March

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NIC will sponsor children’s summit

(March 31) The Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) will sponsor a two-day “Summit on Children” Aug. 4-5 at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles.

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung said the summit has grown out of conversations he has had with clergy and laity in the conference about ways to carry out in word and deed an ongoing commitment to mission and ministry for and with children and the impoverished.

“It is clear to me that there has been great passion for the Bishops’ Initiative on Children and Poverty in Northern Illinois,” Jung said, “and we have good reason to be proud of the accomplishments made in our conference over the past eight years. We have not yet completed the work of reshaping and resourcing the United Methodist Church and of evangelization with and on behalf of children and the poor.”

Jung said the Council of Bishops has designated children and poverty as two of the seven vision pathways that shape its life and residential area leadership.

The Rev. Bill Shaw, pastor at Our Redeemer’s UMC, Schaumburg, and Jean Bush, NIC director of Leadership and Program Development, are leading the design team for the summit.

Bishop Jung said the summit will give the conference an opportunity to affirm core values of ministry and advocacy with and for children and those who live in poverty; spend time in theological reflection related to the priorities and strategies of the NIC; articulate ways for congregations to build relationships with the children and poor of the local communities; and adopt a plan of mission and ministry that connects local realities with conference resources.

Questions and suggestion for the summit should be directed to Shaw, (847) 882-6116 or pastorbill@core.com, or Bush, (847) 931-0710, ext. 14, or jbush@umcnic.org.

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Bishop Dyck to speak at Order
of Elders on targeting wholeness

(March 31) Minnesota Bishop Sally Dyck will be keynote speaker at the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Order of Elders annual gathering Tuesday, May 2, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at First UMC, 1032 Maple Ave., Downers Grove. Theme of the gathering is “Targeting Wholeness: Body, Mind, & Spirit.”

The gathering will address the issue of clergy health and seek to promote wholeness among clergy, said the Rev. Ouk-Yean Kim Jueng, chairperson of the NIC Order of Elders. “While trying to meet the never-ending demands in ministry,” she said, “many of us find self-care at the bottom of our daily to-do list. In the stressful work environment of ministry, we have neglected our own health. As a result, statistics show that we, the clergy in general, are not healthy.”

Workshops will be “Treat Yourself to a Lifetime of Healthy Living” by Karla Gilley, R.D.; “Targeting Exercise for Stress Reduction” by Michelle York, personal trainer and YMCA fitness coordinator; “Yoga for Health” by Tiffanie Sperling, yoga instructor, exercise physiologist and fitness instructor for MUMS; “Meditation” by Sister Rita Ann Houlihan, spiritual director at Cenacle Retreat Center in Warrenville; and “Balance for Wholeness” by Mary Figuereda, benefit educator, General Board of Pension and Health.

Gathering and registration will be from 8:30 to 9 a.m. Dyck will speak from 9:15 to 10 a.m. Workshops will be from 10:05 to 11:15 a.m. Closing worship will be from 11:20 a.m. to noon.

Ordained an elder in the East Ohio Conference, Dyck was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 and assigned to the Minnesota Annual Conference.

Dyck begins each day with prayer, Bible study and a 3- to 6-mile run. Last year she challenged Minnesota clergy to “give our fat up to God” by developing healthy habits and losing weight during Lent. She asked clergy to eat five to nine “clean” fresh fruits and vege-tables per day: without mayonnaise, sour cream or cream soups.

For every pound clergy lost, she donated $2 to the Minnesota Bishop’s Mission Fund to help build a church in St. Petersburg, Russia, and for La Puerta Abierta, the Spanish-language United Methodist congregation in St. Paul.

To register or for more information, contact the Rev. Deborah Fisher at First UMC, 1032 Maple Ave., Downers Grove, IL 60515, (630) 968-7120, or dgfumc@ dgfumc.org. Registration deadline is April 28.

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Carter to retire after 27 years
as leader of Advance for Christ

(March 31) The Rev. William Carter, clergy member of the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC), is preparing for retirement in June after 27 years as the top staff member of the 60-year-old Advance for Christ and His Church, the multimillion-dollar designated mission-giving program of the United Methodist Church.

Carter announced his plans to retire at a March 9-11 meeting in El Paso of the Advance Committee, which oversees the program for the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM).

“The church owes enormous gratitude to Bill Carter for his leadership of the Advance across almost three decades,” said the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the mission board. “His hand has been steadfast and his heart has been passionate for mission.”

Day will assume the leadership of the Advance on a temporary basis at the end of March, and Carter will continue as a board staff executive until his retirement.

The Advance covers hundreds of mission projects and appeals, including disaster relief and missionary support, around the world and in the United States. One hundred percent of every dollar goes to the program stipulated by the contributor. A total of $137.65 million, including donations to South Asia tsunami and Gulf Coast hurricane relief, was given to the Advance in 2005.

“The Advance is one of the most important components in mission support,” said Bishop Joel Martinez of San Antonio, GBGM president. “The transition we are currently experiencing is generational in nature. We are thankful that it is coming at a time when the Advance is strong, a condition that Bill Carter has helped to maintain.” In his report, Carter noted that from 1948 through 2005, $1.15 billion has been contributed through the Advance.

Carter also served as pastor at Maple Park UMC, Chicago, and as executive director of Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

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Update on the Crisis in Sudan: Not on our watch!

By the Rev. Chris Pierson, director,
Northern Illinois Conference Outreach and Witness Ministries

(March 31)Early in the first term of his presidency, George W. Bush read a report about Bill Clinton and his administration’s paralysis during the Rwandan genocide and wrote in the margin, “Not on my watch.” Paralysis can refer to not only the inability to move but can also refer to the inability to feel.

The world, by and large, has thus far remained paralyzed as yet another genocide takes place, this time in the Darfur region of Sudan.

One year ago I wrote regarding the crisis in Sudan. Then, estimates were that more than 300,000 Sudanese had been killed and 2 million displaced since February 2003. The situation continues to deteriorate as the violence escalates.

Today, estimates are that approximately 400,000 have died with 3.5 million persons displaced and in desperate need of food.

It is happening on our watch!

What the people of Darfur need today are not just words, but action on the part of the international community. While some efforts have been made on the part of the current administration and individual members of Congress, the efforts have not been successful at bringing peace to that region. Simply put, it has not been a top priority.

In the film “Hotel Rwanda,” which recounts the heroic efforts of hotel manager Paul Rusesabegina, who is credited with saving the lives of more than 1,200 people from ethnic extermination, he informs his staff and clientele:

“There will be no rescue, no intervention force! We can only save ourselves. Many of you know influential people abroad. You must call these people. You must tell them what will happen to us. Say ‘Goodbye!’ But, when you say ‘Goodbye,’ say it as though you are reaching through the phone and holding their hand. Let them know that if they let go of that hand, you will die. We must shame them into sending help.”

Today the people of Darfur are reaching out to us. They are asking us to not let go. They are asking us to use our influence and our voices, not to shame but, to truly challenge our government to act in substantial ways that will save lives.

I write to encourage you to learn more about the crisis in Sudan, to take immediate action, to raise awareness, and to initiate action in your congregation or community.

