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2015 Annual Conference
 
Communicator's 
Corner
.......................
 
Missionary Visit
 
Clara M. Biswas

Reaching out to the children who work in the garbage dumps or wander the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia is the passion of Clara Mridula Biswas.  Zion United Methodist Church of Hampshire will host a public reception for her on Wednesday, July 22 from 1 to 3 PM at 157 West Jefferson Avenue.  Everyone is invited.
 A free-will offering will be gratefully received. Click here to learn more.


Share Your Stories of H.O.P.E.

United Methodist congregations are being invited to share stories about how they are making disciples for the transformation of the world as they offer the H.O.P.E of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.

Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, which developed the acronym H.O.P.E. (Hospitality, Opportunity, Purpose, Engagement) to help remember steps in disciple-making, is posting the stories to celebrate how individuals and congregations make disciples on a new website,UMCHOPE.org.
  
Click here to learn more. 
   
Artwork for Sale 
  
If you missed the sale of postcards and notecards of the beautiful "water"
images painted by Rev. Kristine Marshall which incorporated our worship theme of "Replenish", today (July 9)  is the last day to order them online.  

Proceeds will go toward the Bishop's Appeal for Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors.
    
 
Summer Volunteers Needed

Several Safe Haven sites at United Methodist Churches in Chicago are in need of summer volunteers. Click here  for more informaiton.
 


eNews                                                                                                 July 9, 2015                                                             
Website launched for clergy families


A new website is now available for clergy, their spouses and their families. Launched mid-June by the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) of The United Methodist Church, the website is a result of a clergy-family-care summit held last November. The Chicago meeting consisted clergy, clergy spouses, adult children of clergy and general agency staff. 

 

"The web page can provide resources to family members, often spouses, who might be reluctant to go to a district superintendent for help," says Northern Illinois Conference Bishop Sally Dyck, a participant in the summit. "It can be a 'first call for help' location for clergy families in transition." <<Click here to read full story.

 

 

 

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry - July 20-24

Join clergy, seminarians, Christian educators, young adult leaders and other faith-based advocates for children for spiritual renewal, networking, movement-building workshops, and continuing education about the urgent needs

of children at the intersection of race and poverty. This is the Children's Defense Fund 21st Annual Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry and will be held at Haley Farm Clinton, Tennessee. Scholarships are available, especially course credit for seminarians. Click here for more information and registration.

 

Trustees Training Event
Attention All Pastors and Church Trustees: Don't Miss This!
 
The NIC Board of Trustees and Office of Congregational Development and Redevelopment are hosting a FREE training event for trustees!
 
How to Maintain Our Sacred Spaces
When: Saturday, August 29, 2015
Time: 8:30 a.m. until 12:15 p.m.
Where: Barrington UMC (98 Algonquin Rd.; Barrington, IL 60010)

Join us for this FREE training event which will cover topics related to risk management, maintenance of our facilities, space-sharing guidelines for congregations, and energy efficiency.  All Clergy, local church trustees, District Board of Church Location and Building members, and District Strategy Team members are encouraged to attend this valuable training.
 
Register online by clicking here.
 
Questions about the event?  Contact Bob Burkhart, Chair of the Conference Board of Trustees (rgburkhart@att.net or 708-309-4988)
Questions about registration? Contact Kathy Barker, NIC Office Database Coordinator (kbarker@umcnic.org or 312-346-9766 ext. 710)
 
Although this is a FREE event, you must register to attend.

Sign up for Plumbline 2015
plumbline

October 11-14, 2015

New York City

 

Plumbline Tour '15 is an invitation to all United Methodist High School Youth to learn how to reflect on social justice issues from a Christian perspective.

 

Our trip this year will about the United Nations - especially the UN Development Goals.  
 

Early Registration Deadline: August 10.

 


Know a youth who would like to go? Please pass along this info.
Annual Conference Wrap Up

A report wrapping up the business of the 2015 Annual

 Conference is now available on the NIC website. Click here to read the full article. Also, the July/August Reporter is now available online with highlights and photos. Click here to check it out. Look for it to be delivered to your m

ailboxes soon.  

 

Annual Conference DVDs

Copies of the following services will soon be available on DVD: Opening Worship (Acts of Repentance), Memorial, Retirement, Ordination, Episcopal Address, Hispanic/Latino Celebration. All are $5 except for Ordination, which is $10 (set of 2). Shipping is $5 for up to 10 DVDs. Please contact Susan Gieseler at:  sgieseler@umcnic.org or 847-931-0710 ext. 17. Some of the services and plenary sessions were recorded and archived via Ustream and can be found by clicking here. Our thanks to Rev. Keck Mowry for providing the live-streaming of annual conference.

 

For more information visit: www.umcnic.org/AC2015.  

Free Custom Door Hangers

RETHINK CHURCH is offering each United Methodist Church 100 FREE door hangers to help you reach out to your neighborhood. We will customize, print, and ship them directly to you, ready to be distributed in your community. There are four different design options to use any time of the year with a "Church Can Happen Anywhere" message. You can get 100 free door hangers of your choice while supplies last! Offer ends December 1. Order now.

News & Events

Imagine No Malaria Fundraiser - July 26
Wesley United Methodist Church is hosting a charitable benefit to raise money for "Imagine No Malaria" on Sunday, July 16, 5pm at Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N Broadway, Aurora, IL. Our entertainment for the evening will be music featuring Dan Chase and Alyssa Allgood, DownBeat Magazine Award Winner and finalist in the upcoming Shure Montreaux Jazz Voice Competition in Switzerland. Our goal is to raise $5,000 for "Imagine No Malaria". Tickets are $35.00. A full evening of music, spirited bidding and fellowship is being planned for our guests as they bid on the many varied items. For information about tickets and dinner menu, please click here.

UMW National Seminar - July 31 and Aug. 1
United Methodist Women from across the country will gather at the University of Illinois-Chicago in late July for a National Seminar, an in-depth experience of worship, Bible Study, education and action for social justice. National Seminar is a leadership development experience for United Methodist Women members to draw on faith and biblical tradition to discern and respond to justice priorities through service and advocacy. Bishop Sally Dyck will be presenting on July 31 at a town hall meeting on mass incarceration from 7-9pm. Click here for the event details.


Calling all Disciples - Training Session

You can lead a DISCIPLE Bible study in your congregation or in one of the prisons or jails in Illinois. Come and be trained with the latest tools for leading this life-changing study. Date: August 15 at Crossroads of Faith UMC in Bolingbrook starting at 8:30am. Click here for more information.


Stewardship Summit- Aug. 22
Visionary Stewardship! United Methodist Foundation's 12th Annual Stewardship Summit will be held Saturday, Aug. 22 at Barrington UMC from 9am-3pm. Keynote Speaker is Rev. Dr. Michael Vilardo. Click here for registration and details.

Mark Your Calendar
(click on title for more information)