The 2018 Annual Conference will gather for another year June 3-5 at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Ill. This year’s theme is “Navigating Uncharted Waters” with a focus on Romans 5:3b-4 – “trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Bishop Sally Dyck says the theme will help us focus on how we anticipate the unknowns in life, our ministries, and communities.

“As we navigate the many changes in our world and church, we remember those words of St. Paul in Romans 5 who encourages us to grow in faith and move toward hope together as we face unfamiliar and uncertain times,” said Bishop Dyck.

Your Annual Conference committee began working shortly after the close of last year’s conference, reflecting on your evaluations. While details are still being worked out, here are some broad stroke plans for you as you begin to plan to attend:

• Gary Rand will be working with our worship team to develop worship services and lead us in worship during Annual Conference.
• The Conference will open on Sunday, June 3 at 4 p.m. with the Ordination Service. Watch for more information about clergy processional and all other related instructions.
• Clergy session, like last year, will be held at an earlier date on May 15, 2018. Bishop Sally Dyck will make the official call for that at a later time. Detailed information will also be shared in coming days. 
•  Among other business pieces, we will celebrate all who are ending their ministry as appointed clergy in a Retirement Service on Monday, June 4 and honor those who have transitioned into eternal life in a Memorial Service on Tuesday, June 5. Please remember to submit names of Lay Members to Annual Conference who have may have died since June 2017 to Megan Casey at mcasey@umcnic.org.
• We will be offering the “New Member Orientation” on Sunday, June 3. Watch for location in the upcoming updates.

A few reminders:

•  ALL historical documents and proposed legislation for the conference must be submitted* by April 1, 2018 to Rev. Katie Voigt, @ ACdocuments@umcnic.org. No exceptions, please.
•  Look for more information and updates in the Conference weekly eNews and the Reporter. Remember to sign up for eNews if you have not already done so at www.umcnic.org (scroll down halfway and click on “sign up for our Newsletter”).
• All this information and more will also be shared on the Annual Conference page here at www.umcnic.org/AC2018. 
• Childcare will be available for those attending the Annual Conference for children 12 years old and under.
• Cokesbury Bookstore and Display tables will again share the space (selected rooms of the St. Charles Ballroom).
• Our onsite Accessibility Coordinator will be present to help with any needs (vision, movement, hearing, etc.), within our ability. Please be sure to indicate in your registration how we can extend welcome and hospitality to you during Annual Conference.

If you are interested in ushering, greeting or volunteering during plenaries and worship services, please email Alka Lyall at pastoralkalyall@gmail.com.

Your Annual Conference committee is always in need of your prayerful support as we continue to strive to make your experience at Annual Conference session informative and inspiring but also comfortable.

*All documents must be in the Action/Rationale format with a maximum of 500 words for the rationale, be submitted as a WORD document and editable. At-conference documents must be submitted to her BEFORE the start of the annual conference. The author must submit both a printed version and on a flash drive or similar USB storage device (device may or may not be returned), and the author must bring 1,000 copies to the annual conference session for distribution.