UMCOR is in Sudan

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has opened a ission of direct relief and rehabilitation in the embattled Darfur region of Sudan. The initial work concentrated in South Darfur. UMCOR has also worked for many months with a coalition of other humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to Sudanese refugees fleeing from Darfur into the neighboring nation of Chad.

Your gifts to UMCOR’s Sudan Emergency, Advance #184385, will support relief efforts. One hundred percent of your gift goes to humanitarian work in Sudan. Give through your local United Methodist church or send contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call toll-free (800) 554-8583 to make a credit card donation.

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Rockford Urban Ministries hosts
volunteer work teams from around nation

(March 31) Since 1999, Rockford Urban Ministries (RUM) has hosted work camps for teams of volunteers from across the nine states in the North Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, especially from the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC). Lately, crews have begun arriving from other jurisdictions and even from other denominations.

Most of the crews are a mixture of adults and high school youths. They average 20 in size, but the largest group recently was 70 Presbyterians from New Jersey.

Volunteers are housed in local churches: Centennial UMC being the primary site.

During the summer, crews work for four or five days on housing rehab, community cleanup, a kids’ youth club, and/or sorting and delivering food for the hungry. This past year, a new environmental task was established where crews learned about prairies and helped restore a former farm to its original wetland.

RUM charges work teams $15 per person per day. This covers lodging, work site, supervision, insurance and marketing the program. Work crews are responsible for their own bedding and food.

Weekend work camps are available during the winter, spring and fall.

Currently, crews are welcome at no charge to help RUM fix up its new office, a former liquor store at 201 7th St., downtown. Volunteers are needed to paint, do light carpentry, some plumbing and electrical, as well as clean and sort items for a fair trade gift shop.

The Northern Illinois Conference has supported RUM and its work sites, and churches in the NIC are more than welcome to take part in work camp opportunities.

“We are challenged with a lot of work, but blessed with a lot of volunteers,” said Stanley Campbell, RUM executive director.

For more information, call Campbell at (815) 964-7111, e-mail him at rockfordurbanmin@aol.com, or write to 201 7th St., Rockford IL 61104.

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Marcy-Newberry says ‘thank you’ for ongoing
label campaign of United Methodist Women

(March 31) Marcy-Newberry Association, a children and family well-being agency associated with the United Methodist Church on Chicago’s west side, recently acquired program supplies thanks to an ongoing label campaign by Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Women (UMW).

The UMW has been collecting labels of Campbell’s Soup and related brands for several years as part of Campbell’s Labels for Education program. Marcy-Newberry recently turned in 500,000 labels to acquire art and craft supplies, computer software programs, listening centers, a laptop computer, educational games and various other learning tools. A video/data projector was also acquired for use with the children and staff training.

“Under the dedicated leadership of Anne Genther, Conference UMW president, many volunteers trim, count and bundle the labels to be shipped to Minnesota so hundreds of children may benefit from their efforts,” said the Rev. Margaret Ann Williams, associate executive/director Church Relations at Marcy-Newberry.

Several years ago, UMW collected 1.5 million labels to acquire a van that Marcy-Newberry uses for pick ups and deliveries.

“As you can see, the need for the labels has not diminished,” said Williams. She said two large program supply orders of approximately 500,000 labels each have been placed since acquiring the van.

“On behalf of the children and families served through our child care, Head Start and school-age programs, I say thank you, thank you,” said Williams. “As you enjoy bowls of soup, casseroles, Prego, Pepperidge Farm and Franco American products. save the labels. Those labels enable this community center to fill budgetary voids for needed supplies for our programs and office.”

For more about the campaign, contact Genther at (773) 881-1788 or Williams at (312) 829-7555.

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Slessarev-Jamir to lead Urban
Ministries program at Claremont

(March 31) Claremont (California) School of Theology has named Dr. Helene Slessarev-Jamir as the Mildred M. Hutchinson Associate Professor of Urban Ministries. Her appointment will begin in the 2006-07 academic year.

Slessarev-Jamir is associate professor of politics and international relations at Wheaton College, where she has served as director of the Urban Studies program since 1991. She serves on the Board of Directors for Sojourners Magazine, the National Hispanic/Latino Ministry Plan committee of the United Methodist Church, and is a member of Plainfield UMC, where her husband, the Rev. David Jamir, serves as senior pastor.

While at Wheaton, Slessarev-Jamir has worked as an independent policy research and planning consultant for various Chicago-based educational and social service agencies, as well as a strategist for local political candidates. Prior to joining the Wheaton faculty she worked for the Chicago Urban League and as a consultant for the city of Chicago.

Slessarev-Jamir has also presented and published extensive research on issues related to faith-based social engagement, including community organizing, ministry among immigrant communities, and urban poverty in a global economy. Her books include Job Training under the New Federalism and The Betrayal of the Urban Poor.

Claremont is an ecumenical graduate theological school of the United Methodist Church.

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Joaquin Garcia announces retirement

(March 31) Joaquin Garcia will retire from vice president for student affairs at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, effective June 1.

Expressing deep appreciation and gratitude for Garcia’s service to the seminary, former president Dr. Ted Campbell said, “[Joaquin] filled the important role of pastor to our students, instituted a chaplain-in-residence program, rejuvenated the weekly community meal, reenergized the leadership scholarship program, worked to expand Hispanic ministries in conjunction with the Northern Illinois Conference and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church, and provided an impetus to cultivate the recruitment campaign.”

Before joining the seminary’s administration in 2003, Garcia held positions for over 24 years with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), the most recent as assistant general secretary of the section of deacons and diaconal ministries in the division of ordained ministry.

An ordained deacon and member of the Louisiana Conference, Garcia served from 2000-2005 as vice president of Diakonia of the Americas and the Caribbean. He has traveled extensively in Europe, Latin America and the Philippines on behalf of the United Methodist Church helping to develop the ministry of the deacon.

Garcia is married to the Rev. Barbara Garcia, clergy assistant to Nashville Area Bishop Richard Wills Jr. Currently commuting between Nashville and Chicago, Garcia’s retirement will enable him to return to Nashville to be near his family.

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‘Refreshing Worship’ will focus
on use of multimedia April 29

(March 24) The Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Communications Commission and NIC Office of Congregational Development and Redevelopment will sponsor a workshop on using multimedia in worship on Saturday, April 29. The workshop, “Refreshing Worship,” will feature two pioneers in the field, Len Wilson and Jason Moore of Midnight Oil Productions.

Wilson and Moore were members of the worship design team whose efforts almost tripled attendance to more than 3,000 people each weekend in worship at Ginghamsburg UMC in Ohio. They are authors of Design Matters: Creating Powerful Imagery for Worship.

Wilson has also authored Digital Storytellers: The Art of Communicating the Gospel in Worship and The Wired Church: Making Media Ministry.

Moore, an award-winning digital artist, is cofounder of Lumicon Digital Productions, a nonprofit arm of UMR Communications that is a teaching center for assisting churches in the ministry of digital culture.

“This is a phenomenal chance to be mentored by leading specialists in the field of incorporating digital media in worship,” said the Rev. Dr. James Galbreath, Communications Commission chair. “Buying a projector for the sanctuary is only the beginning; you must have useful and appropriate content to use with it. The workshop includes practical skill-building in the creation and use of metaphor and images, but also provides theological grounding for such use in worship settings.”

