November

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North Central College dedicates
remodeled former seminary building

(Nov. 24) North Central College in Naperville dedicated its newly renovated Kiekhofer Hall and Koten Chapel during Homecoming festivities Oct. 14-15.

The result of a $4.25 million renovation of the former administration building of Evangelical Theological Seminary, Kiekhofer Hall, 329 E. School St., now includes not only an enlarged chapel, but also offices for the English Department, Modern and Classical Languages, International Programs, Academic Opportunities and Campus Ministry.

Built in 1913, the building served as the administration building of Evangelical Theological Seminary until 1974 when the Evangelical United Brethren seminary merged with Garrett Theological Seminary to form Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston.

During this year’s renovation, a new 50-seat balcony was added to Koten Chapel, bringing seating capacity to 150. The pews used in the balcony came from the former Grace Evangelical Church building in downtown Naperville — predecessor of Grace UMC in Naperville — that the college acquired in 2004. A new narthex/community room can seat 75, and there is a new drive-up entrance.

In the main lobby of the building, a wall display tells the history of North Central College and Evangelical Theological Seminary. The west wing of the building was expanded to accommodate more offices for faculty, new restrooms, work rooms and conference rooms.

Also new is the Rev. George St. Angelo Ministry and Service Suite to serve the spiritual needs of students and channel them into community service, and the Dr. Richard M. Eastman Reading Room that provides space for study.

On the ground floor is the new Dr. Howard Mueller Classroom, a project funded by the Class of 2005 to honor Mueller’s long career as a North Central professor of religious studies.

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Hub Cluster VIM team returning to Mississippi

(Nov. 24) Twenty-eight volunteers from the eight churches in the Hub Cluster will leave the day after Christmas on the cluster’s second Volunteers in Mission (VIM) trip to Mississippi to do recovery work still required more than a year after the devastation of last year’s hurricanes.

Members of Ashton, Chana, Creston, Esmond, Franklin Grove, Reynolds, Rochelle and Steward UMCs are participating.

The cluster sent 29 volunteers to Mississippi this past March. That team worked with Pastor Edwin Moses and members of his two churches, St. Paul UMC in Biloxi, Miss., and Mount Pleasant UMC in Gulfport, gutting, cleaning out and drywalling houses.

On their return trip, team members plan to continue that work, and they also plan to spend New Year’s Eve on the beach praying for 2007.

The eight churches are working together to fill a semi-trailer truck with household items, and raise $3,000 to cover gas, food and building supplies.

Team members and their “Prayer Partners” gathered Nov. 15 at Rochelle UMC to pray, partner and plan, said Leah Vanstone, VIM representative from Rochelle UMC and the VIM team’s Lead Prayer Warrior. She said Isaiah 55:12, “You shall go out with joy and be led in peace!” is the team’s guiding scripture.

Sandi Graber, pastor of Chana UMC, pointed out that “The Trees of the Field,” number 2279 in The Faith We Sing hymnal supplement, is based on the Isaiah verse.

“This group would like the entire Northern Illinois Conference to pray this scripture and sing this song and keep this project covered in prayer,” Graber said. “There are many ways the Northern Illinois Conference can support us, but prayer is first.”

Anyone with furniture or household items to donate should contact Curt and Cindy Fruit of Esmond UMC at (815) 751-5797. Financial gifts, with checks payable to “Hub Cluster,” can be sent to Rochelle UMC, 709 4th Ave., Rochelle, IL 61068.

For more information, contact team leader Linda Graber, member of Creston UMC, at (815) 590-6045 or e-mail danlin@rochelle.net.

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Joint venture of senior services
agencies begins to bear fruit

( Nov. 24) The strategic alliance between two faith-based, not-for-profit agencies serving Chicago’s North Side has begun to bear fruit with new services and renovation at The Methodist Home.

Covenant Methodist Senior Services (CMSS) has been formed by two agencies, both of which have more than 100 years of service supporting older adults. The agencies, United Methodist Homes & Services (UMH&S) and Covenant Retirement Communities (CRC), each own 50% of CMSS.

Bill Lowe, president of UMH&S, has been named president for Covenant Methodist Senior Services (CMSS), which in addition to managing the current array of housing and service offerings is hopeful of developing new market-rate housing options for older adults in the service area.

CMSS owns and operates The Methodist Home, a skilled nursing, rehabilitation and dementia care center at 1415 W. Foster Ave., and Covenant Methodist Home Care, a service providing in-home assistance with activities of daily living, with offices in Chicago and near suburbs.

A private rehabilitation wing has been completed recently on the second floor of The Methodist Home. In addition, hallways, the main dining room and fitness center have been updated. The entry at Foster Avenue and Glenwood Street has a new awning, architectural columns and new landscaping. New furniture, floor coverings, lighting and other fixtures are evident throughout the ground floor.

