September

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Arlington Heights, Naperville churches
cooperate in VBS at Humboldt Park UMC

(Sept. 30) Thirteen members of First UMC in Arlington Heights and five from Community UMC in Naperville were joined by one United Methodist from Iowa to form a North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ) Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team that went to Humboldt Park UMC in Chicago this summer to lead Vacation Bible School (VBS).

The team led VBS as part of the NCJ VIM TeachUM program that provides opportunities for persons of all ages to use their specialized gifts, training and experience in educational projects.

Every evening for one week, the team prepared and fed the children dinner and led music, storytelling, and a variety of activities using the Cokesbury curriculum, “Circle G Ranch,” which had been used by the Arlington Heights congregation.

“We use this curriculum at our church,” said the Rev. Bonnie Beckonchrist, First UMC of Arlington Heights senior pastor who was one of two volunteers who did biblical storytelling. “We’ve made the investment to purchase it, so we can save it and bring it to another place.”

Thirty-four children, ages 2 to 12, participated in the VBS. The largest group was preschoolers with more than 20 two- to five-year olds.

“I think it’s great that they’re coming here,” said Mary Stitt, member of First UMC in Arlington Heights and a retired principal, who led the VIM team. “They love the music. And the children are all very loving and kind to each other.”

Stitt, who led a similar team that put on the Humboldt Park VBS last year, said this year’s team was short on experienced teachers. “Last year we had two experienced teachers at the young elementary and middle elementary level,” she said. “This year we just had one experienced teacher.”

But the team did have one teenage boy, 17-year-old Jonathan Mikels from First UMC in Alrington Heights, and the children loved him.

“The children adore him,” Stitt said. “He’s like the Pied Piper. They follow him around everywhere.”

Jonathan, son of the Rev. Lynn Mikels, minister of Christian Education at First UMC of Arlington Heights, led music for VBS at the Arlington Heights church and said because “my mother needed help, and I like music, too,” he assisted with the Humboldt Park program.

“This is a great part of our United Methodist connection,” Lynn Mikels said. “It’s a great way to help spread the Gospel and receive the Gospel in return. It’s mutual ministry at its best, and it’s really fun.

“I encourage people of all ages, in my family or not, to come down and experience the joy of Christ in our United Methodist connection.”

And to show how much fun the VIM team had, Lynn Mikels told a secret about her son. “He had a chance to go to a White Sox game on Tuesday,” she said, “but he came here instead.”

Bob Schroeder, member of Community UMC in Naperville and a retired school teacher, participated in the team for a number of reasons, some of them sentimental. He grew up in Humboldt Park and attended the church as a youth. He played basketball in the church gym and has “very fond memories” of being a teenager there.

“It was a very important part of my life,” Schroeder said. “Without it, I wouldn’t be here.”

Schroeder said the Rev. Eugene Wykle and his wife, Marie, were appointed to Humboldt Park and served as Schroeder’s mentors. “I had never even thought about college,” Schroeder said, “but they insisted I should go.” They helped Schroeder attend North Central College in Naperville and arranged for him to live without payment with Wykle’s father, a retired clergyman in Naperville.

“Gene and Marie convinced me to go to college,” Schroeder said, “and then they helped me do that. It wasn’t just the financial help, but also the psychological boost and support. They were my primary, if not the first, Christian witnesses that helped me find my way.”

So Schroeder returned to Humboldt Park to help a new generation, and he worked with junior high and preschool children. “Those kids were as good as any kids I ever had in my 30 years of teaching, and I told them so,” said Schroeder, who taught mostly 7th grade social studies for 31 years in the Naperville public schools. “Comparing these junior high kids to kids I taught in my 30 years of experience, they were as good as any kids I ever had. They really were very, very cooperative, nice kids, bright kids.”

Schroeder said the Humboldt Park parents seemed very pleased with the VBS program. “They were all smiles when they would come pick up their kids or drop them off,” he said. “Some of the parents came to eat with us. It was very rewarding, their response.”

And Schroeder recommends the experience to other United Methodists. “Other churches should do this, too,” Schroeder said. “They would benefit from the experience.”

“It’s wonderful,” said the Rev. Fernando Siaba, Humboldt Park UMC pastor, who said it would be difficult for the small Humboldt Park congregation to put on the VBS themselves.

“It’s a blessing that goes both ways,” Siaba said, noting that the children and the adult leaders benefit from the experience. “Each has been able to give and receive a lot of love and understanding. This really binds them together in a very special way.”

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DeKalb CROP Walk honors King

(Sept. 30) For as many years that members of the DeKalb County North CROP Walk steering committee can recall, Dr. Sondra King worked with them on the event. She was either in on the planning, recruiting members of First UMC in DeKalb, signing in walkers, manning a table or walking on the walk day. Most often, she was doing all of these.

Dr. King’s sudden death March 16 left a big hole in DeKalb’s walk to end hunger. That is why DeKalb’s CROP Walk on Sunday, Oct. 16, will be dedicated to her memory. Many who might not otherwise walk are doing so to honor her longtime commitment to end hunger throughout the world.

Dr. King, a retired associate professor in Northern Illinois University’s School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences, witnessed hunger firsthand as she traveled the world devoting her professional expertise to Third World countries.

Dr. King was inspired early in her career as a nutritionist when a Methodist pastor asked her to go with him on a mission trip to Costa Rica. She then became a specialist in global nutrition issues, working on projects to improve the nutrition of impoverished children.

In ensuing years, Dr. King worked on nutrition and hunger issues in Uzbekistan, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, China, Ghana and the Dominican Republic.

The Rev. Kitty Ganzel, pastor of First UMC in DeKalb, saluted Dr. King’s “untiring efforts to relieve suffering no matter where the people were — especially when hunger or health were issues.”

King also served as Secretary of Global Ministries for the Northern Illinois Conference, on the Board of Directors of Church World Service (CWS) sponsors of CROP, and was a long-time leader of CWS “Global Educators” in northern Illinois. In DeKalb, she helped found a Bread for the World chapter and was active in the Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice.

Her “sisters” in “Bread and Roses,” a women’s choir to which she belonged, will be at Sycamore UMC, 160 Johnson Ave., to send off the CROP Walk at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, as a special tribute to her memory.

For more information contact Paul Hagen at (815) 895-3954.

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Historic Union Avenue building needs
repairs to undergird diverse ministries

(Sept. 23) The 50-member congregation of Union Avenue UMC, 4350 S. Union Ave., worships in a historic building in the Canaryville neighborhood of Chicago. Located near the old Chicago Stockyards, the church was founded by Gustavus Swift, founder of Swift & Co. meat processors and half owner of the stockyards.

“The congregation was started in Swift’s living room,” said the Rev. Vaughn Peterson, Union Avenue pastor. “Swift was a charter member. He paid for construction of the church building as well as many of its furnishings and, probably, the organ.”