Refreshing Worship will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Cornerstone UMC, 41W170 Russell Rd., Elgin. Registration will be at 8 a.m.

Four sessions will be presented:

“I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity for building up your church’s resource in the area of digital culture ministry,” Galbreath said. “If you are already equipped for projection, bring as many members of your media team as you can.

“If you are just exploring adding such imagery to your worship, this is an excellent introduction for you and anyone in your church wanting to find out more about media in worship.”

Cost of the workshop is $109 for one registration from a church, $89 apiece for two to seven, and $69 for groups of eight or more.

To register, contact Judy Siaba, Northern Illinois Conference, 77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago, IL 60602, (312) 346-9766, ext. 124, or (800) 382-3114 outside 312 area, or send e-mail to jsiaba@umcnic.org.

For more information, contact the Rev. James Galbreath, (815) 872-2821; or Linda Rhodes, NIC director of Communications, (312) 346-9766, ext. 107.

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Millard urges to take risks, depend on God

(March 24) The Rev. Dr. Kent Millard, senior pastor of St. Luke’s UMC in Indianapolis, a 5,200-member congregation with 3,400 in worship on Sundays in 11 different services, advised attendees at “Destination Discipleship: Sharing the Faith” to take the path where you will have to depend on God.

“Often, we only do the things we know we can do on our own, don’t we?” Millard told the 150 attendees at the day-long event sponsored by the Northern Illinois Conference Nurture Ministry Team. “The path Jesus took was vulnerable: He had to depend on God.”

Millard, who is cochair of Celebration of Hope and the Large Church Initiative of the United Methodist Church, advised his listeners that whenever they meet a fork in the road, take the one where there’s a shadow of the cross. “This is the path that is most risky,” the coauthor of A Passion Driven Congregation emphasized. “It is the path where you will have to depend on God.”

In his keynote address, “Passion Driven Evangelism,” Millard said evangelism efforts should start with your own people. He lauded the United Methodist Church’s Igniting Ministry motto: Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. “If we really believe that God’s love is unconditional for all of us,” he said, “then our doors are open to everyone. This is one of our gifts that God has raised this denomination for: Everyone can come here and be a part.”

Millard said his own passion is to “renew the church for the sake of the transformation of the world.” He said other institutions, such as government, education and business, have failed to do it. “It’s important for the church to step up and make a difference,” he declared. “We have to introduce [people] to the Christ, who changes them. We have to model that same kind of love and forgiveness He demonstrated, and allow people’s lives to be transformed.”

Passion plus vision equals transformation, according to Millard. He said God is present in some way within every person. “That is a gift of God,” he said. “The purpose of the church is to help people discover that gift and fan it into flame so that they can turn it into ministry. All of us are ministers.”

Millard said some churches have grand vision statements, but little passion. Others have passion but no vision of where they’re going. “Where is God calling you to go?” he asked. “Always focus forward. We tend to focus backwards, but God is not done with us.”

Vision without passion will take you nowhere, Millard said, adding that passion without vision will end up leading you in circles. “You have lots of energy, but don’t know where you are going,” he said.

Millard said that at St. Luke’s UMC the rule is to let people in the congregation follow their passion. “Ever heard it’s a good idea, but we don’t have the money?” he asked. “If it’s of God, the money will be there. Let people in the congregation follow their passion. If they have a passion, there are 100 people out there who share the same passion.”

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, who introduced Millard, said he was grateful that Northern Illinois is a “learning community.” He said the 15 work- shops offered at Destination Discipleship were a place to share the tools and perspectives that will help Northern Illinois “accomplish passion-driven ministries and vital evangelical ministries together.”

The bishop said he hoped the attendees would go away filled with the Holy Spirit to encourage collaboration among local churches in whatever forms of ministries they can do. “The Holy Spirit will give us fresh language and fresh methods to take back into your communities,” he said. “The Holy Spirit will be nudging us, sometimes fixing us, sometimes pushing us where we want to go, making us willing to try new approaches.”

In addition to his keynote address, Millard led two workshops on passion-driven congregations. Bishop Jung also led a workshop on fruit-producing strategies. Workshops covered a wide gamut of other subjects, including small group ministries, strategies for evangelism and ministries for every age group.

“Mapping the Journey,” held at Grace UMC in Naperville, was the second of a four-year cycle of “Destination Discipleship” events sponsored by the NIC Nurture Ministry Team. Next year will be an emphasis on Christian education and stewardship. Its theme will be “Learning Along the Way.”

A follow-up to this year’s event will be on Oct. 21. “The follow-up will tap into people’s natural desire to go to church around Christmas,” said the Rev. Jay Carr, Nurture Team member. “The event, designed as a pre- Advent preparation, will provide resources to think through how to prepare your congregation for the Advent and Christmas season.”

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2006 is special year for women

By The Rev. Arlene Christopherson, Elgin District Superintendent

(March 24) The arrival of 2006 brings with it a special celebration in the United Methodist Church. It was on May 4, 1956, in Minneapolis that the General Conference approved full clergy rights for women. Today nearly one-quarter of all United Methodist clergy are women.

In 1985 when I was ordained, I celebrated my inclusion in a denomination that welcomed and affirmed the ordination of women. Growing up in a small ethnic denomination where women were never admitted into leadership, I felt warmly welcomed and valued as one called to preaching and sacramental ministry.

Over the past 50 years we have lost track of the struggle that took place to secure the ordination of women. John Wesley licensed Sarah Crosby as the first woman preacher in 1761. Two of our successor denominations, the Methodist Protestant Church and United Brethren in Christ began ordaining women as elders and granting them full clergy rights at the end of the 19th century. But those rights were lost in merger and it wasn’t until 1956 after a bitter debate that women were once again granted ordination.

Small but painful price

Compared to my sisters in the past, I paid a small but painful price for claiming my call; at the very worst some of my friends shunned me while others were simply mystified by my boldness in claiming a role they believed was clearly meant by God for men.

Throughout 2006, conferences and local churches are called upon to celebrate women’s ordination. At Northern IllinoisAnnual Conference in June there will be a variety of opportunities to celebrate this historic journey. In addition, Northern Illinois will host the United Methodist International Clergywomen’s Consultation in August as 1,500 women from around the globe gather under the theme “Courageous Past – Bold Future.”

It is a time to celebrate, but also a time to take stock. In the Northern Illinois Conference, almost one quarter of all clergy are women; half the Cabinet is women. Yet women still suffer from gender bias and struggle to be affirmed for the unique gifts they bring to the pastoral role.

As a denomination we have elected 20 women bishops in the past 25 years, but none has come from Northern Illinois. We have appointed women to senior pastor roles, but many have found acceptance difficult as their leadership is undermined.

Too many women clergy

One of my colleagues reports that last Mother’s Day the Lay Leader gave the sermon. As the senior and associate pastors — both women — sat in the chancel listening, the Lay Leader announced that the problem with the United Methodist Church was too many women clergy!

We need to be emboldened as we work toward the future. Some have said that the United Methodist Church is losing ground because people are gravitating toward more traditional — i.e. male-led —congregations. I believe one of the biggest assets we have as a denomination is our ethnic, gender and, albeit under fire, sexual diversity.