CMSS has a broad spectrum of housing and services supporting older adults. These include post-surgical rehabilitation, skilled nursing, Alzheimer’s and memory support programming, assisted living, home care, hospice services, low-income housing, adult day care and home improvement.

“One of our goals at Covenant Methodist Senior Services is to be a community resource of older adult services,” Lowe said. “Since many of the telephone calls we receive are from family or caregivers in need of information, our role is to identify the array of senior services available, and not just our own, so that callers can make well-informed decisions.”

Lowe said the goal is to make CMSS a “one-stop shopping” experience.

Covenant Methodist Senior Services is located at 1415 W. Foster Ave., Chicago. Phone number is (773) 769-5500.

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Pax Christi’s Robinson to speak
at RUM Peace Dinner on Dec. 8

(Nov. 24) Rockford Urban Ministries (RUM) will host its annual peace dinner and program Friday, Dec. 8, at Court Street UMC, 215 N. Court St. Topic will be “Faith and Politics.” Dinner will be held at 6 p.m.; program will be at 7 p.m.

Special guest will be Dave Robinson, executive director of Pax Christi USA, national Catholic peace and justice movement. An internationally recognized expert in the field of disarmament and nuclear deterrence, Robinson has represented Pax Christi on disarmament issues at the United Nations and regularly serves as a consultant to non-governmental organizations and faith-based groups working on issues of disarmament, human rights, international peace and conflict resolution.

Robinson participated in peace delegations to Iraq, El Salvador, Colombia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and lectures on a wide range of theological and justice issues, including economic and interracial justice, Just War Theory, role of faith and politics, war on terrorism and foreign policy.

Robinson has also participated in campaigns against U.S. nuclear weapons policy, the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and recently in front of the Sudanese Embassy in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis unfolding in Darfur. Robinson is executive editor of The Catholic Peace Voice, a quarterly news magazine published by Pax Christi USA.

The 7 p.m. program is free and open to the public. Dinner reservations are $15. For more information or to make reservations, call Stanley Campbell, executive director of RUM, at (815) 964-7111.

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Mental Health Ministries Task Group
issues invitation for new members

(Nov. 24) Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Mental Health Ministries Task Group (MHMTG) invites new members to its next meeting Monday, Nov. 27, at 10 a.m. at Our Saviour’s UMC, 701 E. Schaumburg Rd., Schaumburg.

Interested laity and clergy are welcome to join this group that seeks to increase awareness of mental health issues, provide education about mental illness and offer resources such as bulletin inserts to congregations.

If you are interested in serving as an advocate for those with mental illness and their families, and supporting with compassion and care those who are struggling, consider attending the Nov. 27 meeting.

MHMTG is a sub-group of the NIC Board of Church & Society.

For more information, call the Rev. Linda Deming, (815) 495-3761, the Rev. Steve Howland, (847) 352-8181, or the Rev. Lois McCullen Parr, (847) 272-2250).

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Rockford Christ to return to Gulf Coast,
issues invitation to others to join team

(Nov. 24)Christ UMC, Rockford, will host a return Volunteers in Mission (VIM) trip to the Gulf Coast March 3 to 10 to continue offering assistance in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Mississippi Conference Disaster Relief Center has assigned the Rockford team to return to Ocean Springs, the community a team from the church visited in March.

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has taken over administration of reconstruction efforts in Ocean Springs and has erected a modular building to house volunteers. Meals and showers are available on site.

Projects will include demolition, sanitizing, carpentry, roofing, painting, drywall and kitchen crew. There is a cost of $100 per person, and participants are expected to pay for their own meals in route. Participants will need to bring their own tools.

Other Northern Illinois Conference United Methodists are invited to join the trip. Participants may travel to Rockford and carpool from there or leave from their own home. The team is looking for participants willing to drive their own vehicles; reimbursement will be offered for fuel expense.

Team members plan to convene at a church in the Tennessee area on the evening of Saturday, March 3, for orientation, devotions and overnight stay. The team will arrive in Ocean Springs the evening of Sunday, March 4.

Monday through Thursday will be work days. Team members will head home Friday, March 9, with one overnight stop on the return trip.

For more information, contact Laura Widstrom, Christ UMC director of Youth and Children’s Ministries, (815) 399-5910.

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Court of Appeals rules against Vision

(Nov. 17) On Nov. 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled against Vision UMC, a congregation of mostly Korean-Americans that had filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Village of Long Grove. The suit charged that the village, located 38 miles north of Chicago, violated the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act of 2000 by “maliciously” preventing construction of Vision UMC’s church building.

When the congregation filed its lawsuit in August 2003, it was joined by the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) of the United Methodist Church and the Alliance Defense Fund, America’s largest public-interest religious-liberty legal alliance.

U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle ruled against the church in October 2005, and the church appealed the decision.

“We are saddened that constitutional liberties for everyone have been cut back because of the outrageous actions of one village,” said John Mauck, attorney for the church. “We’ll be meeting with our client to plan a course of action in response to the decision.”