The church building, completed in 1889, was once a showplace in the neighborhood. Its 1890 Johnson and Son pipe organ is one of a very few remaining instruments of its kind.

Today, while no longer a showplace, the church is the center of a number of vital community ministries.

About 185 families comprising 670 individuals are served each month by the church’s food pantry.

General Education Degree (GED) classes are offered through Kennedy King College.

“There are a lot of needs in this neighborhood,” Peterson said. “One of the needs is graduation from high school, getting a diploma so they can get a job.”

The church’s Business Center is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday offering facilities where neighborhood residents can send a fax, make a photocopy or write a resume.

The church’s largest program is its Young Life Youth Ministries that attracts 350 youths from the community.

Students in seventh grade through high school come to the church from 42 different schools across Chicago. The kids can use the 11 computers in the computer lab to do homework and Bible study. Recreational choices are offered by the church’s gym, pool tables, ping pong tables, video arcade games and 90-year-old bowling lanes.

“Right after school we have them doing homework and recreational activities” said Ray Carey, a church trustee and one of three adults who run the Young Life program.

“Everyone who comes has to do at least 20 minutes of homework,” Carey said. “If a kid comes without homework, we ask them five questions from the Bible and then we help them look up the answers. It’s really a blessing to see a kid who never opened the Bible open it and read it.”

Young Life participants work in community service projects, including volunteering at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. And they go camping, biking, canoeing, and take field trips in which they have traveled to Cleveland, Colorado, New York and Virginia.

The many outreach programs put wear and tear on the church building, which is showing its age. And the small congregation is struggling to fund needed repairs. That’s why the church is the second Church Builders’ Call for 2005.

Two and a half years ago, the congregation replaced a leaking roof. “There is no more leaking,” said Peterson, “but there is lots of water damage that needs to be repaired.”

Water damaged plaster needs to be replaced. And after the sanctuary is replastered, it will need to be repainted.

Church members installed two new boilers to heat the building, but they would like to replace the heating vents with ones that can be adjusted. Now the membes place a board on top of a vent when they want to close it.

The congregation wants to finish tuck pointing the building. “We had half the church tuck pointed two summers ago,” Carey said. “We just didn’t have the money to finish it.”

A major concern is the need to repair the beautiful stained-glass windows. “These windows are so loose I’m afraid they’re going to fall out if we have a really bad wind storm,” Carey said. “When the wind blows they actually move in and out.”

And, while they’re at it, church members would like to restore the organ “that is in big disrepair,” said Peterson, and install an elevator.

“Everything that has been done has been paid for,” Peterson said, “but now we need to go forward. There’s much more that needs to be done.”

Help Church Builders empower local ministry

Individuals throughout Northern lllinois pledge $25 or more per call — usually three each year.

Funds help purchase land and construct new buildings and parsonages.

Deteriorating buildings have been restored, and those damaged by natural disaster have been repaired or replaced.

Conference Board of Global Ministries pays administrative costs, enabling all donations, plus interest, to go to designated churches.

For more about Church Builders and how you may join: contact the Northern Illinois Conference, (312) 346-9766; the Rev. Scott McClellan, Church Builders chairperson, (815) 369-5291; or Nancy Duel, treasurer, (847) 259-3793.

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Iowa youth group brings open hearts,
minds to help Irving Park open doors

(Sept. 23) Fourteen members of the senior high youth group from Nevada UMC in Nevada, Iowa, arrived at Irving Park UMC in Chicago on a Sunday night this past summer. They stayed for one week.

For that week they gave of their time and talents. They slept in the sanctuary. They worked in 100-degree heat day after day. They sanded, treated and repaired the church wheelchair ramp and fences. They stripped and sanded the wooden entry doors and made the hardware look brand new. At midnight, on the final night of their visit, several members of the group were found working under floodlights as they insisted on applying a last coat on the main church doors.

“We are their mission,” Vicci Rodgers Keutzer, Irving Park UMC member, explained to her two children, who have grown up attending Irving Park UMC.

“You mean they’ve come to help our church?” asked Ruby, age 9. “Why us?”

“I really believe God sent them,” her mother replied.

In Iowa, these youths are part of a congregation of more than 850 in a town of 5,500 residents. Nevada UMC is undergoing its own renovation, but these individuals found time to come help another church.

The Iowa youths held numerous fund raisers over eight months to raise money for their mission trip. They held a turkey dinner, a baked potato bar, sold sundaes complete with freshly picked strawberries and even did yard work, windows, landscaping and other chores through their “Rent-a-Youth” program.

“This is a good way to come together as a group,” said Lisa Schumacher, as she explained her first mission trip. “It felt good to help another church get itself cleaned up so, hopefully, more people will want to come inside. I definitely would do a trip like this again.”

“This was my first trip to Chicago,” said James Williams. “The city goes on and on. This is the first time I’ve seen a Great Lake. It’s pretty great. We’ve been to places before, but we’ve never worked on the church we stayed in. It’s awesome how the church opened their doors to us.”

Joe Nehring, 16, moved to Iowa from Moscow, Russia, with his younger sister just two years ago. This was his first mission trip. He was thrilled when the group went to a small Russian restaurant where he was able to speak Russian with the owner.

“I liked coming to help this church. It felt good to help,” Nehring said. “I just wish we had more time to sleep.” The group was up by 7:15 almost every morning and worked 8- to 10-hour days before they went to the Irving Park YMCA for showers prior to heading out to explore Chicago.

Their exploration included a visit to the Chapel in the Sky at First UMC of Chicago (The Chicago Temple) where they had a personalized tour provided by Erik Nussbaum, director of Music and the Arts.

“Eric was leaving when we arrived,” said the Rev. Steve Williams, Nevada UMC pastor. “He turned around and took the next hour to give us a personal tour of the Temple and the chapel. It was a wonderful addition to our trip.”

Prior to leaving Chicago, the group sat on the front porch of Irving Park UMC and sang “Make me a sanctuary of your love.”

After the Iowa team left, Irving Park UMC neighbors kept stopping by to discuss what they had witnessed during the past week. They offered thanks for the freshened church grounds and building changes. They were obviously moved by what they observed.

Now Irving Park UMC glows with refreshed gardens and grounds, a revitalized kitchen, refinished entry doors, polished pews and so much more.

There are only 50 or so parishioners at worship on a good Sunday in the beautiful 110-year-old Irving Park UMC. Multiple tenants help keep money flowing in an attempt to maintain the massive building. Church Builder and Accessibility funds have helped with necessary changes during the past 10 years. This is a church in transition. New faces are showing up regularly.

A new pastor, the Rev. Christine Hoffmeyer, came to Irving Park last July. On the Sunday morning after the Iowa mission team had departed, her sermon was about visions. During prayer time, Ruby Keutzer stood up and told the congregation about a dream she had the second night after the Iowa group arrived. “I dreamed that they stayed for a month and when I walked in my church it was all new. There were Sunday school rooms filled with kids. There was a stage with microphones and props. Everything was fresh and new and there were a lot of people in our church.”