The rights of all people are important in the history of United Methodism, rights still threatened by rigidity, fear and closed hearts. While celebrating 50 years of women’s ordination, we must also continue to raise our collective consciousness to be vigilant to those prejudices that can block God’s kingdom come so we truly might be people who live from a “Courageous Past” into a “Bold Future.”

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CCUIC invites clergy to dine with Muslims

(March 24) Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOCG) invite United Methodist clergy to meet with counterpart leaders of Islamic communities at a dinner Thursday, April 6, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park, 300 W. Highridge Rd.

Planning has been in the works for almost a year since a meeting between the two new leaders of the United Methodist and Muslim faith communities, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung and Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, CIOCG chair.

As part of this initiative in dialogue, a Declaration of Relationship between NIC United Metho- dists and Chicago-area Muslims has been drafted, and will be signed by the two leaders who will address the gathering.

“The goal of this first gathering is to create new local relationships by matching local clergy of masjids and Muslim institutions and United Methodist congregations so they may get acquainted around a fellowship meal table,” said the Rev. Ed Hiestand, NIC Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer. “The hope is that this will open the possibility for further local events such as dialogues, mutual invitations, hospitality, community issues involvement, and interactions by adults, men, women, children and youths.”

Dialogue resources will be shared with participant congregations and mosques. The evening will include the Maghrib evening prayer.

For more information, contact Hiestand at (708) 660-9168 or e-mail ehiest@mc.net.

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Seminar on mental illness
ministry will be offered twice

(March 24) A seminar on mental illness ministry will be held at Hinsdale UMC, 945 S. Garfield Ave., on Saturday, April 29, and First UMC, 321 Oak St., DeKalb, on Sunday, April 30.

Deacon Tom Lambert and Connie Rakitan will lead the seminars, “Mental Illness = No-fault Disorder.” They have been helping congregations build support systems for persons with mental illnesses and their families for 16 years. They operate the Faith and Fellowship Program, based in Oak Park.

Lambert is on staff of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in Chicago. He originated the mental illness ministries of the Archdiocese of Chicago and founded the Faith and Fellowship Program. He is author of Mental Illness and Church Outreach.

Also a founder of Faith and Fellowship, Rakitan is a religious director of the archdiocese. Her special interest is spiritual undergirding for persons with mental illnesses and for their families.

The seminar will be at Hinsdale UMC from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and at First UMC in DeKalb from 2 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Registration for the seminars can be made through the Rev. Linda Deming, P.O. Box 37, Leland, IL 60531-0037. Registration before April 20 is $10 and $15 at the door.

Agenda for the day is on the Northern Illinois Conference Web site on the Calendar page.

For more information, contact Linda Deming at (815) 495-3761, or Lowell Allen, (773) 725-5399.

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‘Seeking Solutions for Mature
Adult’ will be April 26

(March 24) “Seeking Solutions for the Mature Adult” will be Wednesday, April 26, at Bethany Methodist Homes & Hospitals, 5025 N. Paulina in Chicago. The Rev. Stephen Dahl, president and CEO of Bethany Methodist Corp., will deliver the keynote address: “Reflecting on Life as a Senior in Today’s World.”

The seminar is sponsored by Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Older Adult Ministries Council, NIC Office of Leadership & Program Development, and Bethany Methodist Retirement Community. Four work- shops will be offered along with a tour of Bethany Retirement Community. The workshops are “Avoiding Identity Theft,” “Spiritual Eldering,” “Nutritional Health,” and “Family Issues and Relationships.”

Cost is $15 per person. Breakfast and lunch are included in the registration cost. Registration deadline is April 19.

For more information, contact Joyce Fieldstad, Chair, NIC Council on Older Adult Ministries, (608) 677-3602.

A brochure and registration form are available at the NIC Web site, Calendar.

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Names of lay and clergy members
sought for June Memorial Service

(March 24) The names of lay and clergy members of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference who have died since last June’s session are requested for this year’s Memorial Service. Local churches are asked to review church records and to submit the names, church affiliation, date of death, dates of service and a picture, if available, for use during the Memorial Service, which will be on June 11, the first evening of this year’s session.

Materials may be sent to Natarsha Gardner, Northern Illinois Conference, 217 Division St., Elgin, IL 60120; (847) 931-0732 fax.

Materials may also be sent to Roger Curless, Conference Lay Leader, 441 Featherock Dr., Aurora, IL 60506-5208; (203) 749-5166.

For more information, contact Curless at (630) 892-9373.

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Hanover UMW makes, delivers ‘Valentine
Love Baskets’ for past 20 years

(March 24) For the past 20 years, members of Hanover UMC’s United Methodist Women (UMW) have been assembling “Valentine Love Baskets” to bring cheer during the cold days of winter.

The baskets, containing fruit and home-made cookies, candies and bars, and breads, are delivered to members of the Hanover community who are ill, have recently lost a family member, or are home-bound.

“Folks are remembered so much at Christmas, and then pretty much forgotten the rest of the year,” said Lynda Carson, UMW member. “We decided that we could bring a little cheer during the cold days of winter.”

One recipient, who is on chemotherapy, said, “You shouldn’t have, but I’m glad you did.”

Another, who had just lost her sister, said: “The past month has been a hard one. Thanks for caring.”

And still another woman, who is blind, said, “It’s great to be remembered.”

For more information about the Valentine Love Baskets, call (815) 591-3714.

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UVC seeking nominees for
excellence in children’s ministry

(March 24) Each year the United Voices For Children (UVC) Board of the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) selects individuals and groups within the NIC’s boundaries to receive the Bishop Jesse R. DeWitt and Katherine B. Greene awards for excellence in ministry with children and youths. Anyone can nominate a person or group for the awards. The nominee must work within the boundaries of the conference, and provide ministry and service on behalf of United Methodists to children and their families in their local communities and/or throughout the NIC.

Nomination categories include individual volunteer (not compensated); individual professional (compensated); and organization or local church program.

All nominations must be received by May 15.

For more information about the awards and nomination process, contact Ron Marcum at (312) 733-8810 or rmarcum@myschicago.org.

The awards will be presented at the UVC Annual Conference Breakfast Tuesday, June 13, from 6:45 to 8 a.m. at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles.

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‘Beautiful family’ worships together as 5
Methodist denominations gather in Chicago

(March 17) Representatives from five Methodist denominations gathered at Greater Walters African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Chicago on the evening of March 3 for a community worship service held as part of a two-day meeting of the Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union.

The Commission on Pan Methodist Cooperation and Union represents more than 15 million Methodists worldwide who are members of five strands of American Methodism: African Methodist Episcopal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion), Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME), Union American Methodist Episcopal (UAME) and United Methodist (UM) churches.

The commission’s goals are spelled out in its mission statement: “As members of the family of Methodism, we are called to move toward union by redefining and strengthening our relationship in Jesus Christ.” The group works to foster cooperation among its member denominations in evangelism, missions, publications, social concerns and higher education.

Calling the gathering “a beautiful family,” Bishop Hee-Soo Jung greeted those attending the worship service.

“We need to work together to move to a new place,” Jung said. “We are longing for that which we need to be together as one Wesleyan family. We need to seek God’s kingdom without barriers.”

Jung said members of the five denominations “are not sure what kind of unity we are talking about or what kind of union. But God knows.”