“I’m very disappointed,” said Sam Witwer, NIC chancellor. “I truly felt this was such a case that the higher courts would see the light and reverse the district judge’s ruling.”

Witwer said the church must now decide whether or not to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. “It might be too much of an uphill shot to go for Supreme Court review,” he said. “They take only about 4% or 5% of cases that are offered to them.”

The Rev. Arlene Christopherson, Elgin District superintendent, said she and Bishop Hee-Soo Jung will meet with church members and their attorneys to decide what the next steps will be after Bishop Jung returns from the Council of Bishops meeting in Mozambique.

The lawsuit was the latest effort in the congregation’s seven-year struggle to make Long Grove its home.

In June 1999, members of Vision signed an intent to purchase 27 acres of land in unincorporated Lake County on the condition that the Village of Long Grove would annex the land and approve the church’s plans to construct a worship facility.

During numerous meetings with the Village Plan Commission, the congregation made expensive revisions to its original architectural plans to comply with commission requests. In September 2000, after receiving an informal go-ahead from Long Grove’s Plan Commission, the congregation bought land at the corner of Gilmer (Rte. 83) and North Kruger roads for $1.1 million.

But instead of approving the project, the Plan Commission put the church through another year of negotiations, public hearings and revisions to architectural plans. Finally, in spring 2001, the village rejected the church’s request for annexation and building approval.

Vision Church then applied to Lake County for a building permit. Just as county officials were finalizing approval of the church plans, Long Grove successfully delayed that process and forcibly annexed the church property. Upon annexation, the church property was automatically rezoned by Long Grove to a residential district that allows churches only if trustees vote to give special permission.

In January 2002, Vision Church members applied again for a special use permit. It was rejected in July 2002.

Long Grove then amended its zoning codes to require any church owning more than 20 acres of land to front a state highway — a requirement that applied only to Vision Church, guaranteeing to exclude it because the church’s property is on a county road.

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Small Group Institute training:
Wesley’s small groups about way of life

(Nov. 17) Approximately 200 persons attended Small Group Ministries training this fall focused on growing disciples. The training, at Glenview UMC and Sycamore UMC, was led by Steven Manskar, director of Accountable Discipleship at the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville.

The workshops were the third in a series sponsored by the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Institute for Small Group Ministry. The institute is recruiting and training laity and clergy to lead small groups in local congregations. Two more training modules will be offered next year. Each person who attends all five training events will be certified as a “Small Group Minister.”

Manskar led the first NIC Small Group Ministry workshops last February to describe how covenant grops are structured and function. This time he focused on the early Methodist communities. He explained that the leaders of John Wesley’s small groups usually provided pastoral care to early Methodists. “The pastor was not always around,” he said, “so the first person to visit you was the class leader.”

Manskar explained that the classes were the entry-level group in the Methodist structure. “If you were going to be a Methodist,” he said, “you would be in a class and you would meet every week.”

The classes and the more advanced societies, according to Manskar, were always about “How is it with your soul?” “Methodism was never about doctrine or theology or creed,” he emphasized. “It was about the way you live your life, with an emphasis on loving God and neighbor as yourself.”

Manskar said that every local church already has small groups in place and mentioned choirs, ad boards, United Methodist Women. As an exercise, he told his audience to develop a list of small groups already in their own churches.

“Every time one of these small groups meets, there should be time for accountability of members to one another and the task at hand,” Manskar said. “All these gatherings should be places of spiritual formation, but we don’t always organize them to be so. We need to be about building each other up in love every time we meet.

“The table around which we meet is the Lord’s table every time we gather.”

Manskar said congregations often overlook community and emphasize the individual instead. “That’s the mistake we make today,” he said. “Scripture primarily emphasizes community. Methodism ultimately was about forming the character of a people.”

The next Small Group Institute workshop will be “Getting Ready to Start a Small Group: Being A Small Group Minister.” John Jung, director of care and counseling at Ginghamsburg UMC in Ohio, will lead the workshops. They will be held on Saturdays, Feb. 10 and 24, at Sycamore UMC and Glenview UMC, respectively.

Following that will be “Mission and Outreach through Small Group Ministry: Invitation and Assimilation of New People.” Leader will be Sungnam Choi, director of Korean, Asian-American and Pacific Islanders Ministries, Discipleship Ministries Unit, General Board of Discipleship. The workshops will be Saturday, May 12, at Sycamore UMC, and Saturday, May 19, at Glenview UMC.

Registration can be made through the Office of Connectional Ministries, c/o Judy Siaba, 77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago, IL 60602, (312) 346-9766, ext. 124, or jsiaba@umcnic.org. For more information, contact the Rev. Oscar Carrasco, director of Connectional Ministries, (312) 346-9766, ext. 121.

