News & Updates

June 23, 2022

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Dear Friends in Christ,

We had an excellent Annual Conference session this year. After 3 years apart, it was so good to be together face to face, though I did miss seeing many of you that needed to stay home and watch online for various reasons. Before your summer gets too busy, I want to put some fall training and resourcing opportunity out there so you can save the date.

As I said in my townhall meeting a couple of weeks ago, many congregations are working harder than ever to get the same results of ministry that they did prior to the Pandemic. As a district and Annual Conference, we have vibrant and healthy congregations and we also have struggling congregations. What most of our congregations have in common is a desire to expand—to share God’s amazing love and grace and to reach new people. The two workshops below offer training to do this in new ways.

A series of Fresh Expressions workshops (Sept 18-21) will allow us to think about ministry outside the box of Sunday morning worship services. These creative ministries may not seem like the traditional church but share our common mission of shaping and forming new disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. How we do ministry may change but our mission does not. See more info here.

Also, we will be hosting a second round of Vital Partnership workshop. As we navigate the changing landscape, I would like for us to make decisions out of a position of strength, rather than desperation. This workshop will explore how congregations can work together to become even stronger than they were separately. I know this can seem a bit threatening as we are very tied to our individual identifies as congregations, but if you think about it, the early American Methodist church was really just one of the first multi-site ministries. Think about it--our buildings are all held in trust together, we pay our apportionments as a way of sharing our resources—sounds a lot like a multi-site ministry to me! If this is the case, then we need to start thinking about our ministry from that perspective and make decisions that give us strength to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Dates of the events are still TBD, watch future eNewsletters for more information.

Blessings for the journey ahead!

Rev. Brittany Isaac

Lake North District Superintendent

Congratulations West Ridge Community United Methodist Church

The One Matters Discipleship Award highlights churches who have in recent years moved from zero baptisms and zero professions of faith into positive numbers. West Ridge Community United Methodist Church is the 2022 winner for Lake North.

West Ridge Community United Methodist Church has served the neighborhood at Lunt and Oakley in Chicago for 98 years. Each Sunday, at the beginning of our worship service, the congregation recites our mission statement: "We don't go to church, We Are the Church for making disciples of Jesus in our community." This July, we look forward to baptizing five adults, three youth, and one infant. In addition, we will be confirming seven youth and accepting two adult members through professions of faith. Read more of their story.

It's Appointment Change Season.

In the months of June and July, many United Methodist congregations are in the midst of a pastoral change. It has been announced that the pastor we have known for years is being appointed to another congregation or retiring, and a new pastor is on the way. Many of our churches are welcoming new pastors. Find resources for welcoming a new pastor here.

Do you know why United Methodist's have Internant pastors? Check out this article from Ask the UMC about why United Methodist pastors change churches.

Annual Conference Videos

If you were unable to attend Annual Conference, missed any moments or want to share portions with your congregation, most of the videos are posted on our Vimeo channel. You'll also find some videos that we ran out of time to show.

Click on this Vimeo Showcase to find the Memorial Service, Bible Study with Rev. Jane Eesley, Bishop John L. Hopkins' Episcopal Address, Laity Address from Eugene Williams, and more. The Commissioning and Ordination Service is available on the NIC YouTube channel here. To view photos from the three days, click here. For Ordination photos, click here.

2022 Bishop's Appeal for Ukraine Assistance

Churches and individuals across the Northern Illinois Conference responded with overwhelming generosity to this year's Bishop's Appeal to help support Ukraine through Global Ministries relief efforts. A total of $275,000 was raised!

Special thanks to Rev. Keck Mowry for organizing special t-shirt sales to support the offering. More than 150 shirts were sold on-site during the conference, totaling $2,370!

Watch the Bishop's Appeal presentation from Annual Conference here.

#BeUMC

At Annual Conference, many of you stopped by the NIC Communications video booth to share what makes you proud to be United Methodist for the #BeUMC campaign. We had so many responses to include in one video (you would need to get out some popcorn to watch) so we will be periodically sharing your responses in a series of videos. Check out the first one here! Thank you for sharing your stories and if you missed the chance to be videotaped, you can share your own recordings on social media and send them to communications@umcnic.org . Be sure to use the hashtag #BeUMC.

Mission Link Highlight -

Missionary Young Seon Kim

Global Mission Secondary School

One of the areas of giving within the Mission Links program is Missionary Support. We are honored to have some missionaries from our conference that we can support. It is always a blessing when they come back to give us an update.

Young Seon (Christina) Kim, who works with the Global Mission Secondary School with The United Methodist Church in Tanzania, gave us an update . (The Global Mission Secondary School was the 2020 AC Bishop's Appeal.) The school has been a dream to give boys and girls in Tanzania the opportunity of an education. They have finished Phase I and II, gotten their registration number and opened the school. They now have 68 students and 15 staff.

While Young Seon was back in the area, she also visited First Korean United Methodist Church in Wheeling, Ill. to share the work of the Global Mission Secondary School. As they are preparing for their 100th Anniversary, they have decided to build a Centennial anniversary church on the GMSS Campus!

Watch Young Seon's Annual Conference update here.

2nd Annual Rally Against Racism

With recent racially motivated violence and deadly attacks in the news, once again we come together in solidarity to stand against hate and racism.

Last summer, the NIC Annual Conference Shepherding Team (ACST) and the Anti-racism Task Force (ARTF) joined together to spearhead a way for churches to visibly show their commitment “to live out the conviction that racism is incompatible with Christian teaching.”