In response, Janet Williams, wife of the Nevada UMC pastor, wrote, “We are praying for your vision to become a reality … remember to thank God in all things.”

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Foundation launches planned giving pilot

(Sept. 23) The Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Foundation is launching a pilot project to promote planned giving within local churches.

Beginning this fall, the Foundation will work with a limited number of local churches to tailor a program to educate, inform and encourage members to consider a planned gift to their local church. The special benefits of charitable gift annuities will be promoted.

A charitable gift annuity is a contract that makes a permanent, charitable gift and also provides the donor(s) with income payments for life. In addition, gift annuities offer tax benefits. Annuitants receive a charitable tax deduction for the gift, and a portion of the life income is tax-free.

The Foundation has extensive experience in administering charitable gift annuities, with more than 350 annuities included in the assets under its management. The Foundation meets all industry best-practice standards for gift annuity administration, as well as requirements specified by the state of Illinois. Life income payments to annuitants are backed by the unrestricted assets of the Foundation.

During the pilot phase, the Foundation will work with four to six churches to develop and implement a planned giving emphasis that can become an ongoing component of the local church stewardship program. Planning, training church leaders, materials development, and a marketing plan will be included in the activities of the project.

Congregations interested in more information should contact Janet Boryk at the United Methodist Foundation, (312) 346-9766, ext. 106, or jboryk@umcnic.org.

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There are many ways to respond to Katrina

(Sept. 16) Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) leaders are prepared to help local churches get involved in Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. In a meeting called by the NIC Director of Connectional Ministries, plans were made to help churches provide short-term or long-term aid, assist with relief for victims in affected areas, help evacuees brought to Illinois, sponsor a relocated family and support the ministry of United Methodist churches in affected areas.

Relief efforts

To help provide immediate relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina, financial contributions can be made to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Advance #982523, “Hurricanes 2005 Global.”

Undesignated contributions can also be made to UMCOR Advance #999895 to allow the agency to use the funds where the need is greatest.

Churches can send emergency Health Kits, Flood Buckets, blankets, bottled water and other needed supplies to the UMCOR distribution center, Sager Brown Depot, in Baldwin, La. For assembly and shipping instructions, call Sager Brown Depot at (800) 814-8765 or go to http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits.cfm on the Web. Financial donations can be made to “UMCOR Material Resources,” Advance #901440, to buy kit contents. The value of a Health Kit is $12. Value of a Flood Bucket is $45.

To have kits and supplies delivered to Sager Brown Depot, drop them off at an NIC church designated a drop-off site: "5 ways you can help victims of Hurricane Katrina."

Given the emergency, delivery to the depot is strongly encouraged, but kits may also be shipped to: UMCOR Sager Brown Depot, P.O. Box 850, 131 Sager Brown Road, Baldwin, LA 70514-0850. Please also provide $1 per kit to cover distribution costs. This may be sent to Sager Brown through UMCOR Advance #982730, “Contain Your Joy.”

For information about relief efforts, contact George H. Bush, NIC Disaster Response coordinator, at (630) 234-3499.

Volunteers in Mission

While a crisis situation continues in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, volunteers should not go into the area unless they have a personal invitation and can take sufficient resources to support their own needs.

“I’m not going to encourage people to go down until UMCOR sets up work sites,” said Jack Lucas, NIC Volunteers in Mission coordinator.

Contact Lucas, (847) 885-2279, for details on creating and training a team as well as scheduling. For information on disaster sites that are scheduling volunteers, call the Volunteer Hotline at (800) 918-3100.

Help evacuees here

Some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina are being relocated to Illinois. People are expected to be brought to facilities in Elgin, Tinley Park and, possibly, Rockford and Kane County. Help is needed in preparing the sites, sorting clothes and other supplies, providing food and assisting the evacuees upon arrival.

For information about assisting evacuees brought to northern Illinois, contact the Rev. Chris Pierson, NIC director of Outreach and Witness Ministries, (847) 931-0710, ext. 15.

Resettlement/sponsorship

“Very soon we’re going to be in the stage where we need churches to step up to sponsor these families that have been relocated to Illinois,” said the Rev. Zaki Zaki, NIC Refugee coordinator.

What will be needed, Zaki said, is for churches to make a commitment to sponsor or co-sponsor one or two evacuee families. Sponsorship would require a commitment of four months and $4,000.

The sponsoring church would be expected to provide housing and basic furnishings and necessities, as well as assist with finding employment and enrolling children in schools.

“The assumption is that within four months, the family can stand on its own feet and make a decision to stay in the area or leave,” Zaki said.

While Zaki said an individual can support an evacuee family, “it is always helpful to encourage the church to be the sponsor so there is a larger support system.”

“It’s an experience that can transform the life of the whole church,” Zaki said. “This is going to be an opportunity for us to bridge cultural divides, racial and ethnic divides, to bridge them not by talk but by actions.”

For information about sponsoring a family, contact the Rev. Zaki Zaki at (773) 497-4141.

Drop-off sites

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Elgin District volunteers prepare
facility to receive evacuees

(Sept. 16) About 80 United Methodists from at least nine churches in the Elgin District spent the past week helping convert buildings that had been virtually abandoned within the Elgin Mental Health Facility into a temporary residence for survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The volunteers scrubbed and cleaned bedrooms. They brought in donations of sheets, blankets, diapers and health kits. They sorted and organized clothing and supplies. They scrounged for extra tables, coat racks, hangers and more volunteers.

“It’s just wonderful what’s been happening here,” said the Rev. Arlene Christopherson, Elgin District superintendent. “We’ve been kind of doing the last leg of the state disaster plan. The leg that they don’t have is volunteers, so the churches have been taking over.”

The Rev. Paul Meyers, pastor of Cornerstone UMC, ended up supervising the operation. Meyers said when he arrived at the facility to offer help, “they were panicking around here because they didn’t have enough volunteers. I said tell me what you want, and we just mobilized people.”

Meyers went to the Elgin District office and started calling pastors, asking them to come and bring laity with them.

Volunteers came from Cornerstone UMC, Epworth UMC, Wesley UMC, El Mesias and First UMC in Elgin, West Dundee, Kingswood UMC in Buffalo Grove, Community UMC in South Elgin, and Our Redeemer’s in Schaumburg.

The volunteers tackled the piles and boxes of clothing, toys and supplies, sorting everything by type and size.

“I told them to just organize it like you would a rummage sale,” Meyers said. “This is just like what we do for a rummage sale. That’s why we’re so good at it.”

By the time the volunteers finished, the gymnasium was filled with row after row of clothing hung on coat racks and tables piled high with neatly folded apparel. It was estimated that they had enough women’s clothes alone to supply at least 400 women for a week.

“It seems like it’s all Methodists working in here,” said Dick Breslich, member of Epworth UMC, Elgin. Many volunteers came from Epworth’s men’s group.

