Dear Members of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference:
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Bishop Sally Dyck
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Blessings on you during this Lenten season as we anticipate celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter!
I am writing to announce a special session of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference on March 16, 2013 at Elgin First United Methodist Church (216 Highland, Elgin, IL 60120), starting with registration at 8:30 a.m. and beginning with opening welcome and worship at 9:30 a.m. We expect to meet until about noon.
The purpose of this special session is to discuss an important but complex recommendation that comes to us from a joint meeting of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration, the Conference Board of Trustees, and the Cabinet on February 9, 2013.
The proposal is a means to refinance mortgages for qualifying local churches in order to redirect their resources from building indebtedness to ministry within the local church and beyond.
While we know this special session is being called within a few weeks of the event and that it is during the Lenten season, we hope that all clergy and all lay members to annual conference will make every attempt to attend. Please make sure that the lay member to annual conference is notified and if he/she is unable to attend, that the alternate is notified or care is taken for the procedure to elect an alternate to annual conference. Any change in the lay member to annual conference needs to be reported to the district administrative assistant. Registration for the special session will begin online very soon.
Further information, including the recommended resolution which will be before us, will be made available at least a week before the specially-called session. All resources will be made available online but if a hard copy is needed or you have questions, please call the conference office/Chicago Metropolitan regional office (312.346.9766), Aurora/Elgin regional office (847.931.0710) or DeKalb/Rockford regional office (815.561.8285).
I look forward to being with you at this special annual conference!
In ministry together,
Bishop Sally Dyck
