Sunday can be observed on any Sunday, although the official observance is the second Sunday after Easter (April 18 in 2021).

This offering helps to develop and strengthen Native American ministries in the Annual Conferences, Native American rural, urban, reservation ministries and communities relating to the General Board of Global Ministries. It also provides scholarships for Native Americans attending United Methodist schools of theology. This fund is distributed by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministries and The General Board of Global Ministries.

Resources to assist your congregation's promotion of this Special Sunday offering is now available.

A pastor's and leader's kit can be ordered as well as resources for the congregation in English, Spanish and Korean.

Click the button below to order what you need free of charge.

Click on the graphic above to learn more

Visit our website

United Methodist Center Contact Information

USPS (U.S. Postal Service)

P.O. Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62794-9207

Office Phone: 217-529-2040

Email: info@igrc.org

UPS and FedEx deliveries only use the street address:

United Methodist Center

5900 S. 2nd Street

Springfield, IL 62711

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