“At this time it’s the right thing to do,” said Tina Vega, member of El Mesias UMC, as she scrubbed and mopped the sleeping areas. “We have to give them a clean place to stay. They really need this attention right now.”

And the volunteers aren’t finished yet.

“The point of bringing them in here is to assimilate them and bring them into the community,” Meyers said. “We’re going to be meeting with them, getting to know them, taking them through the gym, and getting them clothes.”

“At El Mesias, we made a commitment to be in this for the long haul,” Vega said, adding she expects to offer assistance with finding a job and enrolling in school.

“We’re looking into anything we can help with in the long term,” Vega said. “We’re not just here for the short-term hype. We’re not going to just bring in food and clothes and drop them off and think we’re doing our part.”

The state employees in charge of the Elgin facility seemed particularly pleased with the United Methodist volunteers.“ They not only pitched in,” said Cathy Johnson, Activity Therapy Supervisor, “they actually took over and have run the show. It’s been fantastic.”

Meyers said as many as 600 evacuees are expected to arrive at the Elgin facility at some point, and he wants United Methodists to be ready to help them. “We don’t need to go to Louisiana,” Meyers said. “God’s bringing the mission to our backyard.”

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Downers Grove First takes
3 van loads to Sager Brown

(Sept. 16) Members of First UMC, Downers Grove, are driving three vans filled with more than 1,000 Health Kits, bottled water, diapers, sheets, pillows, towels and other supplies to Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La., the primary distribution center for United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

One van was provided by a church member. But two of the vans were provided free of charge by Ace Rental near O’Hare Airport.

“[Ace] just said they are going to keep these two vans going constantly down to the area — for free,” said the Rev. John Smoke, associate pastor of First UMC. “All we have to do is pay for the gas and insurance.”

The vans were scheduled to leave Sunday, Sept. 11, with two drivers in each vehicle.

“We expect to get there Monday,” Smoke said. “We’ll unload Monday afternoon. Monday night we’ll do whatever they want us to do. We want them to put us to work. Then we’ll get up early Tuesday morning and head back home.”

Although First UMC has been designated a Northern Illinois Conference drop-off point for kits, Smoke said most of the supplies being delivered were brought in by members of the Downers Grove congregation.

One member of the church found a way to buy the contents of a Health Kit for $5, so he sent out a notice to church members asking them to each give $5 for a kit, which resulted in 450 kits.

Smoke said that while he is at Sager Brown he will ask about the possibilities for sending adult and youth mission trips to the depot. “I want to start to make a connection so that we can do adult and youth mission trips down there in the years to come,” he said. “It sounds like it’s going to be the place to go.”

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Wisdom to lead volunteer team to Mississippi

(Sept. 16) The Rev. Dick Wisdom, pastor of Christ UMC in Rockford, is organizing a group of pastor and lay volunteers who are traveling down to Mississippi on Sunday, Sept. 18, to work for a week with United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) disaster recovery.

“We’re trying to get between 50 and 100 people,” Wisdom said, including pastors, Stephen Ministers and manual laborers.

The Rev. Bill Obalil, pastor of Geneva UMC, and the Rev. John Wesley Lee, pastor of Beth Eden, Harlem and Evans UMCs, will be part of the work team and bring members of their congregations with them, Wisdom said.

Other churches supporting the trip with volunteers, money and prayers are Brooke Road UMC in Rockford, Poplar Grove UMC, First UMC in Downers Grove, Wesley UMC in Aurora and Grace UMC in Naperville.

Final details of the trip were still being worked out last week when The Reporter went to press.

“All the pastors, each one I’ve talked to, every single one of them, wanted to be able to go,” Wisdom said. “Many of them are trying to work it out. It’s almost impossible on such short notice, but the ones that can are moving things around so they can go.”

Wisdom said there will be three major objectives for the trip: to support United Methodist pastors, to provide a Christian listening ear for people who have suffered traumatic losses, and to help with cleanup and first response repairs.

“We won‘t know exactly where we will be working until we get to Mississippi,” Wisdom said. “It will probably be near the Gulfport area.”

The Stephen Ministers on the trip will “do the listening gifts for the folks that have lost everything,” Wisdom said. Pastors will offer support to Mississippi pastors and conduct worship.

Hands-on labor will help UMCOR’s work which, at this stage, focuses on “making things safe, secure and sanitary,” Wisdom said, “not on rebuilding.”

“We’re taking tons of tarps down there that can be put over roofs where sheeting has blown off,” Wisdom said. “And we will be moving debris, tearing out wet dry wall so it doesn’t mold or mildew further, and tearing out carpeting.”

The idea for the trip was developed when Wisdom visited the United Methodist Church Web site, www.umc.org, and then went to sites for the annual conferences affected by Katrina.

On the Mississippi Conference Web page, volunteers were told to contact the Rev. Jeff Pruitt, Mississippi disaster coordinator for UMCOR.

“I called him on his cell phone to see how he was doing,” Wisdom said. “He’s got to be a walking saint. He’s just working his tail off. He said there is such devastation it is beyond people’s comprehension.”

Pruitt told Wisdom about a pastor who was in a shelter where three people died when Katrina hit. And Pruitt said that when an 18-wheeler came in with UMCOR supplies “people were weeping because they thought the world had forgotten about them. They thought they were alone.”

When Wisdom asked how he could help, plans for the work trip began to develop.

“I have a phenomenal staff and lay folks in this church,” Wisdom said. “The stuff we’ve pulled together and the contacts we’ve made are just amazing.”

Wisdom said the work team will stay in a Missouri United Methodist church on the way down and will sleep in a Memphis United Methodist church on the way back.

“One of the greatest gifts of being a United Methodist is the connectional system,” Wisdom said. “We’ve been asked to do a quick response. In the course of that there is a dimension of hands-on labor, also Christian caregiving and listening, and, for pastors, the opportunity to help our colleagues who are trying to shepherd and also deal with the devastation of their own families.”

“This is an opportunity to be the hands and heart of Jesus and let these people know they are still part of the world,” Wisdom said. “And it’s an opportunity for us to say that if you are a United Methodist, you are part of a system that has not forgotten you and won’t.”

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CCFA votes to send Louisiana $20,000

(Sept. 16) The Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Council on Finance and Administration (CCFA) voted to ask local churches to contribute funds so the NIC can send $20,000 to the Louisiana Conference to help pay salaries of pastors.

“The Louisiana Conference is going to be paying the salaries for all pastors in an entire district,” said Lonnie Chafin, NIC treasurer and director of Administrative Services. “That’s 80 pastors who no longer have churches to serve or congregants who can support them.”

Chafin said he learned of the situation when he called the Louisiana Conference treasurer “just to check in to see how he was doing.” The Louisiana treasurer said the total cost between now and the end of the year will be $1.1 million, including salaries, pensions and health benefits.

“I know the [United Methodist] Board of Pensions is looking into what they can do to help,” Chafin said. “But I know funds at the general church level are going to be tight. After all, apportionments from Alabama, West Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana will probably be negatively affected.”