In a reference to the fact that the other denominations were formed by African-Americans who left what was then the Methodist Church because of segregation and racism, Jung admitted that United Methodists “have lots of tears when we reflect on our own racism, our own narrowness and our own hatred. So we are seeking extraordinary grace as we work together as a family.”

Harriet McCabe, member of Grace UMC, Naperville, is serving her second four-year term on the commission, and the Rev. Pamela Lightsey, pastor of Southlawn UMC in Chicago, is serving her first term.

Also attending the worship service were the Rev. Im Jung; the Rev. Ed Hiestand, NIC Ecumenical/Interreligious Officer; Irma Clark, chair of the NIC Board of Global Ministries; the Rev. Jon McCoy, senior pastor of St. Mark UMC in Chicago; the Rev. Philip Blackwell, senior pastor of First UMC of Chicago (The Chicago Temple); Carolyn McBride, St. Matthew UMC in Chicago; and the Rev. Larry Pickens, top executive of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

“The future is yet unknown,” a statement from the commission said, “but the five denominations are committed to explore where God wants to lead us in response to the call to be one. Many strides have been made, and we have come this far by faith. By God’s grace, we will reach the place God desires for us as Methodists, if we are faithful to the call.”

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500 march in support of ‘DREAM Act’

(March 17) Waving U.S. flags and chanting, “We are America. Diplomas, not death,” nearly 500 marchers gathered in front of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Dennis Hastert’s Batavia office to support the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a Senate bill that would help undocumented high school students obtain college educations and, eventually, become U.S. citizens.

The Rev. Oscar Carrasco, Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) director of Connectional Ministries, and the Rev. Karen Hundreiser, pastor of Kingston UMC, joined the rally, along with Lawrence and Betsy Benito, members of First UMC of Chicago (The Chicago Temple) and their children Emmett, 3, and Celia, 5. The United Methodists were representing the NIC Immigrants Rights Commission at the rally that was sponsored by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

In addition to U.S. flags, marchers also carried 467 crosses, each labeled with the name of a person known to have died last year trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States.

As the group heard testimonies from young people seeking “the American Dream,” about 30 Minutemen, a group opposed to allowing undocumented immigrants into this country, staged a counter protest several feet away, yelling at the DREAM Act supporters across police lines and barricades that separated the two groups of demonstrators.

The DREAM Act (S. 2075), which was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in 2003 and reintroduced last November, would enable undocumented immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools to receive federal aid, scholarships, and in-state tuition rates at state universities. Currently, the 65,000 undocumented students who graduate each year are technically ineligible for such assistance, and as a result, often must forgo college, work menial jobs, and more or less abandon their dreams. Many of these students have lived in the United States for the majority of their lives, speak fluent English, and excel in their high schools.

The DREAM Act would also provide these students a path to obtaining legal status. To be eligible for legal residency, students must exhibit “good moral character,” have come to the United States before they were 16 years old and at least five years before the date of the bill’s enactment, and have a high school diploma or a General Equivalency Degree (GED). Then, they would be given “conditional lawful permanent resident” status for six years, during which they must complete at least two years of college or military service. After that, they would qualify as applicants for permanent residency status.

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Youth Super Rally will be ‘Christ Fest’

(March 17) Super Rally 2006, a weekend retreat for Northern Illinois Conference senior high youths and their adult leaders, will be Friday, April 21, through Sunday, April 23, at Aurora University in Williams Bay, Wis., on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Theme for this year’s event is “Christ Fest.” The Rev. Tim Casey will be a featured speaker.

The weekend will offer a time for youths to grow in their faith through fellowship, small groups, large gatherings, music and games. Inspirational rock musician Kathleen Carnali will perform.

The first event of the rally will be at 8 p.m. Friday. The last event of the weekend is noon Sunday.

Cost is $85 per person. One adult chaperone per five youths is required for each gender in a youth group.

For additional information and a registration packet, contact Kathy Black, (847) 888-9985.

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Lenten season offering enables UMCOR to respond

(March 17) One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is observed by United Methodists on the fourth Sunday in Lent. This year it falls on Sunday, March 26.

This Special Sunday offering supports the ongoing work of United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing allow UMCOR to work efficiently and effectively in disaster response, hunger and poverty ministries, and refugee ministries around the world. UMCOR does not receive support from apportionment funds.

Resources, including a bulletin insert, for the One Great Hour of Sharing offering are available from www.umcor.org or by phoning (800) 862-4246. More information is also available at www.umcgiving.org.

Given the realities of so many recent disasters that have needed UMCOR’s response, 2006 is especially important for all of our churches to receive this “One Great Hour of Sharing” offering. Give generously in thanks for all that God has given you.

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Oswego ecumenical cooperation
trains Stephen Ministers

(March 17) On Feb. 12 Good Shepherd UMC, 5 West Washington in Oswego, commissioned its first Stephen Ministers. Craig McGregor, Judy McGregor and Lyn Santa graduated after 50 hours of training to learn how to relate to care receivers on a one-on-one basis over an amount of time that may run from several weeks to several years. They are an important adjunct to the pastor’s ministry and activity in churches where this program, based in St. Louis, is used.

The Oswego program was noteworthy in that it was an ecumenical endeavor. Good Shepherd UMC was invited to be part of training at Oswego Presbyterian Church, where Stephen Ministry has been going on for many years. The United Methodist participation was needed for the Stephen Ministry class to reach its necessary size.

“This was the ecumenical movement at work in its best sense,” said the Rev. Phil Sheets, Good Shepherd UMC pastor. “Oswego Presbyterian generously provided its own trained leadership and sponsored our participation, so that the Stephen Ministry seed could be planted at our church. And without that kind of welcome and consideration I don’t see how this could have happened at Good Shepherd — at least not this year.”

The new Stephen Ministers have already begun meeting with their first assigned care receivers. For more information, contact Good Shepherd UMC at (630) 554-3269.

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Nueva Vida graduates first Disciple Bible class

(March 17) Nueva Vida UMC, 60 S. Lincoln Ave. in Aurora, had its first graduation of Disciple I Bible Study on Feb. 26. Carmen Cantu, Bertha Velazques, Hilda Velazquez, Ramon Herrera and Abraham Herrera, who took the Spanish-language course, were the congregation’s first Disciple graduates. Abraham is 14 years old and made every effort to be in class every Wednesday night.

Pastor Miguel Nieves lauded the Spanish Disciple program and said the small group experience “was wonderful for Nueva Vida.” He said Nueva Vida will be offering Disciple I again this spring and also Disciple II after a small break.

The graduation took place in the sanctuary of First UMC, 60 S. Lincoln St., where Nueva Vida meets every Sunday at noon. Nieves is pastor for both congregations.

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Interfaith bus tour called ‘eye-opening’

(March 10) Forty-three people participated in what many described as a “fabulous,” “eye opening” weekend visiting faith communities and learning about different religions and cultures.

“It was fabulous,” said Gladys Larem, member of Lanark UMC. “Being able to go and visit these places was an incredible opportunity. I thought each stop was worth the entire price of the trip.”

Led by Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, the Bishop’s Ecumenical/Interfaith Bus Tour was sponsored by the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns Friday, Feb. 24, through Sunday, Feb. 26. Theme of the first-time tour was “Living Witness in a Multifaith World.”

