July 1, 2016
 

We resume normal publication after a several week hiatus due to Annual Conference and upcoming Jurisdictional Conference responsibilities. Here is some of the latest news.
Annual Conference wrapup

July 2016 Current
Click on the cover to view
the July 2016 issue
The July 2016 issue of The Current arrived on doorsteps this past week with a comprehensive report on the 2016 Annual Conference.

Included in the issue was a summary of the Annual Conference which provides a resource for lay members and clergy members to give reports to their local churches.

There are reports from Opening Worship, the Retiree Recognition Service, the Memorial Service and Ordination and Commissioning.

There are stories on disability awareness from keynote speakers Amos Yong and Russell Ewell. There is a transcript of Gretchen Sidell's Morning Manna message and a report on Kristi Hopp's Friday Morning Manna message.

There is the transcript of the Director of Connectional Ministries Address along with sidebars from Congregational Development, Hispanic Ministries, Discipleship Ministries and Mission Partnerships (including a list of Five Star Mission Churches for 2015); the Laity Address; and the Cabinet Address.

There is a report on the Evangelism Awards including the Denman, Peter Cartwright, Church Growth and One Matters Award. There is a story on this year's Torch Award for Scouting and on this year's Social Justice Award winners and retirement recognition of CEO's Bill Kreeb of Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House and Dale Strassheim of The Baby Fold..

There is also a report on special offerings and votes taken on legislation during the Annual Conference session.

Videos from Annual Conference are still being posted as they are produced and seven galleries of more than 800 photos are also posted for downloading. Persons wishing to download photos need to right-click on the square preview photo, select "Open Link in New Window," and the full-size, high-resolution photo will appear in the new browser window. The photo can then be saved by right-clicking and selecting "Save File/Photo As..."

Bishop Keaton also looks back on his four years in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, writing, "In you we saw and experienced the goodness of God. Our time in Illinois Great Rivers Conference can be summed up in three words: God is Good."
Conference just $41,000 shy of goal 

Offerings and pledges at the 2016 Annual Conference pushed the IGRC total to $959,000 -- just $41,000 shy of the $1 million goal to fully fund the Making Dreams Possible Campaign for eight endowed scholarships.

A contribution of $100,000 from an anonymous donor was later raised to $130,000 
Crowded field of 17 to vie for four NCJ vacancies

NCJ 2016 logo
A field of 17 candidates will be offered for election to jurisdictional delegates when the North Central Jurisdiction gathers July 13-16 at the Peoria Civic Center.

Profiles on all of the candidates can be viewed at the North Central Jurisdiction's website by visiting: http://www.ncjumc.org/ncj-2016-3/episcopal-nominations/. There each candidate has completed paperwork which will give delegates a sense of their leadership and vision for the church.

In between balloting, a candidate forum sponsored by the Black Methodists for Church Renewal will be held at 7 p.m. July 12 before the first ballot is cast at 2:30 p.m. July 13. All of the worship and plenary sessions will be at the Peoria Civic Center. Live streaming of plenaries and worship by visiting: www.igrc.org/ncj2016live

In order to be elected, a candidate must receive 60 percent of the valid ballots cast in any round of voting. Voting continues until there are four elections to fill the vacancies left by retirement.

Read more about the candidates...
Thomas Kemper on Anderson Cooper Istanbul Attack
GBGM exec not hurt in Turkish airport attack

A United Methodist mission official caught up in the attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport is calling for a show of solidarity in response.

Thomas Kemper, top executive, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries was in transit from Berlin on Turkish Airlines on June 28 -- waiting in a lounge for a flight to Japan -- when the terrorist attack began.

He though about people who live in places where they experience such fear "every day and every night," Kemper told United Methodist News Service in a June 29 phone interview. "I felt very deeply there's a joint shared humanity and the need for solidarity."

Two of the attackers began shooting in the international terminal and then detonated their suicide vests. Kemper hid in a back room near the lounge kitchen for 30 to 40 minutes before a staff person said it was safe to come out.

A third terrorist was in a nearby parking lot, CNN reported. At least 41 people were killed and 239 people injured.

Read more...
Sincerely,
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Paul E. Black
Illinois Great Rivers Conference
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