Churches wishing to contribute should make a check payable to the Northern Illinois Conference and send it to Lonnie Chafin at 77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago, IL 60602.

Contributions should not be sent in as part of apportionment payments, Chafin said.

Chafin said CCFA voted to contribute the $20,000 with the hope that local churches will contribute the entire amount, but with a commitment to take the money out of the NIC budget, if necessary.

“I’m hoping we don’t have to take any money out of the budget,” Chafin said, “but if we have to, we will.”

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Amor de Dios takes truck to Mississippi
with help of East Side, Grace UMCs

(Sept. 16) Residents of one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago were able to gather enough bottled water, food, toiletries, clothes, blankets and batteries to fill a 24-foot truck and, with the help of two other United Methodist churches, they rented the truck and drove it to the Gulf Coast to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In just four days, members of Amor de Dios UMC in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago collected enough supplies to fill the basement of the church. But the rental company that had promised them a truck backed out on the deal.

So East Side UMC in Chicago came up with $700 for the truck rental. And Grace UMC in Naperville added $500 to pay for gas and food for the drivers.

“We called this campaign the poor helping the poor,” said Jose Landaverde, Amor de Dios pastor. “Most of the people who donated these things are poor people, and all of these donations are for people who are poor.”

“We always wanted to do something together,” said the Rev. Zaki Zaki, pastor of East Side UMC. “When I learned about this, I called Jose and said this might be something we can do.”

“It is very humbling to see a neighborhood with so much need respond with this kind of heart,” said the Rev. Oscar Carrasco, Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) director of Connectional Ministries. “I’m amazed. I’m amazed.”

Landaverde said when he left on Sept. 6 that he planned to take the supplies to the United Methodist Committee on Relief distribution center at Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La.

But the day after Landaverde left, Carrasco was in his office and overheard Carolyn Cook, administrative assistant for the NIC United Methodist Foundation, talking about her concern for her sister and three brothers who were stranded in Jackson, Miss., without food. Cook had tried to FedEx or ship food to them, but could find nobody that was going to that area.

Carrasco called Landaverde on his cell phone and discovered that he was not too far from Cook’s sister.

“When Oscar heard about it,” Cook said, “he immediately got hold of that truck, found out where they were and sent them to my sister’s house in Jackson.”

Landaverde went first to help Cook’s relatives, and then ended up delivering everything in his truck to hurricane victims in Mississippi who were asking for help.

“Because of that my sister was able to share what she had not only with my brothers and their families but with the people in her neighborhood,” Cook said.

“It’s just a miracle,” Cook said. “It was such a blessing to know that there were people that were so concerned and caring they were able to do something that I couldn’t do. I thank God for that.”

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Princeton, Wyanet, Malden collect relief supplies

(Sept. 16) First UMC of Princeton, with help from Wyanet and Malden UMCs, continues to collect supplies and assemble Health Kits and Flood Buckets for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

On Sept. 8, First UMC drove a van with the first load — 144 Health Kits and 11 Flood Buckets — to Calvary UMC in Bloomington which sent a truck of supplies to the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham. The Chatham center ships supplies to Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La., the primary distribution center for United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

First UMC members have cleaned out Princeton stores buying the contents needed for flood buckets. “We have bought out everything in Princeton that fits on the list,” said the Rev. Jim Galbreath, First UMC pastor. “We need the stores to restock some shelves and get in some more supplies.”

But First UMC members aren’t the only ones who have been contributing to the effort.

“Our shipment also includes materials from individuals not connected with any church,” said Beth Galbreath, First UMC member. “One young man said he’d asked the independent church where he is working construction what they were doing, and was told they weren’t doing anything. I said, ‘That’s one thing you get with a connectional church — a connection!’”

Debi Johnson from Wyanet UMC had her school class distribute leaflets throughout the town asking for supplies for Health Kits.

Mair Oil donated a supply of five-gallon plastic buckets with lids. “The company had changed colors, and they had buckets with the old color that is not being used any more,” Jim Galbreath said. “They were brand new buckets in boxes sitting in a back room.”

“This is a really good example of how putting the word out and sharing the need widely within the congregation brings unexpected results,” he added.

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Chicago Temple sends $16,667 to help
Houston St. Luke’s at Astrodome

(Sept. 16) First UMC of Chicago (The Chicago Temple) sent $16,667 to St. Luke’s UMC in Houston to help that congregation’s work with people transported from the New Orleans Superdome to the Houston Astrodome.

“We’re linking downtown congregation to downtown congregation to help directly those in need,” said the Rev. Phil Blackwell, Chicago Temple senior pastor.

The funds represent the Sunday, Sept. 4, offering plus contributions from a number of people who are not United Methodists, Blackwell said.

“People who attend our Wednesday noonday services have made contributions,” Blackwell said. “And we have signs out front that say bring checks to the second floor church office. People are doing it, including tenants in the building.”

The Temple was referred to St. Luke’s by Betsy Eaves, campus minister at Centenary College in Shreveport, La., who called Blackwell to ask if the Temple would receive a busload of Dillard University students evacuated to Centenary prior to the hurricane. Because they couldn’t go back to New Orleans, the students were being returned to their homes.

“Approximately 35 students were reunited with their very relieved parents about 1:30 a.m. last Thursday [Sept. 1],” Blackwell said.

When Blackwell asked Eaves what else he could do, she suggested contacting St. Luke’s UMC in Houston because they were getting ready to help in the reception of people being transported to the Astrodome.

Susan Silvus, outreach minister at St. Luke’s, told Blackwell they really needed money to buy food and disposables such as diapers and baby bottles.

“They were feeling very supported by responses from other churches,” Blackwell said. “The Texas Conference has pledged $1 million to be raised for resettlement of people in Texas.

“But our staff here thought that with St. Luke’s being a heart of the city United Methodist church downtown like we are, this would be a good time to link with them directly, both to forge a relationship with them because of our city centeredness, and also to know that when we sent the money it would be used immediately.”

Blackwell said the plan at the moment is that the Temple will continue its linkage with St. Luke’s “until we are confident that at least the emergency care for people in the Astrodome is under control. Then we may discover that our interest and support will shift.”

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Sheridan UMC members ‘wanted
to get involved fast’ in hurricane relief

(Sept. 16) John and Michelle Stewart, members of Sheridan UMC, decided they wanted to help victims of Hurricane Katrina so they asked their pastor, the Rev. Sally Chipman, what they could do.

“They just wanted to get involved fast,” said Chipman, pastor of Sheridan and Norway UMCs. “They’re an incredible family.”

Chipman talked to Emmy Lou John, Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) secretary of Global Ministries. John talked to the Rev. Bill Carter, NIC clergy member who is Assistant General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. Carter said the Arkansas Conference was sheltering thousands of evacuees from hurricane disaster areas and needed help.

