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 168th
Annual Conference
Proceedings Summary
Northern Illinois Annual Conference Report
The 168th Northern Illinois Annual Conference convened June 9-12, 2007 in St. Charles, Illinois.
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung presided over the conference with the theme of “Sharing God’s Gifts: The Heart of
Global Missions.” Bishop Jung told the conference, “In all we celebrate today, the hand of God is evident.
God treasures the gift of each person in our conference and in our churches. No one is excluded from the
family of God.” He also reminded people how in the season of Pentecost there was a lesson for us today
when, “People went from timid and afraid to bold, turned from inward looking to outward looking for others,
and the Holy Spirit overcame confusion, and unity came out of diversity.”
The Mission theme was celebrated with the presence of Bishop Gaspar Domingos of the West Angola
Conference, Bishop Fritz Mutti speaking about the UM Global Aids Fund, and retired Bishops Judith Craig and
Sheldon Duecker along with Rev. Grace Imathiu leading members in three days of morning Bible study. A major
new growth initiative, Harvest 2020 was launched, which seeks to revitalize existing congregations, build
closer cooperation for growing ministry within district clusters, and plant 100 new faith communities by the
year 2020. Bishop Jung ordained 12 Elders and 2 Deacons and Commissioned 5 toward Elders orders and 3 toward
Deacons orders. 18 clergy retired, with a combined total ministry years exceeding 500. The annual Laity
Address was delivered by conference Lay Leader, Roger Curless who challenged members by asking: “What is
keeping us from risking more, trying more, dreaming more? God wants us to fly …” and “We need to see as God
sees.”
24 delegates were elected to General and Jurisdictional Conferences. In other business, the conference
passed a budget of 7,563,190. 23 resolutions passed along with 5 petitions which were endorsed for General
Conference. Highlights of the resolutions/petitions include:
Inclusiveness Resolutions:
A number of resolutions around the issue “inclusiveness" including,
“affirming all families”, an acceptance of the definition that “Inclusiveness means openness, acceptance,
and support that enables all persons to participate in the life of the Church, the community, and the world
and denies every semblance of discrimination,” and that the definition of “status” in Article IV of the
Constitution of the church that includes heterosexual, homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender status of single
persons and persons who avow they are in committed, loving relationships.
Farm worker justice in the fast food industry supply chain:
Contact with Burger King, Subway and other
large tomato purchasers to follow Taco Bell’s and McDonald’s lead of working directly improve tomato pickers’
wages and working conditions.
Pursuing Peace & Justice in the Holy Land:
United Methodist Church agencies are encouraged to use
financial leverage to push for accountability among corporations conducting business in regions of the
world with civil and political unrest, particularly in the Holy Land
eSafety & Ethics:
Authorizing the development of a conference Task Force on e-Safety and Ethics to develop training
materials and opportunities for children, youth, parents, clergy and church leaders on topics of safe and
moral use of electronic media and communications.
Membership stands at 105,360 at the end of 2006, down 2,242 from the previous year. Average worship
attendance was 45,218, down from 46,218 the previous year.
Susan Dal Porto
Interim Director of Communications
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