September
For complete text of each story, click on its headline.
moves to west side location
(September 27)
In the first of a series of moves of Northern Illinois Conference offices, on Sept. 13 the Chicago Northwestern District moved out of the Chicago Temple in downtown Chicago and into the first floor of a three-flat apartment building on Chicago’s west side.
(September 27)
Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Women (UMW) has reconsidered the decision to acquire a mini-van for Marcy-Newberry Association and will press ahead to collect enough Campbell’s Soup labels to get a large 15-passenger van instead.
oppose attack on Iraq (September 20)
Forty-one faculty, administrators and staff of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS), Evanston, have issued “A Call for Peace” because they fear the United States may expand the war against terrorism by attacking Iraq.
will be held for every district (September 20)
The Northern Illinois Conference Board of Ordained Ministry (CBOM) revamped materials used by local churches to evaluate their own ministries and that of their clergy.
(September 20)
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Congregations looking for ways to celebrate can learn from Beth Eden UMC in Rockford. Last year the congregation overwhelmed the pastor when the members showed their appreciation.
(September 20)
Northern Illinois Conference staff members are packing their files and supplies in preparation for a move next week out of offices at the Lutheran Center at 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago. Higgins Road offices will be emptied the evening of Thursday, Sept. 26, and by Tuesday, Oct. 1, staff should be relocated to First UMC of Chicago (The Chicago Temple) in Chicago’s Loop and First UMC in Elgin.
of fresh produce from fields (September 13)
In the first Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) gleaning event, 81 volunteers from 19 United Methodist churches spent a Saturday morning in the fields gathering fresh produce that was left behind by harvesting machines. The food was distributed by the Society of St. Andrew to food depositories and pantries throughout northern Illinois.
Latin America initiative (September 13)
A group of United Methodists concerned about the severe problems facing Latin America met in Chicago recently to develop strategies to make Latin America and the Caribbean missional priorities of the United Methodist Church. Hosted by the Rev. Oscar Carrasco, director of Connectional Ministries for the Northern Illinois Conference, the group began its work just as the denomination prepared to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15).
many forms in many locations (September 6)
While United Methodist churches in New York City and Washington, D.C., continue to respond to people affected by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the entire denomination and its local churches around the world, including Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) congregations, will commemorate the tragic events next week.
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Chicago Northwestern District office
moves to west side location
(September 27) In the first of a series of moves of Northern Illinois Conference offices, on Sept. 13 the Chicago Northwestern District moved out of the Chicago Temple in downtown Chicago and into the first floor of a three-flat apartment building on Chicago’s west side.
Located at 4117 W. Pierce Ave. behind the church once owned by Creciendo al Ritmo del Pueblo UMC, the apartment building served as the parsonage. It is now owned by the Chicago Home Missionary and Church Extension Society, which recently bought both the church and apartment buildings. The Creciendo congregation had outgrown the building and moved a few blocks away to share space pending final resolution of a merger with Hermosa-Salem UMC at 2056 N. Tripp Ave.
The Society will rent the first floor to the Chicago Northwestern District. The other two apartments, one on the second floor and one below ground level, are rented to families. All rental income will be reinvested in the Society’s fund that provides grants and loans to churches in the Chicago Northwestern and Southern Districts.
“It was a win, win,” said Fran Gamwell, Society executive director. “The congregation couldn’t take care of the old church building and had to give that up, but they gained money from the sale of the property that they can use to develop their congegation.”
Chicago Northwestern District Superintendent Marti Scott said she is excited about the move because “it achieves our purposes,” including locating her office within the boundaries of the District. “Being here saves quite a bit of money,” she said. “The rent is considerably less and the office is more accessible. People can come here, and parking is free.”
“But the most important piece for me,” Scott said, “is ministry is always contextual. For my first three years the context was the downtown locus of finance and government. The context here is being in the neighborhood. Being here and looking at ministry from this context is extremely important. A growing population of the city is Hispanic; being here in this Hispanic neighborhood is an opportunity to learn from the community how to do ministry a new way.”
Scott and Esther Arbelo, administrative assistant, will have offices on the first floor along with the Society. Michael Sittason will be available in the Society’s office “to consult with local churches and to go out to inspect churches that need funding for repairs or to help make judgments about proposals from contractors,” Gamwell explained. Applications for loans or grants from the Society will also be available at the Pierce Avenue office.
Gamwell, whose principal office will remain in the Chicago Temple building, said the Society will do repairs on both the apartments and the church. “The apartment building was tuckpointed last spring before we bought it,” she said. “New back porches were built, and new hardwood floors were laid.” Except for some plumbing repairs, she said the apartment building is in good shape.
Scott painted walls, and Gamwell polyurethaned the wood floors prior to the move. “We’re here, we’re unpacking and regrouping,” Gamwell said. “We’re settling in.”
