At the end of October, on our last day in the Northern Illinois Conference offices at the Chicago: Temple, while packing boxes and sorting through years of materials, I found the memories of that space bubbling up and sat down to capture a few of those images. This month’s article is my reflection at that moment of change.
Read MoreThe horrendous mass shooting this past Saturday night at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, breaks my heart and calls me to cry out, “How long, O Lord?”
Read MoreWhat a joy it is to be in the house of the Lord to hear the Word and sing songs of praise to God. For the second year, the NIC Discipleship Task Force held a Fall conference-wide worship service. This year’s service was held at Journey of Hope UMC in Elgin. The service was also available via livestream. Rev. P. Devon Brown of St. Mark UMC (Chicago) and Rev. Heewon Kim of Evans UMC & Harlem UMCs (Rockford) and New Life UMC (Machesney Park) led the worship service planning. Choirs from Journey of Hope UMC in Elgin, Korean UMC in Flossmoor and St. Mark UMC (St. Mark Gospirational Choir) in Chicago provided moving musical selections.
Read MoreThe word Fresh [Expressions] was borrowed from The Declaration of Assent, which is made by deacons, priests, and bishops of the Church of England. The Church of England and British Methodists started Fresh Expressions to revitalize existing churches and to start new forms of churches.
Read MoreClergy and lay delegates from conferences across the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church convened November 2-5 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Jurisdictional Conference 2022. In his opening service message, “God Has Us Right Where God Wants Us,” retired Bishop Bruce Ough spoke from Ezekiel 37:1-14, The Valley of Dry Bones.
Read MoreOn the final day of the North Central Jurisdictional Conference (NCJ), the Committee on Episcopacy assigned Bishop Dan Schwerin to the Northern Illinois Conference, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
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