Once I told my congregation that I wanted to tattoo this verse on the inside of my eyelids: “…we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Yeah, they thought it was a little weird, too, to imagine tattooing something on the inside of your eyelids. But it’s a message that guides us through our times of trouble to a place of hope.
Read MoreThe killing of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25 has rocked our nation and world and pierced us to the core. The video image seared into our minds, hearts and souls is horrific, terrifying, disgusting and outrageous. While we’ve each made commitments and statements in our respective areas along with many of our cabinet members, we think it important to speak together as the North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops. We affirm the work being done in each of our conferences, the work of the Council of Bishops, the work of our General Agencies, and the work of our ecumenical and interfaith partners in responding to this heartbreaking, soul-shattering event.
Read MoreOne of the annual conference’s strategic goals is “to live out the conviction that racism is incompatible with Christian teaching.” This is a tall order as we come to it with four centuries of baggage. Recently I was asked what it means: “racism is incompatible with Christian teaching.” We all need to wrestle with what it means in our own lives, communities, churches, and certainly our nation.
Read MoreGiven the uncertainty of how long we will need to maintain safe distancing, and how long before gatherings of about 1000+ people will be permissible, the Annual Conference Committee and Bishop have approved to hold a ‘virtual 2020 Annual Conference session’ on Saturday, November 14, 2020.
Read MoreJude was thought to be the brother of Jesus. He wrote to Jewish Christians living in the Gentile world. That means it was unfamiliar, uncharted territory for Jude and for those early Christians. Jude wanted people to stay in close relationship with God and each other in love, sticking to Christian teaching when there was so much fake-religion out there!
Read MoreFrom references of Superman, Xbox and even 80s pop singer Rick Astley, the first-ever Northern Illinois Conference social media meme contest was a hit. Nine youth and young adults submitted their original memes for the “What does Jesus Meme to Me?” contest held this spring.
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