“The learning that we all took away, at least speaking for myself, is that we are all God’s children and we just come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes,” said Harriet McCabe, tour coordinator and member of Grace UMC in Naperville. “It was kind of a revelation to me. I’ve always known it in my head, but now I know it in my heart.”

Jill Fahs, member of Community UMC in Wood Dale, agreed. “I think everybody went looking for the diversity in all the religions,” she said. “But we ended up finding the commonality in all the faiths. We discovered that we’re all human. The commonality was just very poignant.”

Participants started their tour at Congregation Beth Shalom, a Jewish reconstructionist synagogue in Naperville. They also visited BAP’s Swaminarayan, a Hindu temple in Bartlett; had lunch at a Zen Buddhist Temple in Chicago; saw the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette; and had dinner at Niagara Foundation, a Turkish Muslim cultural center in Mount Prospect. Sunday morning the group worshipped at Carter Temple, a Christian Methodist Episcopal congregation in Chicago.

“It was really fantastic,” said the Rev. Steve Ziegler, pastor of Zion UMC in Hampshire. “I thought it was a really well-executed trip that emphasized everything that is already going on in this conference, especially with regard to the pan-Methodist issue and also the relationship we have with the Islamic community. These are all things I was aware of on the surface, but I didn’t realize how deeply the conference was already involved. For me, it was a real eye-opener.”

Charmaine Cothran, deaconess at Maple Park UMC in Chicago, was impressed with the involvement of the United Methodist Church in interfaith activities. “The Rev. Ed Hiestand (NIC Ecumenical/Interreligious Officer) passed out brochures on interfaith studies and what the United Methodist Church is doing,” she said. “Now, I’m looking for ways to get involved.”

Tour participants also expressed appreciation for Bishop Jung’s leadership. “The bishop was terrific with his pastoral attitude, underscoring and emphasizing the theme for the three days,” Ziegler said.

“It was a blessing to be in the presence of the bishop and have him share and educate us in such a gracious way,” Larem said. “I felt great appreciation for his grasp of the situation at the Buddhist temple and the manner in which he managed to put the venerable teacher at ease, and make the visit rewarding and an enriching spiritual experience.”

“The bishop had so much background in this area,” Fahs said. “He had so much to add between stops that it was just wonderful.”

Many commented on the hospitality shown them by all the faith communities. “The hospitality at every place was amazing,” McCabe said.

“All these places showed us the true meaning of open hearts, open minds and open doors,” Cothran said. “I was really impressed with their generosity and hospitality. They treated us like royalty.”

Fahs said her favorite stop was “the two-hour worship service that felt like 15 minutes” at the CME Church in south Chicago. She also commented on the hospitality at that church. “Could they teach lessons in hospitality!” she exclaimed. “They just made us feel so welcome and so wanted — just cherished.”

There were a number of requests from people on the bus to do this again, McCabe said. “One pastor said he talked to several of his parishioners in the first few hours after he got home, and he was confident that he could fill another bus if we did this kind of tour again.”

Bishop Jung will lead a Mission Bus Tour of NIC ministries Monday, Sept. 25, through Wednesday, Sept. 27. “Of course, we don’t want to lose that emphasis on missions,” said McCabe, who has coordinated the mission bus tours for over a decade. “That was our reason for doing bus tours in the first place. But I’m confident that we will do an interfaith tour again.”

For more information or to register for the September tour, contact McCabe, 9 W. Bailey Rd., Naperville, IL 60565, (630) 355-4617, or harrietmccabe@earthlink.net.

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Spanishtown to provide 7-day immersion

(Feb. 24) The Northern Illinois Conference will offer Spanishtown, a seven-day immersion experience in the Spanish language, Aug. 13-20 at Bishop Lane Retreat Center in Rockford and at local congregations where Spanish is spoken.

Only Spanish will be spoken for seven days. One-on-one mentoring is provided throughout the entire program.

This unique opportunity for church members and leaders to become fluent in Spanish is modeled after the internationally recognized Englishtown experience in Spain.

Total cost is $900 for seven days, including room and board. The cost is reduced to $850 for payments received by April 15.

Applicants should have the equivalent of two or more years of high school or college Spanish. The first 20 qualified applicants will be accepted. Additional applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

To learn more, contact the Rev. Kirk Reed, Trinity UMC, 1024 Lake Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091, or e-mail wkirkreed@gmail.com.

Information about the program is on the Web at www.spanishtown.info (in English) and www.pueblohispano.com (in Spanish).

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Baler finally makes hay at Africa University

(March 10) A new John Deere Model 359 Hay Baler, provided in large part by Sycamore UMC, is making hay at Africa University. A project of Sycamore UMC’s Mission Committee, the $23,000-plus baler was making hay in Zimbabwe one year after the project was first brought to the congregation.

Seeds for the project were first planted at a meeting hosted by the Sycamore Missions Committee on July 31, 2004, to introduce Larry and Jane Kies to the Sycamore congregation. The Kies serve as General Board of Global Ministries missionaries to Africa University. She teaches English while he manages the farm and teaches agriculture.

After watching a presentation about the university and its farm operation, Sycamore UMC members asked how the church could help. Larry Kies said the agriculture school’s immediate need was for a hay baler. He explained that the university’s farm produces most of the food for the Africa University community: meat, dairy, grains, fruits and vegetables, etc.

At that time the school had to hire out hay baling by giving the person doing the job half the hay. This caused a constant shortage of hay and straw for the livestock at the farm which in turn limited the size of the university. Kies said the baler would cost $13,500 to $15,000.

At its September 2004 meeting Sycamore UMC’s Missions Committee decided to take on the baler. It was introduced to the congregation in November and by the end of January 2005 more than $16,000 had been raised.

But in the meantime the political situation in Zimbabwe had deteriorated and hyper inflation at the rate of 300% per year had set in. By the end of February 2005 the baler the congregation wanted to buy now cost $23,000 in Africa.

“But God does provide,” said the Rev. Bill Landis, Sycamore UMC pastor. “In this case it came in the form of Dennis Hoy, who had just joined Sycamore UMC and had been asked to serve on the Missions Committee. Dennis had a background in international sales and marketing.”

It was also learned that Horicon UMC in Horicon, Wis., was working on the same project. Led by Jerry and Denise Tribbey, Horicon UMC eventually donated $6,000 toward the project. Jerry, a John Deere employee helped a lot, according to Landis.

Dennis and Jerry teamed up in the spring of 2005. Because of the political and economic instability in Zimbabwe, it was decided to purchase the baler in South Africa and then transport it across the border.

John Deere provided the names of two key people at John Deere – South Africa: Lucas Groeneweld, division sales manager, and William Boikhutso, territory manager. Landis said Boikhutso was especially helpful in exerting a lot of effort on the church’s behalf to guarantee the price even with hyperinflation, and to promise a safe delivery.

But even with the duo’s help, it still took an additional six months to get the baler delivered. Finally around Oct. 1, 2005, the baler arrived at Africa University in time to bale straw for the school’s Dream Dairy.