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New Gresham outreach ministry team visits neighborhoods every Wednesday evening

(Nov. 17) New Gresham UMC, 8700 S. Emerald Ave., Chicago, began a Witness Outreach Ministry last year that has members going out into the community on Wednesday evenings to engage the church’s neighbors in conversation about the love of God.

The Community Outreach team has “touched on more than 300 homes” throughout the Gresham community in the inner city of Chicago, going from door-to-door inviting the neighbors to worship, according to the Rev. Dr. Barbara Morgan, pastor. She said the program is modeled after Luke 14:23 in which Christians are urged to go out into the “hedges and highways to compel persons to come in so that God’s house may be filled.”

Morgan said this ministry has grown into a major organ of New Gresham UMC. The Community Outreach team is managed by Morgan and headed by Ronnie Lindsay and Stanita Lindsay, co-chairs, and Donnie McDowell, assistant chair.

The team consists of more than 15 members of the congregation, including most leaders in the church. They meet every Wednesday at 7 p.m. for prayer and briefing before going out two-by-two to visit homes and engage neighbors in conversation about the love of God.

Team members return to the church at 8:30 p.m. to debrief, talk about their experiences and pray.

Senior members of the ministry team remain at New Gresham UMC and engage in prayer while the other members are out in the community.

“This has been a very empowering small group that has really made an impact on our church, as well as the community,” said Morgan. “They have grown spiritually, as they each have committed themselves to support and trust one another in their individual experiences. Every Wednesday evening is infused with a new energy provided by the Holy Spirit, as they share of themselves in this ‘much-needed’ ministry of God.”

Morgan said a question was posed at New Gresham UMC’s Charge Conference this year as to whether it is an “Antioch church.” “We would respond yes,” Morgan said. “New Gresham is a praying church. We are laying on the hands and sending people out.”

For more information about New Gresham’s Community Outreach Ministry, call (773) 651-8446.

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New charitable giving opportunity

( Nov. 17) Congress recently passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006. This legislation strengthens the United States retirement system while also encouraging additional charitable giving.

The new law includes special opportunities for individuals 70½ years and older to make charitable gifts from traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) using the IRA Charitable Rollover provision.

For 2006 and 2007, these individuals may make tax-free gifts directly to local churches and qualified charities.

Donors may choose to make distributions in any amount up to $100,000 per year. Further, the gift will qualify toward the Minimum Required Distribution (MRD) for the year the gift is made.

Though there is no charitable deduction because the gift uses pretax funds, the donor will not include these funds as taxable income for the year the gift is made.

Some ways the IRA Charitable Rollover may be used by older adults include pre-paying their annual pledge to their local church, making a gift to a capital campaign or establishing or adding to a charitable endowment fund.

Time is of the essence because these IRA provisions are limited to gifts made in 2006 and 2007.

For more detailed information about the IRA Charitable Rollover, visit the United Methodist Foundation’s Web site at www.nicumf.org or contact Foundation President Harry Nicol or Planned Giving Associate Janet Boryk at (312) 346-9766.

As always, you are urged to consult with your attorney or accountant before completing any charitable gift.

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Student Day helps fund undergrad scholarships

( Nov. 17) United Methodist Student Sunday, Nov. 26, is a chance to change the life of a student in your church! By lifting up this Special Sunday offering, your church will guarantee that the collegiate education of your United Methodist youths and young adults will be supported and made a reality.

This offering is the main source of funds for Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Undergraduate Scholarship Program. NIC’s Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry Undergraduate Scholarship applications are being accepted. Applications must be postmarked by April 1, 2007, to be considered.

There are a number of ways to receive the application: download a copy from the Conference web site, www.umcnic.org (Click on “Ministries,” then click on “Higher Education & Campus Ministry”); request an e-mail attachment be sent to you; request a copy be faxed to you; or request a copy be sent to you via mail.

For more information about United Methodist Student Day or to request an NIC undergraduate scholarship application, contact the Rev. Claude King, co-chair of the Scholarship Committee, NIC Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministries, First UMC, 424 Forest, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137, (630) 469-3510, ext. 16, or ClaudeKing@fumcge.org.

Please give generously to United Methodist Student Day on Nov. 26!

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February study for local churches
focuses on social justice ministry

(Nov. 10) Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) churches are urged to designate February as a month to focus on Christian social holiness and participate in a four-week study on the Bible’s call to social justice ministry.

The study, “Holy Word and Holy Work: The Call to Prophetic Ministry,” is a series of lessons that consider how the Christian faith described in scripture may be different from the current situation of our local congregations.

Commissioned by the NIC, the study was written by two professors at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis: Dr. Rufus Burrow Jr., Indiana Professor of Christian Thought and Professor of Theological Social Ethics, and the Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan, affiliate professor of Preaching and Ethics.

“In light of the world around us, our Methodist heritage, and the plight of our local congregations, we will spend these weeks looking at how scripture invites us into a more engaged, more prophetic ministry,” Mulligan said. “By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can all be challenged to become actively involved in our local churches’ efforts to welcome our communities into ministry and mission with us.”