The Stewarts called Arkansas, learned that supplies were needed, and proceeded to gather contributions to fill an eight-foot high by 53-foot long trailer with food and basic supplies.

They set up trailers as collection points at two gasoline stations, at Sheridan UMC and at Stewart Spreading, the couple’s business.

The Stewarts distributed flyers to local businesses, the police department and to area schools. They had announcements read on the local radio station. And contributions poured in.

“We’ve gotten awesome community response,” Michelle Stewart said, “from just regular people.”

The Stewarts collected numerous items, including prepackaged foods, disposable diapers, cleaning supplies, dog and cat food, baby formula, toiletries, blankets, paper towels and toilet paper.

“Last night at 10:30 we went to WalMart and bought all the flip flops they had,” Michelle said. “It was so much stuff it was unbelievable.”

Dierzen Trailer Manufacturing in Newark donated the use of a 53-foot semi-trailer. A local restaurant donated dinner for the 20 volunteers who organized, packed and labeled donated items, and loaded the truck.

At 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, the truck pulled out of Sheridan, driven by Marcus Sleezer, Yorkville, accompanied by his mother, Kathy, both members of Plano UMC.

“The trailer was pretty full,” Michelle said. “It was stuffed from top to bottom.”

The truck headed for a 10,000 square-foot distribution center established in Little Rock by the Arkansas Conference to receive donations.

“All of this is going directly to these people that came from the Superdome,” Michelle said. “It’s exciting to us that the stuff that I’m buying today is getting there tomorrow.”

Billy Reeder, director of Communications for the Arkansas Conference, said Arkansas has received approximately 59,000 evacuees, many of whom are being housed in church camps, local churches and church members’ houses.

“We’re trying to get as much support as we can,” Reeder said, “so your shipments are desperately needed. We’re planning long-term care. As we understand it, we may have people in our shelters for up to six months. There is a real need for long-term support because our resources can’t last that long. We really need people to be there for us two, three and six months down the road.”

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North Central College offers
to assist displaced students

(Sept. 16) At the same time that North Central College (NCC) in Naperville prepared for the arrival of the largest class of new students in its 144-year history, the college reached out to students whose higher education plans were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina.

The college set up a special admission “hot-line,” (630) 637-5800, to deal with inquiries from students who had planned to attend schools that are now closed because of the hurricane and subsequent flooding.

NCC said students of Dillard University, an historically black college in New Orleans that is a sister United Methodist institution, would be accepted immediately as exchange students.

“That means that if a Dillard student had already paid room and board and tuition, we would just take them,” said Laurie Hamen, vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. “They would not owe us anything.”

Students from other schools can enter NCC as transfer students and “we will certainly help them,” Hamen said, “but with Dillard students, we just said, ‘You just come and we’ll take you.’”

Due to record-breaking enrollment, NCC has only 10 beds in the women’s dorms left on campus, Hamen said. Those 10 places in the residence halls are being held for Dillard women students.

Men students from Dillard will not have residence hall space available to them, Hamen said, but a number of Naperville area churches and individuals have offered to provide housing for Dillard men.

Hamen said the offer was made to Dillard students through the Council of Independent Colleges, through the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and through EIIA, the insurance company for both NCC and Dillard.

Hamen said she recognizes that Dillard will want the students back as soon as the school is able to reopen.

“What we didn’t want was for people to feel that they didn’t have anyplace to go,” she said. “Because we are a United Methodist school and they are too, we felt that we had a special responsibility to them.”

The Rev. Lynn Pries, NCC chaplain, said it is important to share this information with those who may know Dillard University students and those who have been displaced from other colleges and universities. “Because Dillard’s Web site is no longer on the Internet, we are assuming that their e-mail system is not functioning,” he said. “It may be very difficult to get this information to Dillard students.” North Central’s classes started Monday, Sept. 12.

For more information, contact Pries at (630) 537-5104 or Hamen at (630) 637-5155.

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Urge Congress to pass immigration reform

(Sept. 9) After a visit to the office of U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-District 6), a group of Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) United Methodists have issued an urgent call for church members to contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives in support of immigration reform.

The Rev. Oscar Carrasco, NIC director of Connectional Ministries, the Rev. Chris Pierson, NIC director of Outreach and Witness, and Walter Coleman, pastor of Adalberto UMC, Chicago, were part of an ecumenical group that met Sept. 1 with Kiki Campuzano, Hyde’s congressional assistant, to urge the congressman to support a comprehensive immigration reform bill being considered by Congress.

“We learned that, unfortunately, anti-immigrant citizens are contacting Hyde in opposition to the bill, and he is not receiving communications supporting the bill,” Carrasco said. “Therefore, we need to contact his office and also the offices of all our representatives and senators so that we can help make a difference.”

The “Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act” (Senate Bill #1033 and House Bill #2330) was introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on May 12.

“This bill will make family unity among immigrants possible,” Carrasco said. “This is an opportunity for hard working immigrants who are already contributing to this country to come out of the shadows and regularize their status.”

Pierson said the bill will help keep families together, help secure U.S. borders and ensure humane treatment of all immigrants.

“It was clear from our conversation [with Hyde’s assistant] that some people have mistaken this for an amnesty bill,” Pierson said. “It is not an amnesty bill, but some people don’t really understand how comprehensive it is and the bipartisan support it has.”

The bill was sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Samuel Brownback (R-KS), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO).

Two Illinois Congressmen, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) are sponsors of the identical bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Other sponsors are Rep. James Kolbe (R-AZ), Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA), Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Rep. Edward Pastor (D-AZ), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Rep. James Walsh (R-NY).

During the June 8-11 session of Annual Conference, NIC members voted to establish an Immigrant Rights Commission to lead conference efforts on behalf of immigrants, to conduct educational and informational programs about immigration, and to support efforts to seek Presidential pardons for undocumented workers forced to leave their families in Illinois.

“We are urging United Methodists to do their part in contacting members of the U.S. House of Representatives as well as members of the U.S. Senate,” Carrasco said.

To get the name and contact information of your representatives, go to www.House.gov, or www.govtrack.us. Or go to the NIC Web site, www.umcnic.org, and click on Church and Society under “Ministries” to find information about how to make your opinions known to legislators. Or contact Pierson at (847) 931-0710, ext. 15.

“The anti-immigration people have been making the calls [to their representatives],” Pierson said. “Our representatives have not been hearing from those who are in support of comprehensive immigration reform.”

The Congressional Research Service, a government entity that serves Congress and is run by the Library of Congress, provides the following summary of Senate Bill #1033 and House Bill #2330:

Below is a letter that the NIC Office of Connectional Ministries suggests could be used when writing to your Senator or Representative:

“I am writing to urge your support for the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, the comprehensive immigration reform legislation introduced by U.S. Senators McCain and Kennedy and U.S. Representives Kolbe, Gutierrez, and Flake on May 12.

