A couple of months ago, the NCJ bishops (called the College of Bishops) began to meet and discuss how to provide coverage for the NIC during the 2021 year. In consultation with the NCJ Committee on Episcopacy, the NIC Committee on Episcopacy, and the NIC cabinet, a strong preference was made for a retired bishop to provide coverage.
Read MoreIt’s been eight weeks since we published our last print version of the Northern Illinois Conference Reporter. Even before the April edition went to press, a pandemic was declared and residents in Illinois were asked to “Stay at Home.” It quickly became clear that a monthly print communication would be eclipsed by rapidly developing events and more spontaneous communication was needed. With that reality, the NIC staff did a sharp pivot.
Read MoreFor the first time, clergy gathered not in-person all together but behind a computer screen or on the phone from their homes or offices for the annual Clergy Session while practicing social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreIn June 2019, the NIC adopted three strategic goals to help us deepen our commitment to becoming God’s Beloved Community. We want to reflect on the second goal: TO LIVE OUT THE CONVICTION THAT RACISM IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
Read MoreGovernor J. B. Pritzker is expected to move all the regions of Illinois into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan on June 26. This will continue to move us toward more in-person gatherings but still with restrictions.
Read MoreWhite privilege. Did you just brace yourself, if you look like me? It’s a term that’s been around at least since the late 1980s, but we have heard and learned more about it recently. Many of us benefit from white privilege. Yet I would imagine there are some of you who have wrestled with the term as I have. What do you mean by “privilege,” you might ask. You might have had an upbringing like the one I did (or more difficult) so that you rankle a bit at the use of “privilege” in your own story.
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