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Communicator's
Corner:
In Memoriam
Bishop William Morris
Our sympathies to the family of Bishop Morris who passed away Jan. 14, 2016. Bishop Morris was
ordained in the ordained in the Rock River Conference (as a deacon in 1959 and as elder in 1961), received his seminary training at Garrett, and was pastor of Union Avenue Community Methodist and Christ Methodist (Chicago Southern District) while a member of the NIC. He transferred to the East Tennessee Conference in 1962. Read more on his life and ministry.
Preparing for Lent
Ash Wednesday is Feb. 10. Keep checking UMC.org for resources, the latest stories and a new quiz for the 2016 Lenten season.
UM Foundation Grants
Learn more about one church which recently received a UM Foundation grant for its Hispanic/Latino outreach ministry and is hosting a multi-cultural retreat on
Saturday, Jan. 23.
Directory Coming Soon...
A new Northern Illinois Conference Church, Clergy & Laity directory will be available soon.
If you ordered a directory through the 2015 Annual Conference registration, one will be mailed to you. An updated pdf of the clergy list is now available on our website www.umcnic.org/directory.
If you would like to purchase a directory for $10, please contact Susan Gieseler at sgieseler@umcnic.org.
It's not too early to start thinking about next summer and camps at Wesley Woods or Reynoldswood.
Click here for a listing of the 2016 camps, dates and prices. Also look for and share this special insert in the Dec/Jan Reporter.
Lay Leadership
2016 Trainings
Jan. 30 - Location: Glenview UMC
Jan. 23 - Location: Faith UMC, Orland Park
Location: First UMC, Dixon
Jan. 30
Location: First UMC of Crystal Lake
Jan. 30
Location: Faith UMC, Freeport
District Lay Academies
Click on District for more info: Sundays from Feb. 14-Mar. 13
Apr. 16 & 23
Mar. 5 & 12
Elgin -
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Laity Convocation - Register Today
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Please join your Conference Board of Laity on Saturday, February 6, 2016 for INSIDE OUT! (Inner Strength for Greater Outreach).
The event continues with the theme of Who Is My Neighbor?, and seeks to help us renew our spirits in order to be more effective in our Christian outreach. In other words, be renewed inside, be led by the Spirit and then reach out! Thus, INSIDE OUT!
This year's special keynote speaker is Ray Buckley, the interim Director of the Center for Native American Spirituality and Christian Study. The event will start at 9am with worship and will also include afternoon workshops concluding at 3pm.
Early registration cost is $15 per person and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. Registration after January 30 will be $20 per person. For more details and to register click here.
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Register for the Winter 2016 Landscape Regional Conversations
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Following the presentation at the special session of annual conference in November, Bishop Dyck would like to give an update on the NIC strategic work thus far.
"What we have learned from the Landscape tool which was administered in early September to 600 laity and clergy (with 400 responses) is that we need to be clear about our purpose as an annual conference (just what does the annual conference uniquely do within the wider connection) and specifically how our annual conference can best equip local churches to make disciples of Jesus Christ."
Click here to read the Bishop's full report: (please note the names of some of the committee members were inadvertently left off while updating the website for a short time but the article now reflects the complete list).
Registration is open for the Listening Sessions and the deadline is Feb. 15. You may choose any location or date that best suits your schedule.
Laity Listening Sessions:
*Aurora/Elgin - Barrington UMC Sunday, February 28 (3:30 -6:00 PM)
*Aurora/Elgin - New Lenox UMC - Wednesday, February 24 (10:00-3:00 PM)
Location: Naperville: Grace UMC from 9am-3pm. This event is for elected conference leadership and those serving on a conference committee. Participants will be sent a personal email invitation soon with a registration link. Clergy and laity attending the Purpose Summit are also encouraged to attend one of the above listening sessions.
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Apportionments Update
With a handful of checks still in transit, 2015 apportionment giving stands at $6,108,752, representing a 3% increase over 2014. An additional $882,371 has been giving to second-mile, designated causes.
Earlier this week, the Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CCFA) voted to pay General Church Apportionments at 72%, the same rate as Apportionment receipts from all NIC churches--a practice shared by many other Annual Conferences. In addition, the council decided to contribute an additional $177,217 to the World Service Fund for a total of 90%. The Book of Discipline states that the World Service Fund is our first priority for benevolent giving, providing a financial lifeline to a long list of Christian mission and ministry through the denomination.
Conference Treasurer Lonnie Chafin said after the conference call, "Following the disappointing outcome of 2014, we set out in February to reduce our spending plan by 7% across all areas of the budget. The Cabinet, Program Council and Congregational Development staff all worked faithfully and diligently this year to make the best use of resources entrusted to us by local churches. We met that goal, so to be able pay 90% of World Service is a victory for us."
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Rainbow Covenant New Application
 The Rainbow Covenant Advance Application for 2016-2020 is now available. Rainbow Covenant is a way for an organization or ministry connected to the NIC to be supported by local United Methodist congregations. Every organization wishing to be included as a Rainbow Covenant Advance must submit this application. This includes all current Advances as well. The deadline is February 15, 2016. Click here for more details and the application.
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Clergy Tax Seminar - Jan. 28
Sponsored by the United Methodist Foundation at First UMC at the Chicago Temple from 9am-12noon. Lynette Rice, CPA, CFP and Benefits Educator with the General Board of Pension & Health Benefits will present important and timely information, including:
- Planning your compensation package
- Reporting income
- Deductions
- Clergy housing allowance exclusion
- Professional expenses
- Tax Planning
- The importance of UMPIP and other pension issues
Registration open. Click here for more information.
Healing and Building Summit - Feb. 27
Registration is open for Urban Strategy's Healing and Building Summit at Maple Park UMC in Chicago. Our plenary speaker will be Dr. Colleen Cicchetti from Robert & Ann Lurie Children's Hospital to focus on healing. Click here for more information and to register today.
Full on Faith 2015
All congregations are invited to put faith into action by helping hungry neighbors during Full on Faith week at the Northern Illinois Food Bank! Sign up to volunteer during the week of February 22-27, and help the Food Bank fill all volunteer shifts with members of faith groups. Get more info and sign up by clicking here.
Local Church IT Support
Is your church interested in help with Managed Information Technology Services? The Northern Illinois Conference is looking to assist local churches with reducing their IT support costs by providing this service for a low monthly cost compared to what other vendors can offer you or for what you are currently paying. Please feel free to reach out to us via phone 312-334-0729 and speak with our Information Technology Manager Mo Darwish or email him at mdarwish@umcnic.org for further questions/discussions.
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(click on title for more information)
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - (Jan. 18-25) This year's theme: Called to Proclaim the Mighty Acts of God invites the whole Christian community throughout the world to pray in communion with the prayer of Jesus "that they all may be one" (John 17:21). Resources are available for worship and background information to help plan your events by clicking here.
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John Wesley Institute- (Feb. 7-9) at the Aylesford Carmelite Center in Darien. Registration deadline Jan. 24.
- Spanish as a Second Language Training - (Feb. 13) 12:30pm at Camp Reynoldswood.
- EUB Heritage Symposium - (Mar. 16-18) at North Central College in Naperville.
- Bishop's Youth Bus Tour - (Apr. 16) Save the date! This year's trip will focus on inter-religious work in local communities that youth are doing across Northern Illinois. Please e-mail mmann@umcnic.org for more information.
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