“This bill (S. 1033 and H.R. 2330) represents a sensible, bipartisan approach to fixing our broken immigration system. This legislation would reunite families, enable immigrants to earn the right to live in the U.S. and become citizens, provide a safe and orderly channel for future willing workers to come to the U.S., and offer realistic enforcement strategies to secure our borders and reassert the rule of law.

“This bill is supported by faith communities, business, labor, immigrant advocates, and leaders among both political parties. In addition, a recent poll found that 77% of respondents supported immigration reform along these lines.

“I urge you to support S. 1033 and H.R. 2330. Thank you for your consideration.”

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Gary Memorial breaks ground on $7.9m project

(Sept. 9) Gary Memorial UMC, 224 N. Main, Wheaton, broke ground on a $7.9 million building addition and renovation on Aug. 28. The project is expected to be completed in fall 2006.

The building campaign, entitled “Cornerstone of Faith,” kicked off in spring of 2004 with the opening of the cornerstone of the existing building, which was constructed in 1930.

The cornerstone contained historical artifacts dating back to the first church building, erected in 1860.

Since the campaign kickoff, more than $5.3 million has been raised to fund the building program, which will be the first major expansion program since the perpendicular neo-Gothic style building was built 75 years ago.

Williams Architects designed the addition and renovation plans, which include a new church lobby, classrooms, kitchen and meeting rooms. Church offices will move to the newly renovated Wesley Center on Main St., formerly the Wesley Shoppe resale store and church parsonage. Williams Development will serve as construction manager.

The Gary Church Preschool, which has served the community for more than 35 years, will remain open during construction. Portable classroom units will be installed on the church grounds to provide preschool and Sunday school classroom space.

The ground-breaking ceremony included presentation of a stone recently donated to the church. The stone was salvaged from the 1901 Romanesque church that stood on the current site and was destroyed by fire in 1929.

Members of the congregation brought written prayers to the ceremony for inclusion in the foundation of the new building. Children also had their own opportunity to dig for surprises in a specially designated sand pile.

Preparations for construction began early this year with planning of office relocation, renovation of the Wesley Center and the removal of a catalpa tree on church grounds facing Main St. The tree, which was removed last week, was estimated to be more than 150 years old.

For more information on the Cornerstone of Faith program, call the campaign office at Gary Memorial UMC, (630) 668-3100.

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Wilton Center to open new worship home

(Sept. 9) Members of Wilton Center Federated Church, 14360 W. Arsenal Rd., Manhattan, will welcome the completion of their new worship facility with a Celebration Sunday on Sept. 11. The celebration will consist of a worship service at 9:30 a.m., an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. and a recognition dinner at 5:30 p.m. to honor the many persons who worked throughout the past year to bring the project to fruition.

Previous pastors of the church have been invited to attend the celebration. A new interim pastor, the Rev. Andy Berryhill, began serving the church Sept. 1.

Musical selections will be presented by the Praise Choir from Peace Community Church in Frankfort.

Open house activities will include tours of the building, refreshments, a video and an exhibit of historical memorabilia. Worship and the open house are open to the public.

The recognition dinner is by invitation only. Dinner will be followed by entertainment furnished by Men of A-Chord from Chicago.

Wilton Center Federated Church was established in 1919 as a merger of Baptist and Methodist churches. For 86 years, the congregation has been alternating pastors between the two denominations.

This new building is the third occupied by the congregation since its federation. Plans to move to this new structure were adopted by the congregation in 1999. Following four years of searching, a suitable location was arranged with the Edwin Moore family. The construction phase began in August 2004.

For more information, call (815) 478-3923.

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Princeton church offers to collect
health kits, flood buckets for UMCOR

(Sept. 9) First UMC, 316 S. Church St., Princeton, is collecting materials for health kits and flood buckets to send to Louisiana to help victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf coast.

Health kits are packets of basic hygiene items, such as washcloth, towel, toothbrush and paste, soap etc., that are given to evacuees in shelters.

Flood buckets are five-gallon buckets filled with cleaning supplies, which are given to families and businesses to help begin the job of “mucking out” after a flood.

“Being able to get clean can help a person feel human again in the midst of disaster,” said the Rev. James Galbreath, First UMC pastor. “And a flood bucket gives a family the equipment to start making its home livable again.

“These supplies seem so little to us, but are hugely important to people who have lost literally everything,” he said.

Sager Brown Depot, the major relief distribution depot of United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), is located just northwest of New Orleans in Baldwin. The depot usually collects materials for shipment wherever in the world there is a need, but now it is well situated to distribute the kits and other relief supplies to the area hit by Katrina.

Details of the kit materials needed are on Princeton UMC’s Web site, www.gbgm-umc.org/princeton. Complete kits or any of the listed supplies may be brought to Princeton UMC.

“Flood supplies are packed in five-gallon buckets,” said Galbreath. “If folks have any used five-gallon buckets that didn’t contain anything toxic — and they have to have lids — we’d really appreciate them. The buckets are the hardest thing to get.”

Donations of cash are also welcome, Galbreath noted.

Because United Methodist Church members pay for overhead costs of UMCOR through the One Great Hour of Sharing Special Sunday offering during Lent, 100% of any donation goes directly into help for the recipients.

First UMC is accepting gifts to be used for purchasing supplies and shipping them to Louisiana: mark them “Katrina” and 100% will be used for that purpose.

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Foundation innovative ministry
grant application deadline is near

(Sept. 9) United Methodist Foundation of Northern Illinois Conference deadline to apply for 2006 funding for innovative ministry programs is next week.

“In general, it is anticipated that funded programs will benefit communities, children, youths, the elderly and families who are disadvantaged in some way,” said the Rev. Harry Nicol, Foundation president.

Since 1999, the Foundation has distributed approximately $360,500 to nearly 90 ministries across northern Illinois. Areas of support have included leadership development, mission outreach, ministries to children, youth programs, innovation in worship, evangelism and programs to benefit seniors. In 2005, 29 grants were awarded totaling $53,500. Grants are given to local churches and to not-for-profit agencies affiliated with a local church or with the annual conference.

“Apparently, there are some in the conference who have the impression that the Foundation’s grant program is funded in part with dollars earned on investments that belong to local churches or other conference agencies,” Nicol said. “That is absolutely incorrect. All of the dollars used to provide the grants that we give annually are earnings on funds that belong to the United Methodist Foundation.”

The Foundation has about $2.7 million in both unrestricted and restricted funds that belong to the Foundation, Nicol said. Income from these funds is used to provide grants as well as to fund a part of the Foundation’s budget.

Grant applications must be postmarked Sept. 15 or returned in person to the Foundation office at 77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago IL 60602 by 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16.

Grants will normally not exceed $5,000 for any one year and can be renewed in decreasing amounts for up to two additional years. Funded programs must give evidence of broad support within the community, financial planning, readiness to begin if funding is provided, and ability to carry on after the year the Foundation’s grant is awarded.

