The United Methodist Church
Northern Illinois Conference
e-News for May 28
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| Greetings! |
Welcome to the NIC e-News. This newsletter is published every Thursday morning.
Can we do anything to help you? If you or your church have any communication needs, please contact Matt at mkuzma@umcnic.org.
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Council of Bishops on Immigration
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From the General Board of Global Ministries:
A "Statement on the US Immigration Situation" was adopted on May 8
during a meeting of the council in Bethesda, Maryland. It builds on an
earlier appeal issued a few weeks ago by a group of two dozen active
and retired bishops.
The bishops said they as a group are "committed to advocate for
comprehensive immigration reform that is humane and effective and that
upholds the human and civil rights of immigrants."
Full text: Statement on the U.S. Immigration Situation
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Ordination Service at Annual Conference
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Commissioning and Ordination Service - Sunday, June 7, 7:30 p.m., RSVP to Rev. Luis Reyes at LFR164@comcast.net
NIC clergy are invited to
robe and be part of the processional. As in years past those among us who by tradition do not
robe, are invited to do so. We will robe and line up for the processional at the St. Charles Ballroom at 7:00 p.m. See our website for more information on the Ordination and Retirement Services at Annual Conference. |
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Annual Conference
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Register nowIf you haven't completed registration yet, it's time! Please click " Annual Conference 2009" at the top of any page on our website, http://www.umcnic.org. If you cannot register online, you can get a mail-in form from the Mary O'Connor Inc. office, at (630) 443-7025. Bring your cameraIf you have a digital camera, please bring it to Annual Conference. We would greatly appreciate pictures from any of the meals, services, or meetings you attend. Also, exciting action shots of the plenary session are always a great keepsake! Download to our Flickr group or bring your camera and USB cable to Matt at the Conference. We need volunteersWill you volunteer to be an usher or greeter at Annual Conference? We could use 20-30 folks to help. If you are interested in ushering during the Plenary Sessions or greeting when the conference opens on Sunday morning, please contact Char Hoffmann at char-rfumc@sbcglobal.net or Jean Bush at jbush@umcnic.org. Thank you! Print your MaterialsPlease download the Proposed Legislation and Historical Reports. If you have trouble, 1) Check with your church to see if they can download and print them for you, 2) Attend a Legislative Listening Session where you should be able to obtain a copy, or 3) Contact Rev. Lora Zink at 815-734-6952; she can print a copy and mail it to you.
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New Bible Study on UMCNIC.org
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The Northern Illinois Conference
and the Office of Connectional Ministries have launched a new Bible study, The Whole of Holiness: Is Living a Holy Life Possible?
Philip
Amerson and Barry Bryant, professors at Garrett Evangelical
Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., take a look at what
Social Holiness means for today. Looking at the false
divisions commonly held between an emphasis on personal or social
holiness, the authors point to the Great Commandment, affirmed by
Jesus, that hold the love of God and the love of neighbor as a
unity.
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| Last Chance! Natural Church Development Training May 30
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Call Judy Siaba at 312-346-9766 ext. 124 or e-mail jsiaba@umcnic.org to register:
Saturday, May 30, 2009, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Natural Church Development training at Barrington UMC
Cost: $10/person (includes lunch)
Jeannette Buller Slater will lead the training. Slater has consulted pastors and church planters toward effective ministry and has been involved in all aspects of NCD since its inception in 1998.
Childcare available upon request.
This training will serve as continuing education for current
coaches and will allow potential coaches to learn the Natural Church
Development process. All current coaches, potential coaches,
pastors, lay leaders and the church's NCD Health team should attend.
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Free Media Resources
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Attention communications folks (or churches who do not yet have communications folks!) - the conference communications office now has this year's Community Media Guide, which has media contacts for print, radio, web and TV outlets across Illinois. Want to promote an event? This guide has the goods, so you can reach out to new people.
For more information, please email Matt at mkuzma@umcnic.org.
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| Pancake Breakfast of the Week |
 PBotW is too busy getting ready for Annual Conference to even think about breakfast. And apparently, you all are, also.
Please send candidates for Pancake Breakfast (or other community meal) of the Week to mkuzma@umcnic.org, subject line "Pancakes." | |
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