“The Dream Dairy is an integral part of training university students and others in the complex agri-business that is dairying,” said Larry Kies. For more information on the use of the baler, how it will help Africa University and agriculture in Africa, check Sycamore UMC’s Web page at www.sycamoreumc.org.

“This whole project,” Landis said, “was an amazing example of faith and perseverance. The Missions Committee knew the church could do this. The congregation raised the funds in just over two months. That was the easy part.

Landis said it took dedication and persistence to get through the “red tape, paperwork, political corruption and literally thousand of e-mails so that the baler could get where God wanted it.”

“Who knows?” Landis said. “Maybe one of these days Sycamore UMC will plan a mission trip to Africa University to help make hay.”

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Checkpoint gives terror new meaning

By The Rev. Ronald Graham (Retired)

Editor’s note: The author of this article was among 16 persons from the Northern Illinois Conference who spent 10 days in Israel and Palestine searching for ways to bring peace and justice to that war-torn area. The study trip was sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries and included 51 persons from six annual conferences across the United States.

(March 10) A Palestinian was shepherding us through the checkpoint in the wall that isolates Bethlehem from Israel. At the gate we were directed to leave the vehicle we were traveling in and walk through a maze of corridors and turnstiles in the checkpoint building.

It was eerily silent with no one else present except an Israeli soldier in a booth at the detector.

The Palestinian removed his belt. He placed it along with other items from his pockets in a basket that would go through the x-ray machine.

He then turned and walked through the detector. An alarm sounded.

He stepped back and handed me a ring from his finger. As he stepped once more into the detector, the alarm sounded again.

Returning to me, he placed his wallet in my hands. Again when he stepped through the detector the alarm sounded.

He returned to stand in front of me and attempted to remove the cross on a chain around his neck. Because his hands were trembling he was unable to open the clasp. I reached out to help him.

Our eyes met and I saw terror — not fear, but terror.

Out of the corner of my eye I detected a presence. On a catwalk to our left and just above us an Israeli solider was pointing his rifle at us. On his face and in his eyes I also saw terror — terror that could have become a reason for shooting us.

Free of his cross, the trembling Palestinian walked through the detector without an alarm sounding this time. He motioned for me to follow.

Carrying all the items he had given me, I walked through the detector. But the alarm did not sound. It had been turned off. I had a U.S.A. passport.

Peace with justice is not possible as long as people live in the grip of terror, prejudice and mistrust. Peace with justice is not possible as long as a wall, a sign of apartheid, remains.

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Elgin Wesley celebrates 50
years with Memorial Cross

(March 10) Celebrating their 50th year at 1070 South St., members of Wesley UMC in Elgin invite friends and neighbors to view a Memorial Cross on display throughout the Lenten season in the sanctuary.

Carved by Catholic artist Henryk Wojcikowski in memory of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, this one-of-a-kind cross is hand-sculpted from South American purple heartwood and American maple. The head of Christ is carved from a block of solid walnut and based on the image from the Shroud of Turin. The head shows in detail the 12 wounds visible on the shroud, and it is adorned with a crown of native thorns.

The cross stands 13- feet high and 6-feet wide when mounted on its base.

Wesley UMC will be open to the public for viewing the Memorial Cross Sundays during the 9:30 a.m. worship service and Tuesdays through Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to noon and 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wojcikowski spent nearly 1,000 hours creating this work.

Wojcikowski, a native of Tarnobrezg, Poland, immigrated to Chicago in 1990. His work is on display at the Polish National Museum in Warsaw, Poland. His life-sized carving of the head of Christ based on the image from the Shroud of Turin is on permanent display at Baker Memorial UMC in St. Charles.

For more details, call the church, (847) 742-7256.

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Town/Rural Center offers ministry grants

(March 10)The Town and Rural Center of the Northern Illinois Conference has grants available to support town and rural ministry for 2006. The criteria for receiving grant funds include:

Applications and details are available from District offices or from the Rev. Brian William, secretary/treasurer of the Town and Rural Center, P.O. Box 201, Burlington, IL 60109, (847) 683-3535.

Completed applications should be returned to the Rev. David Davies, P.O. Box 115, Chadwick, IL 61014.

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175 attend first small group workshop

(March 3) One hundred seventy-five persons packed the fellowship hall of Sycamore UMC Saturday, Feb. 18, for the first workshop offered by the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Institute for Small Group Ministry. Another 160 signed up to attend a repeat of the session Saturday, Feb. 25, at River Forest UMC.

“There were so many people there,” said Roger Curless, member of Wesley UMC in Aurora and NIC Lay Leader, “it was just wonderful to see people turning out for that kind of training. It just screams the extent to which both lay and clergy want to get training on how to do some of these fundamental things.”

The Rev. Steven Manskar, director of Accountable Discipleship at the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, led the sessions on “The Theology and Tradition of Wesleyan Covenant Groups and Class Meetings.” He talked about the history of John Wesley’s class meetings, the basics of discipleship, Wesley’s “Means of Grace,” and descriptions of how covenant groups are structured and function.

“He gave us a diagram of the shape of discipleship,” said Charla Antrobus, member of Sycamore UMC and DeKalb District Lay Leader. “He talked about how the two great commandments — to love God with all your heart and mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself — have to be the basis for everything.”

“The thing I appreciated about it,” Curless said, “was that he explained that Christian covenant groups are not Bible study, not discussion groups. Covenant groups are places where people hold one another responsible for their Christian discipleship. As a member of one of these groups, you need to deal not only with your own personal growth — what are you doing for others — but also with what you are doing for social justice.”

’Very Wesleyan’

Curless described this as “very Wesleyan,” because John Wesley formed his class leaders into covenant Christian groups to hold one another accountable for their faith.

Manskar explained that a covenant discipleship group should consist of about seven people who are mutually accountable to each other. They write a covenant for their group and then meet once a week to encourage each other and hold each other to the covenant.

“They watch over one another in love,” Antrobus said. “And when you meet, you try to make it a task-oriented gathering. You’re not to sit there and talk about what happened in church Sunday or what happened at the board meeting the other night. It is structured purely around those people in that covenant group. You’re there to help each other gain strength in becoming leaders in discipleship. It’s not where discipleship happens, but it’s where we make sure that it does happen.”

Participants in the workshops were encouraged to be leaders of small group ministries in their local congregations. Those who attend all five training events offered by the NIC Small Group Institute over the next year and a half will be certified as a “Small Group Minister.”

A lot of Lay Speakers

“There were a lot of Lay Speakers there,” Curless noted. “The Small Group Institute is a great way for Lay Speakers who feel like they are not used sufficiently to get themselves trained, certified and used.”

Antrobus said she is looking forward to the next workshops. “I’m just bothered that it’s spread out over the next year and a half,” she said. “I’m anxious to attend them right away! I hope we don’t lose some of our enthusiasm and some of the information.”

The Institute for Small Group Ministry was created to address one of Bishop Hee-Soo Jung’s four fruit-producing strategies for ministry and mission in the NIC.

“An active United Methodist congregation that makes disciples for Jesus Christ is expected to have high commitment small groups,” said the Rev. Oscar Carrasco, NIC Director of Connectional Ministries. “Partici- pation in small groups fosters mutual accountability and support for those growing in their love of God and neighbor. Making disciples is an interactive process best handled in small group settings.”

