Bishop's Monday Message: Each One Counts!

Some people make fun of us for this, but Ken and I pick up coins on the street, coins that people have dropped, tossed or lost in some way. It began because shortly after I came to Chicago, I had a few nasty falls while running (on not-so-good sidewalks). Of course, I’m of the age that your doctor asks you at your annual checkup, “have you fallen lately?” I just laughed and said, “I’m a runner. Of course, I’ve fallen!” And she responded by saying, “Watch your feet when you run!”

A virtual first for annual conference

“When did I first start zooming?” I wondered one day. I went back in my virtual calendar and to the best of my knowledge, it was September 10, 2019. Almost to the day of writing this, it’s been a year of Zoom video conferencing. But not all days and weeks and months of zooming are equal. Since mid-March, I have been zooming every day, sometimes for hours. My guess is that many of you have been zooming these last months (or using another platform like Zoom). Even my 88-year-old mother zooms (when her computer works), and she’s very proud to be the only person in her senior facility to do so.

Bishop's Monday Message: From I to We

Have become more I than We? Have we become more individualistic and less community-minded? We see this in the church and have for years as we talked about how people were more spiritual than religious. Being spiritual without being religious came to mean that people claimed to be able to connect with God through nature, an inspiring book or some music, and prayer (often an impassioned “help” in times of trouble), but didn’t feel that they needed all that other stuff—you know, stuff like the organized church! More I and less We.

Planting justice and harvesting hope for NIJFON

Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors (NIJFON) has been blessed with a $25,000 gift from Berry Memorial UMC in Chicago through the sale of the church’s historic building. As Berry UMC seeks to plant the seeds of a new church home in Chicago, they also chose to plant seeds for justice through supporting the mission and vision of NIJFON.

UMM Spiritual Congress: Finding Solutions to the Challenges of Our Time

The United Methodist Men’s online Spiritual Congress 2020 brought clergy and laity together to hear top leaders discuss ways to mitigate and eventually eliminate racism. Some speakers were general in their presentations, but others gave concrete ways to improve understanding, build trust, and break down barriers.

Sympathy Notice: Patricia A. Cantwell

Mrs. Patricia A. Cantwell, a spouse of retired clergy Rev. John R. Cantwell of the Northern Illinois Conference, passed away on Thursday, August 20, 2020, at the age of 83.

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