Burrows and Mulligan said in developing the curriculum, they were attracted to the sense of churches needing to be called. “We want to stress the importance of the Bible and the commitment to all-church ministry,” they said.

Burrow and Mulligan have written two books together: Daring to Speak in God’s Name: Ethical Prophecy and Ministry and Standing in the Margin: How Your Congregation Can Minister with the Poor.

Under Burrow’s direction, students at Christian Theological Seminary explore the role of the church in the modern world through courses such as “The Church and National Issues” and “Prophetic and Ethical Witness of the Church.”

Mulligan became affiliate professor of preaching and ethics at Christian Theological Seminary in the spring of 2003. She was raised in the NIC where her father served local churches and twice was a District Superintendent. She is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and has served congregations in Illinois, Tennessee and Indiana.

Engaging in Christian social holiness is one of the four “fruit-producing strategies” that Bishop Hee-Soo Jung has named as top priorities for the NIC.

Last year, several hundred NIC churches requested copies of the first NIC-commissioned social holiness study, “Holiness of Heart and Mind,” written by Dr. Ted Campbell, former president of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. That study is still available on the NIC Web site, www.umcnic.org, and can be downloaded in English, Spanish or Korean.

The new study will be available in January. For copies, contact the Rev. Christopher Pierson, NIC director of Outreach and Witness Ministries, 217 Division St., Elgin, IL 60120, (847) 931-0710, ext. 15, or cpierson@umcnic.org.

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Lincoln Square play receives
$2,300 older ministries grant

( Nov. 10) The play “Don’t Wait up for Me — Life After 60” presented by Lincoln Square Theatre will air on Chicago Access Network TV (Channel 19) Monday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m.

The Successful Aging program at Lincoln Square Arts Center at Berry Memorial UMC, 4754 N. Leavitt St., Chicago, received an Older Adult Ministry Grant from the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship to produce the play. The $2,300 grant was awarded by the board’s Committee on Older Adult Ministries.

According to the Rev. Hazel Bennett, chair of the committee, 91 applications requesting a total of $211,500 were received. The committee had only $38,000 and made 29 grants.

The grants are an effort to support ministries by with, and for older adults. Maximum amount of any single grant awarded is up to $2,500.

Applications are being accepted for 2007 grants. Deadline for submission is Jan. 15. For more information or an application, contact Teri Kline, (877) 899-2780, ext. 7177 or tkline@gbod.org or visit www.aging-umc.org.

For more information about Lincoln Square Arts Center, call Executive Diretor Jerry Miller at (773) 426-1168.

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Fourth Senegal Consultation to be
held at First UMC Evanston Nov. 12

(Nov. 3) The fourth Senegal Consultation will be held 3 to 6 p.m Sunday, Nov. 12, at First UMC, 516 Church St., Evanston. The event, which begins with registration and viewing of displays at 3 p.m., will celebrate the United Methodist Initiative in the West African country of Senegal, which “graduated” this year to a full-fledged mission of the General Board of Global Ministries.

Dr. Aly Bashir from Dakar, Senegal, part of the Senegal UMC’s wellness and child nutrition programs, will be a special guest speaker. Mission teams from First UMC, Evanston; Trinity UMC, Wilmette; First UMC, Arlington Heights; and Calvary UMC, Villa Park, will report on their visits to Senegal this past year. The Rev. David Harsh, Wisconsin, will report on the Youth Mission Discovery team he led to Senegal. The consultation will also include singing, stories and introduction of newly commissioned missionaries to Senegal, the Revs. Kimberly and David Brown-Whale.

At 4:45 p.m. breakout sessions will be offered for those planning trips to Senegal and those who would like to explore outreach ministries in that country.

To top off the festivities, attendees will share in a Senegalese meal at 5:30 p.m.

All this for only $5. To reserve a space, send your check to: Senegal Consultation, First UMC, 516 Church St., Evanston, IL 60201. For more information, call (847) 864-8091 or contact coordinator Joanna Gwinn.

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Keagy enables ‘Drill Team’ to repair roof

(Nov. 10) The Rev. Jim Bell, associate pastor of UMC of Libertyville, led a “Drill Team” that worked four Saturdays on the roof of Hebron UMC. The team replaced the roof over Hebron UMC’s sanctuary, the entryway to the Wesley Room and front entry.

The work was enabled by a $2,000 grant Hebron UMC received from the Keagy Fund, which supports rural ministries.

Members of the “Drill Team” included John McNally, David Locke, Bob Davis, Ken Lichtenberger, Adam Weller, Scott Allen, Don Palmer and the Rev. Jamie Geiger, Libertyville UMC senior pastor.

The Libertyville team was joined by a work crew from Hebron UMC that included Ray Hoeft, Dale Walker, Steve Johnson and Grant Johnson.