Applications for 2006 funding will be mailed to interested persons upon request made to Carolyn Cook at the Foundation office, (312) 346-9766, ext. 104. Applications can also be downloaded as a .doc or .pdf file from the Foundation’s Web site, www.nicumf.org.

Questions regarding the application and/or guidelines can be addressed to Nicol at (312) 346-9766, ext. 103.

Grants will be approved by the Foundation board in December with awards made in January. Grants are funded with income from the Foundation’s permanent endowment funds.

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Methodist Camp Ground placed
on National Register of Historic Places

(Sept. 2) In a celebration worship service on Sunday, Aug. 21, cottage owners and renters at The Methodist Camp Ground in Des Plaines celebrated the campground’s listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

And in a move toward reconciliation and improved relations between the campground and the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC), campground trustees invited Bishop Hee-Soo Jung to preach for the celebration.

The State of Illinois and the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior officially announced the listing of the Des Plaines Methodist Campground in the National Register of Historic Places on May 22.

“This is a critical time and juncture,” Bishop Jung told the gathering. “It is an opportunity for us as Christians, as the Methodist family, to bring unity together to reclaim the Methodist movement.”

Saying that he committed himself to ordained ministry during a revival meeting on Prayer Mountain in his homeland of Korea, Bishop Jung said it was “a mighty experience.” He said the Des Plaines Camp Ground reminded him of that experience in his earlier life.

“Your gathering here is important historically,” Jung said. “It is also a really strong part of Methodism.”

Jung said he sees “the very great mission in this place.” He added that this is a campground that “God wants to use today for mission.”

Applause greeted the bishop’s statement that he would support them in their efforts to build up the campground. “Working together, we hope to build this place to continue its history of carrying out God’s mission,” he said.

Jung encouraged his listeners to trust in God’s abundance and not be discouraged by the belief that resources are scarce. “God is able,” he said. “God can do it. God can transform your life and my life. God can transform this campground. I trust you and I trust our God. So we can hold hands and work for good in God’s kingdom.”

Bishop Jung said he hoped this “blessed moment” would be the start of cooperation between the campground and the conference. “This Methodist Camp Ground belongs to all of us,” he said, “so we can build up God’s vision for the future.”

According to the Web site of the National Register of Historic Places, the Register is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic and archeological resources. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Rev. Jamie Geiger, cottage owner and member of the campground board of trustees, said the listing in the National Register qualifies the campground to apply for federal grants to repair and restore cottages and other buildings. Of particular concern, he said, is a need to lift up many of the cabins and cottages on risers to avoid flooding by the nearby Des Plaines River. The campground is located in a flood plain.

According to historical records, the first camp meeting on the banks of the Des Plaines River was in 1860. Current property was purchased in 1865, and the campground was chartered in 1867. Noting that many of the present saw-toothed bargeboard camp-meeting style cottages were built in 1870, Geiger said the campground “looks similar to what it looked like 100 years ago.”

Relations between the campground and the NIC became strained in 1999 when the Annual Conference voted to have the NIC Board of Church and Society investigate allegations that the campground violated the United Methodist Church’s Social Principles by discriminating against a homosexual couple.

The investigating committee recommended that the United Methodist name and logo be removed from the campground “until such time that a working relationship and covenant with the Northern Illinois Conference is clarified and established.”

At the same time, the couple and others filed complaints with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights and a discrimination lawsuit against the campground in Cook County Circuit Court.

“We went through a period of time when there was an assumed conflict with the Annual Conference,” Geiger said. “But now the lawsuit is being resolved, the litigation is coming to a close, and the campground is trying to make it known that we are part of the Annual Conference.

“We invite people to come to the campground, to come to the annual meeting, to come to the Country Fair and to reestablish that long-standing relationship that we once had.”

Geiger said the invitation to Bishop Jung is a statement that the relationship with the conference is one that “we look forward to and want to encourage and foster.”

“I look forward to working with them on our common issues,” said Patricia Beal, chair of the NIC Board of Trustees. “They have a new board of trustees that is now amenable to reconciliation with the conference. They have a lot of needs, and we should try to help them.”

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Korean-American pastors
launching Christian 101 campaign

(Sept. 2) A special four-week back-to-school evangelism campaign, “Christian 101,” will begin Sunday, Sept. 11, at about 20 different churches served by Korean-American clergy in the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC). The campaign’s goal is to invite non-churched people in the community to come to church to share with them the basic message of Christianity.

Planning for the campaign began about four months ago when a few Korean-American pastors got together to exchange ideas for their ministries.

One idea was to collaborate on a sermon series based on the sermons developed by the Rev. Young Jin Cho, former senior pastor at Korean UMC of Greater Washington. Cho tackled questions Adam Hamilton raised in his book Leading Beyond the Walls as the basic issues for the church.

Since then, the NIC group has been meeting every week through an Internet live meeting system to work on a four-part sermon series dealing with the question “Why do people need faith in Christ and to attend the church, especially the United Methodist Church?”

The group has grown to about 20 Korean-American pastors, serving not only at Korean- American churches, but also at cross-cultural appointment settings. The campaign is now officially sponsored by the Korean-American United Methodist Churches’ Association in Greater Chicago and also by the Association of Korean-American United Methodist Clergy Serving at Cross-Cultural Ministries.

As the result of the group’s efforts, campaign materials now include not only sermons on the topic, but also other related materials such as PowerPoint presentations, small group study guide and daily meditation materials. Campaign posters and invitation cards have also been produced.

Television, radio and newspaper ads about the campaign targeting the Korean-American community in the Chicago area are scheduled to begin in September.

The pastors hope a new wave of revival and revitalization will occur through this campaign, especially among Korean-American churches in the conference.

For more information, visit www.chicagokumc.org (Korean-language Website) or contact the Rev. Young Min Paik at (847) 205-9642.

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Glen Ellyn First collecting
school supplies for Claremont

(Sept. 2) Throughout the month of August, members of First UMC, corner of Duane and Forest next to Village Hall in Glen Ellyn, have been piling notebooks, pens, backpacks and other school supplies into minivans and SUVs. They are working to equip students at a Chicago public school in the Englewood neighborhood for the new academic year. They’ll deliver and distribute their gifts to Claremont Academy, 6315 S. Claremont, on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m.

The school supplies drive is the brainchild of Lynne Nakashima and Denise King, a Head Start teacher at Claremont and wife of First UMC associate pastor Claude King.

“This will make a huge difference to the kids and their families,” Denise King said. “Church members are not only collecting these gifts, but they’ll also deliver them personally. That makes a world of difference. It gets the students started on the right foot. More importantly, it shows them that people who don’t even know them, people who live far away from them, care about them and their education. It makes them feel really good.”

Claremont opened its doors last year and serves 800 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It also hosts full-day and half-day Head Start programs.

In past years, First UMC has conducted similar drives for Bunche School, an Englewood school that was forced to close its doors last year.

In 2004 the congregation filled three cars with supplies. This year members hope to increase that number to five.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Denise King at (630) 890-7958.

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