Several churches participated by holding rallies in a variety of different ways. Churches were encouraged to be creative and hold Do-it-Yourself or DIY rallies. Click here to watch a video from last summer's rallies.

Join with churches across the Northern Illinois Conference this summer (May through September) to Rally Against Racism. Learn more and sign up today.

The Northern Illinois Conference is offering 6 training options to help meet our goal of ensuring safe spaces in our churches.

The trainings are being offered both on-line via zoom and in-person.

The dates offered are:

~~Thursday, June 23 - 6:30 pm - Plainfield UMC~~ (Registration closed)
Wednesday, June 29 - 6:30 pm - Plainfield UMC
Saturday, July 16 - 1:00 pm - Des Plaines: First UMC
Saturday, July 30 - 10:00 am - Rockford: Christ UMC
Saturday, August 6 - 10:00 am - Rockford: Christ UMC
Saturday, August 20 - 1:00 pm - Des Plaines: First UMC

Find more information and register here.

**This free training is an alternative for those who cannot participate in other training options and does not include a background check.

Also, we have redone our NIC Safe Sanctuaries Website. Check out the site for videos, policies, FAQ, downloads and more resources.

Midwest Mission Sends Fourth

Shipment to Ukraine - Needs Remain High

A fourth shipment of supplies and rice meal bags for Ukraine went out Friday, June 17. Operations Manager Brad Walton and Operations Specialist Ramon Ortiz (pictured right) loaded a 53-ft. semi-trailer to fill a request from North Star Foundation in Rhode Island, which is filling several containers all headed to the war-torn country.

New Needs for UKRAINE - YOU CAN HELP TODAY!

Midwest Mission asks for your help in supplying:

Men's Socks
Rain Ponchos
Adult Underwear

You can send all - NEW ONLY - items to 1001 Mission Dr., Pawnee, IL 62558. Donations must be received at Midwest Mission, no later than July 22! Or you can donate by texting UKRAINE to 855-589-1314 or give online here .

Help Share Stories of Difference Makers

Have our churches “Made a Difference?" Of course, they have! Every one of our churches has helped change lives. We need stories to tell us how.

The NIC Board of Pensions introduced the “You Made a Difference” initiative at the 2022 session of the Annual Conference on June 9 to help share stories of how others within the UMC connection made a difference in our lives and also raise funds to support future clergy pension programs.

Please go to umcnic.org/differencemakers and click on “Tell Your Story” to open an online form. You can also click on the “Honored Difference Makers” tab to read stories that have been told by others.

Since 1894, Kids Above All (formerly ChildServ) has placed the safety, well-being, and education of kids above everything else. Running through the summer, you can help ensure that the hundreds of kids in their care have the supplies they need to succeed this school year through the agency's annual backpack drive. Click for details.

UVC 2022 Award Nominations

Each year, UVC gives these special awards to honor extraordinary volunteer service or advocacy efforts on behalf of children, youth and/or families throughout the Northern Illinois Conference. There are three awards: the Bishop Jesse. R. DeWitt Award, the Katherine B. Greene Award, and the Rev. Margaret Ann Williams Award. Learn more and submit nominations. Nominations are due July 31st.

Mildred's Stories

"What if we invite a younger Methodist and an older Methodist to simply share their personal stories with each other? No agenda, other than to bring two people together to share a bit of their faith journey as the church."

The United Methodist Foundation of the Northern Illinois Conference has produced several videos to honor the life of one of the Foundation's benefactors, Mildred Vannorsdall, who worked for the Chicago Public Library for many years and loved stories. After nine months of planning, preparation, and production, the resulting high-quality videos are deeply personal and inspiring stories available for churches and individuals to use in worship, small groups, town halls, or any contextually relevant forum! See the website for more information.

Phishing Emails

We've received reports again of emails sent purportedly from the Bishop asking if "you're available." These are phishing/spam emails. Be aware and take note that official emails from the Conference office will only come from an @umcnic.org address.

Do you have news to share?

We are always looking for stories of what is happening in the local church. We welcome articles from churches highlighting ministries, outreach, and missions which tell the story of being vital Christians. Events considered should be of conference-wide appeal and United Methodist-related.

District eNews are sent out the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. Please submit stories and events by end of business on the 2nd and 4th Mondays. Space is limited. Stories of fewer than 250 words are preferred. Submissions will be edited at the discretion of Communications staff. Information can be emailed to communications@umcnic.org.

Check out our Submit News page for more details.

Resources for the Local Church

Volunteers in Mission Sunday (Any Sunday in July or August) - Songs, Liturgy, Posters, Mission Moments, Sermon Starters, and more
Independence Day (July 4) - Scripture, Hymns, and Prayers
United Voices for Children Sunday (July 31) - Information and videos to share with your congregation.
#BeUMC Resources -Tool Kits, Social Media Kits, Graphics, and more.
Social Media Shareables - Free graphics for social media for different events, months and ministries. (Through Outreach, log in is needed but resources are free)
UMC Giving Resources - Mission Moments, Special Sunday Info, Leader Kits, Pew Cards and more.
United Media Resource Center - Lending library of Christian materials for local churches - for small groups, pastors, children and individuals.

Rev. Brittany Isaac

Lake North District Superintendent

bisaac@umcnic.org

312-346-9766 ext. 785

Debra Rogers

Administrative Assistant

drogers@umcnic.org

630-465-2941

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