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World AIDS Day aims to ‘Keep Promise’

(Nov. 10) World AIDS Day is Dec. 1. United Methodists are encouraged to observe this event on or near that day. This year’s slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise,” relates directly to the eight United Nations Millennium Goals to “Keep the Promise” to fight the sources of hunger and poverty in our world.

“Focusing on Accountability” is the theme of the 2006 World AIDS Day according to the World AIDS Campaign (WAC). This emphasis is being promoted with the slogan “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.”

Generating a greater public awareness of, and engagement with, the problem of AIDS worldwide is one of the primary goals of this theme as well as enhancing accountability from political leaders on their promises on AIDS. For example, it’s important for those living in the United States to make sure legislators know of support for the highest level of funding for AIDS both in this country and abroad. This requires communicating to Congresspersons and Senators.

United Methodist Global AIDS Fund

United Methodists are stepping up to provide a tangible response to the HIV/AIDS crisis through the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund. The fund was established at the 2004 General Conference to raise $8 million by 2008.

This fund represents the commitment of every United Methodist to put a stop to HIV/AIDS. The $8 million represents a $1 commitment of every United Methodist in the United States. It supports education, prevention, care and treatment programs for people living with HIV/AIDS.

The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund does not overlook the crisis in the United States. About one million people are infected in this country and more are added to that number each day. The plan specifies that 25% of what each annual conference raises should be used in that conference for AIDS work, either locally or in global projects.

Resources and Worship Material

Useful links for further information as well as worship materials are available on the Web:

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St. Mark volunteers returning to Gulf Coast

(Nov. 10) Fifteen volunteers in mission from St. Mark UMC, Chicago, will leave for New Orleans on Dec. 3. For one week, they will help persons recover from devastation of last year’s Hurricane Katrina.

Some will work in the Uptown Station office of the Storm Recovery Center run by the Louisiana Conference. Others will gut homes that were ruined, and some will help restore homes.

This is the third trip since August for volunteers from St. Mark UMC to the Gulf Coast. St. Mark members were among the first teams of African-Americans sent to the Uptown Station, which serves New Orleans and includes the 9th Ward, the area hit hardest when the levees broke.

Upon their arrival in Louisiana, the first St. Mark volunteers were amazed at the devastation and the slow pace of recovery. They soon discovered firsthand the difficulty of gutting homes. Deborah Lindsay, a volunteer who helped gut houses in August, recently warned those interested in this mission, “It will be the hardest work you have ever done; but it is worth it.”

Many persons who lost everything call the recovery centers seeking help. Listening to their stories helps them unload stress, and sometimes it helps volunteers see the hope and inspiration of God amid chaos and devastation.

Some St. Markers helped persons to detach themselves from ruined household items and to look toward the future in new ways.

Volunteers are encouraged to keep journals during the mission trip. And time for spiritual reflection is shared.

Most volunteers agree that once they became part of this mission, their lives were changed because they believed they grew closer to God.

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United Methodist Student Day is celebrated Nov. 26

(Nov. 10) Thanks to gifts from local churches on United Methodist Student Day, talented students attending United Methodist-related and other accredited colleges and universities receive scholarships and loans.

“The Gift of Hope scholarship gives me the ability to go to a United Methodist school where I can learn about myself and about God, then go to seminary,” said Ben Crismon, a junior religious studies major at Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport. He said he felt called to the ministry at age 12.

The lamp of learning shines brightly for Ben and others, thanks to caring United Methodists. Please give generously on United Methodist Student Day, the last Sunday in November. Your gift makes a world of difference!

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Day in Country ‘really a ball’

( Nov. 3)A busload of children from the inner city of Chicago squealed and giggled as they petted sheep, inspected a horse’s teeth, held baby ducklings and fed cows. They snorted at pigs, mooed at cows, quacked at ducks and stepped carefully through the barnyards.

And they asked questions, lots of questions.

Forty-seven youngsters and their adult chaperones spent a day visiting farms as part of “A Day in the Country,” an annual event sponsored by Food for Sharing.

Started in the mid 1980s by Orville Cunningham, member of Malta UMC who died in 1998, and Louis Owens, member of Woodlawn UMC in Chicago who died in October 2005, Food for Sharing was originally a partnership between Malta and Woodlawn UMCs. The program provided a way for United Methodists in farming communities to donate food for food pantries and soup kitchens run by United Methodist churches on Chicago’s south side.

The partnership between the two congregations has grown over the years into a one between DeKalb District and Chicago Southern District churches. Not only food, but also clothing and household items are regularly transported from DeKalb District churches to churches in Chicago. Once a year, Chicago children are transported out to farms for a day in the country.

At the farm owned by Paul and Florence Butler, members of Malta UMC, the children met sheep and horses.

“Not every kid gets a chance to do this,” said Paul Butler. “Kids nowadays don’t know where food comes from, except a supermarket.”