Future events are “Spiritual Disciplines for Small Group Ministry,” May 13 at Sycamore UMC and May 20 at River Forest UMC; “Growing Disciples Through Small Group Ministry: Emerging Ministries in Urban, Suburban, Rural and Immigrant Communities,” Oct. 14 at Sycamore UMC and Oct. 28 at River Forest UMC; “Getting Ready to Start a Small Group: Being a Small Group Minister,” Feb. 10, 2007, at Sycamore UMC and Feb. 24, 2007, at River Forest UMC; and “Mission and Outreach Through Small Group Ministry: Invitation and Assimilation of New People,” May 12, 2007, at Sycamore UMC and May 19, 2007, at River Forest UMC.

For more information about small group ministry in the NIC, contact Carrasco, (312) 346-9766, ext. 121, or ocarrasc@umcnic.org.

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Stroud sets tone at seminars on ‘Building Congregations of Hospitality, Witness’

(March 3) More than 130 persons attended workshops in Downers Grove and Glenview last month that addressed “Building Congregations of Hospitality and Witness.” Beth Stroud, former associate pastor of First UMC of Germantown Philadelphia, Penn., who was defrocked last year for declaring she was in a committed lesbian relationship, was the featured speaker at both events.

The workshops, sponsored by the Reconciling Ministries Network, were held at First UMC, Downers Grove, on Saturday, Feb. 11, and at Glenview UMC on Sunday, Feb. 12.

The workshops included a presentation by Troy Plummer, executive director of the Reconciling Ministries Network, on the “Next Steps in the Reconciling Process,” in which congregations witness to their openness to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons.

The Rev. James Preston, pastor of Brooke Road UMC, Rockford, presented “3 Pillars for Strong Welcoming Churches.”

Stroud said she grew up as a Methodist and the church is where she experienced extended family. “It was the place where I learned I was special, different, not like anyone else,” she said, “and that was all right. I was a shade different from every other person in God’s world. I also learned that I was called to live a life of service to others, and it was a place where I was loved no matter what.”

Stroud expressed the dismay she felt upon becoming ordained and “having to go into the closet as a pastor.” Stroud said she had been out to her family for years. “I was frustrated because I believed there were really rich expressions of grace in my life that I couldn’t share with others,” she said.

The Germantown church, a long-time reconciling congregation, cooperated with Stroud in making her declaration about her committed lesbian relationship, she said. The congregation wanted to make “a stronger witness on inclusion,” she said, and promised it would stand with her throughout the ordeal of the church trial, which originally refused to take her Elder’s orders, and the subsequent appeal to the Judicial Council, which ultimately led to her orders being taken.

First UMC promised her a job, whether she was still ordained or not, and promised to protect her pension and health-care benefits.

“If I didn’t speak out with the safeguards the congregation guaranteed to me,” Stroud said, “who is ever going to do it? And, the congregation has stood with me.”

Plummer said more than 250 congregations across the United States have declared themselves as “reconciling.” He noted that Northern Illinois was among the first conferences to declare itself as reconciling, but no local church in the conference has done so in a decade.

“More than 60 churches have declared themselves as reconciling since last October,” he said, “when the Judicial Council ruled in favor of a Virginia pastor who kept a gay man from membership in the United Methodist Church.”

Reconciling Ministries Network is located at Irving Park UMC, 3801 N. Keeler, Chicago, IL 60641, (773) 736-5526.

Preston presented “3 Pillars for Strong Welcoming Churches.”

The first pillar is that dynamic worship is inclusive, spirit-filled, relevant and alive. The second is that the church engages in intentional and welcoming evangelism ministries that welcome, nurture and assimilate. And the third is that the church has focused leadership development that creates strong, diverse leaders in the congregation.

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Many views inform us about
Christ’s death, resurrection

By Susan Dal Porto, Director,
Northern Illinois Conference Media Resource Center

(March 3) As we look ahead to the rapidly approaching Easter season, many different views come to us as we contemplate the events of Holy Week.

There is the historical-cultural view where we understand the life of Jesus more clearly when we understand the political backdrop to his life. The Roman Empire was the dominating world superpower. Rome occupied the lands east of the Mediterranean Sea with a strong military presence and a system of repressive governance. Roman citizens were highly literate, sophisticated, mostly affluent and lived in a primarily secular culture. The Hebrew people chafed at outside rule but focused on religion and a kind of liberation theology in their anxious anticipation of a Messiah. Two thousand years later there are some interesting political-military parallels still existing in the Middle East.

Then, there is the geographic view that traces the footsteps of Jesus from the rocky hills around Galilee to the streets of urban Jerusalem. He went from preaching on the grassy hillside to being surrounded by a Roman garrison before Governor Pontius Pilate. There is something fascinating about re-tracing the places Christ walked.

Spiritual view

And perhaps most important is the spiritual view of what happened in Gethsemane, at Golgotha and in the tomb in the field of Arimathea. This view is where the Holy Spirit can witness deep in our souls that something important happened so long ago around this person we call the Son of Man. What happened still profoundly affects our thoughts and actions and our hope for future eternal life every day.

But one view of Holy Week that is sometimes overlooked is what I call the administrative/leadership view. At the last supper, in the upper room the night before the Savior gave up his life, Jesus was acting as CEO of his fledgling band of believers. He held a kind of strategic planning session where he outlined both long-term and short-term goals. He also continued his efforts to provide training and development of the management team. In a final leadership lesson, he focused on one leadership trait he valued above all others: humility. He gave his managers a final powerful lesson in servant leadership as he washed their feet.

Looking back in history, scholars have wondered what to make of this kind of rag-tag management team. The 12 apostles were an unlikely group of men to change the world. There were no MBAs, PhDs or even anyone with a smidgen of rabbinical or theological training. There was nothing extraordinary about the apostles.

They were simple, ordinary, working men. Most were what we could call blue collar laborers, tradesmen who worked with their hands.

Crash course in kingdom building

Jesus gave them a crash course in kingdom building and then gave them the most extraordinary task imaginable, “calling the entire world, including the mightiest empire ever known, to repentance and faith in the risen Christ. You can be sure that any educated, first century Roman citizen would have laughed at any prediction that within three centuries the Christian faith would be the official faith of the empire.” (Christian History Institute quoted in liner notes for Media Resource Center Kit #V663 “From Christ to Constantine”) Besides being interesting historical fact, the calling and training of the apostles is a good lesson for laity leadership efforts in each of our local churches.

In his commentary in the Maxwell Leadership Bible, John Maxwell notes: “Just about anybody can make an organization look good for a moment. But leaders who leave a legacy take a different approach. They lead with tomorrow as well as today in mind. When all is said and done, your ability as a leader will be judged by how well your people and your organization did after you were gone. Your lasting value will be measured by your succession.

The succession, beginnings and spread of Christianity in its earliest centuries is “one of the most amazing phenomena in all of human history. The Christian church in its infancy was considered relgio prava: an illegal and depraved religion. Wave after wave of persecution was unleashed to squash it. At least two of the persecutions were empire-wide and intended to destroy the church. How did this young movement make it?” (Christian History Institute Kit #663)

The Media Resource Center has resources on the final days of Jesus and the early days of the Christian church, including the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul. A sampling of the many resources available is on page 4a in this issue.

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