“It’s always interesting to catch their comments and see their reactions,” Butler said. “For most of them, this is something they haven’t seen. It’s neat to be around kids the first time they see things that are a different kind of lifestyle.”

“It’s nice,” said seven-year-old Romel, who said his favorite thing was seeing the horses. “I’ve never seen one before,” he said, “and they’re big.”

Five-year-old Phylicia wanted to see a cow and told anyone who would listen that she knew how to milk one. “You squeeze it,” she said. “And you get a bucket and the milk comes out.”

Seven-year-old Laquae discovered a tractor and clambered up. Sitting in the driver’s seat and turning the steering wheel, he asked Butler, “How do you turn this thing on?”

After leaving the Butler farm, the group went to Malta UMC where church members provided a “kid-friendly” lunch of chili dogs, Frito-cheese-chili pies, caramel apples and cookies. The Rev. Judy Giese, pastor of Malta and Northwest Malta UMCs, showed the children corn stalks and kernels of corn and explained how the crops grow.

Then the bus headed for the farm of Kim and Myron Plapp, members of Northwest Malta UMC, where the children met cows, pigs and baby ducks.

Final stop was Jonamac Orchards, owned by Malta UMC members Jerry and Mary Lynn McArtor, where the children were let loose in a pumpkin patch to choose pumpkins to take home.

Carrying pumpkins in their arms, on their shoulders, astride their hips or rolling them across the ground, the children climbed back on the bus to return to Chicago. Each was given a bag of candy for the ride home.

“We’ve had a lovely day,” said Betty Owens, widow of Louis Owens who has assumed responsibility for arranging the trip. “My niece is out here with her grandkids. They’ve never been out here before, and they’re really excited. They’re having a ball. They’re really having a ball.”

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Anti-gambling task force asks gubernatorial candidates to find better way to fund schools

(Nov. 3) The Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Anti-Gambling Task Force has joined Illinois Church Action of Alcohol and Addiction Problems (ILLCAAAP) to call on Illinois gubernatorial candidates Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka to come up with a plan to fund education that does not rely on gambling.

“Green Party candidate Rich Whitney is the only gubernatorial candidate to propose a plan to fund education that does not include gambling,” said Nancy Duel, NIC Anti-Gambling Task Force chair.

Duel said the public knows that gambling does not solve the problem of school funding. She pointed to a Copley News poll showing that 49% oppose Gov. Blagojevich’s plan to sell or lease the state lottery to increase funding for schools, 40% oppose State Treasurer Topinka’s plan to allow casino gambling in Chicago, and 47% oppose more than doubling the number of gambling positions at casinos.

“Gov. Blagojevich opposed expansion of gambling when he ran for office in 2002 and stopped many gambling expansion proposals in the legislature during his first term,” Duel said. “We call upon him to reject the sale or leasing of the Lottery, which will lead to a massive expansion of gambling, including video lottery machines, Keno and Internet gambling.”

Duel also noted that when Topinka served as a State Representative, she voted against legislation that created casino gambling in Illinois and has opposed Keno, tribal casinos and other expanded forms of gambling.

“We ask her to reject a massive land-based casino in Chicago and expansion of gambling positions at existing casinos,” Duel said.

“Gambling is an unstable source of revenue,” Duel said. “The children and citizens of Illinois deserve a well-thought out plan in place of a quick-fix gambling proposal that will result in long-term devastation to individuals and families.”

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Hilltop Center set to break ground

( Nov. 3) Groundbreaking is planned this month, if weather permits, for Phase 1 of the Hilltop Ministry Center, a new church start at 8309 Mitchell Rd. in Machesney Park. Goal is to occupy the first building by late summer or early fall 2007.

Bill and Joyce Russ, members of Centennial UMC in Rockford, deeded almost 30 acres of their 178-acre farm to the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) to be used as the site for a new church. Approximately 20 acres will be used immediately to build a church. The other 10 acres are part of the Russ homestead and will become NIC property after the Russes no longer live there. Ten additional acres are being purchased under a land contract from the Russes at a significantly lower than market price.

Located one mile north of Rte. 173 and one mile south of Swanson Road, the land is northeast of Rockford in the middle of five housing subdivisions currently under construction. More than 25,000 residents are expected to live within a three-mile radius of the new church site, according to the Rev. J. Martin Lee, NIC director of Congregational Development and Redevelopment.

Roscoe UMC is the shepherding congregation helping develop the new Hilltop Ministry Center.

“The Roscoe congregation sees the developing of Hilltop as an effective means for reaching the unchurched for Jesus Christ,” said the Rev. Jay Carr, Roscoe UMC pastor. “With the help of the Rockford District and the Conference, we are committed to supporting and launching the Hilltop Ministry Center.”

Building plans for Hilltop are projected in three phases. Phase I is a 26,000 sq. ft. building that includes a full-size gymnasium which will double as worship space and a coffee shop. Offices surrounding the gymnasium will serve as homes for three non-profit ministry partners that will lease space, providing community services and funding for building construction. Beloit Memorial Hospital will offer counseling services; Harlem Community Center will offer classes to expand its programming to Hilltop neighborhoods; and Building Blocks Learning Center, formerly known as Peanut Butter Playcare, will open a 150-child daycare/preschool. Athletic fields will surround the grounds and provide space for local groups to hold sporting events.

Phase II, to be built as the Hilltop congregation grows, will be a separate building with a more traditional sanctuary, additional administrative offices and classrooms. Phase III will be an addition to Phase II and will include a larger sanctuary for expected growth.

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‘Mirror, mirror on the wall ...’

By The Rev. Larry Hilkemann, DeKalb District Superintendent

(Nov. 3)Recently, I bought a new pair of slacks and had to have the waist taken out. I stood before the floor mirror as the tailor made those adjustments. I did not like standing before the mirror because it revealed the 10 pounds of weight that I have added since I began this work of superintending in July 2005.

A mirror reveals us as we are. And if we don’t like what we see, we can make decisions about improving on the image.

Natural Church Development (NCD) is like that mirror. Through a survey and the report of that survey, the congregation stands before its full-length mirror and sees herself as she is. And then she decides what she is going to do about what she sees.

This autumn as we do our church conferences, I am holding before you the Antioch church in Acts 13. Luke tells us that Barnabas came down from Jerusalem to the church in Antioch to check it out. At Antioch, Barnabas “saw” in that congregation people who believed and prayed and fasted and taught and fellowshipped and were generous in their giving in the name of Jesus. So drawn to this congregation was Barnabas that he went to Tarsus and got Saul to come with him and together they stayed among the people of Antioch for “a whole year.”

The Antioch church looked inviting to Barnabas. How do others experience your church? How do others within experience their church?

Eighteen churches in the DeKalb District have looked in the mirror. I want to challenge the remaining churches in the DeKalb and those in the Rockford District to look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Are you willing to do something about it? Ask yourself is your worship inspiring? Are your relationships loving? Is your spirituality passionate? And how are some of the other characteristics that make for healthy congregations?

There are significant testimonies out there of congregations who stood before the mirror. They did not like what they saw and are working to be something new and inviting and faithful in the name of Christ.

Will you accept the challenge to stand before the mirror of NCD? If you have questions, call Jim Miller of the DeKalb District at (815) 866-6088 or Pastor Dick Wisdom in the Rockford District at (815) 399-5910.

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Lewis retires after 19 years at Phoebe’s Place

(Nov. 3) Maple Park UMC, 11705 S. Elizabeth St., Chicago, and the Executive Board of Phoebe’s Place/Hidden Treasures celebrated the 19th anniversary of the program by also celebrating the retirement of Phoebe’s Place/Hidden Treasure’s founder and Executive Director Deaconess Josephine Lewis on Oct. 9. Lewis, one of only two deaconesses in the Northern Illinois Conference, founded Phoebe’s Place as a special outreach ministry to African-American senior citizens in the Maple/Morgan Park community.

The Board of Directors also announced that Marcia Williams, a retired 30-year-veteran with the Illinois Dept. of Children and Family Services, has accepted the position of Executive Director.

Seniors who participate in Phoebe’s Place take advantage of age-specific exercise and Spanish classes, field trips, fellowship opportunities and weekly lunches at a reduced rate. In 1996, Lewis recognized the need for Alzheimer’s patients and their caretakers to have a place for respite. She created Hidden Treasures, which at that time was the only African-American day-care center for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The Rev. William Carter, recently retired Northern Illinois Conference elder and past director of the United Methodist Church’s Advance for Christ and His Church, was keynote speaker for the event. Building on the theme “Profile of a Servant,” he stresed the importance of Phoebe’s Place to the community and encouraged continuing Lewis’ legacy by not only providing a place for seniors, but for any who need the Church to extend the love of Christ.

For more details on Phoebe’s Place, contact Williams at (773) 928-3440, or Maple Park UMC, (773) 928-5220.

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NCJ Asian-Americans elects
Moon, Javier, Van as officers

(Nov. 3) The North Central Jurisdiction Fellowship of Asian-Americans of the United Methodist Church celebrated its 31st anniversary at its annual convocation this fall at Elston Avenue UMC in Chicago.

The fellowship was founded in 1975 as one of the official caucuses of the North Central Jurisdiction. Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, resident bishop of Northern Illinois Conference, delivered the sermon at the 31st anniversary celebration worship service.

The fellowship held a general meeting during the convocation and elected new officers. They are the Rev. Dr. Sung-Ja Lee Moon, chair; the Rev. Dr. Christian Van, vice chair; Nadia Kanhai Zamora, secretary; and Aquilino “Pong” Javier, treasurer.

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