New phone numbers, addresses
Chicago Northwestern District Office, effective immediately
4117 W. Pierce Ave., First Floor, Chicago, IL 60651.
Phone: (773) 252-9844 Fax: (773) 252-9864
Northern Illinois Conference Offices, effective Sept. 30
(Including Bishop, Director of Connectional Ministries,
Treasurer and Administrative Services)
77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: (312) 346-9766 or (800) 382-3114 Fax: (312) 346-9730
Media Resource Center, Leadership Development,
Outreach and Witness Ministries, effective Sept. 30
217 Division St., Elgin, IL 60120.
Phone: (847) 931-0710 Fax: (847) 931-0732
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UMW decides to push on for 15-passenger van
(September 27) Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Women (UMW) has reconsidered the decision to acquire a mini-van for Marcy-Newberry Association and will press ahead to collect enough Campbell’s Soup labels to get a large 15-passenger van instead.
“Marcy-Newberry needs a bigger van,” said Norma Jung, UMW president. “We now have 1,210,000 Campbell’s Soup labels on deposit in the bank. We need fewer than 290,000 more labels to get the bigger vehicle.”
Jung said UMW’s Mission Team voted at its meeting this month to push on for the larger van.
“When this project was started over six years ago, one million labels were required for a large, 15-passenger van,” Jung said. “Over the years, however, the premium has been raised several times. Now it requires 1.5 million labels for the larger van.”
Earlier this year when 1.15 million labels had been collected, project leaders decided all labels would be redeemed by June 1 for the van.
“At that time, none of us realized that it was going to be a smaller van that we would be getting,” Jung said. “Marcy-Newberry could use a larger van, but we discussed it at our board meeting and decided to go ahead and redeem the labels for the mini-van. But we’ve reconsidered that decision and decided to push on for what Marcy-Newberry really needs.”
In addition to Campbell’s Soup, labels that qualify against the total are Pepperidge Farm, Prego, Franco-American, Swanson and V8 Vegetable Juices. The front portion of the labels should be trimmed to be bundled into packets of 100.
Labels should be sent to the attention of the Rev. Margaret Ann Williams at Marcy-Newberry Association, 1073 W. Maxwell St., Chicago, IL 60608.
Marcy-Newberry is a United Methodist-related community center founded in 1883. It provides residential and social services and programs to individuals and families at 15 locations on Chicago’s west side.
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41 faculty, staff at Garrett seminary
call for peace, oppose attack on Iraq
(September 20) Forty-one faculty, administrators and staff of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS), Evanston, have issued “A Call for Peace” because they fear the United States may expand the war against terrorism by attacking Iraq.
G-ETS is a United Methodist seminary with faculty from several denominations and faith traditions. The Call for Peace cites the United Methodist Church position on war, namely: “War and bloodshed are contrary to the gospel and spirit of Christ.”(“Confession of Faith,” Article XVI, 2000 Book of Discipline)
Signers of the Call for Peace urge “during this time when the spirit of war seeks our unquestioned allegiance, that all Christians and all people who seek the common good offer to the world ‘sober, righteous and godly living’ rather than more violence, death and war.”
The Call for Peace takes issue in the current circumstances with the “just war” teaching that many people of “good faith” support, and it categorically denies that war against Iraq would be legitimate. The statement points out that to engage in a “just war” requires a just cause, where war is permissible only to confront a real and certain danger, such as to protect innocent life, to preserve conditions necessary for decent human existence and to secure basic human rights.
“In fact, reports of the death of innocent children and elderly directly related to U.S. policies against Iraq suggest that we ourselves may be destroying conditions necessary for decent human existence,” the Call for Peace asserts. “To wage war on Iraq unilaterally and without the support of the world community through the United Nations would be to worsen those conditions and produce more suffering and death for the innocent.”
Declaring that “there is no justification for the United States to be the aggressor and to attack Iraq or any other nation,” the signers urge “pastors, Christian educators, laity and all people of good will” to teach, preach and act against the spirit of war in whatever way they can.
“Let us not remember the horrible tragedy of 9/11 by raining down violence on others in our rage,” the statement says. “Rather, let us hold to the teachings of our peaceable Savior who when confronted with violence on the night of his arrest said, “No more of this.’”
Dr. Ted Campbell, G-ETS president, heads the list of signers. Northern Illinois Conference clergy signers are the Revs. Margaret Ann Crain, Gary Peluso-Verdend, Jack Seymour and Richard Tholin.
Full text of the Call for Peace and the list of its signers is on the Northern Illinois Conference web site, www.umcnic.org.
Following is the full text of “A Call for Peace.”
A Call for Peace
The following 41 faculty, administrators and staff of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (a United Methodist Seminary with faculty from a number of denominations and faith traditions) fear the possibility of the United States expanding the war against terrorism by attacking Iraq. We would like to remind the people called United Methodist, along with other persons of Christian faith, and all people of good will what the United Methodist Church teaches on the question of war. In its Confession of Faith, article 16, we read, “We believe war and bloodshed are contrary to the gospel and spirit of Christ. We believe it is the duty of Christian citizens to give moral strength and purpose to their respective governments through sober, righteous and godly living.” During this time when the spirit of war seeks our unquestioned allegiance, we would ask that all Christians and all people who seek the common good offer to the world “sober, righteous and godly living” rather than more violence, death and war.
We recognize that not all Christians, or even all United Methodists, recognize all war to be “contrary to the gospel and spirit of Christ.” Many people of good faith adhere to the “just war” teaching. As the Roman Catholic bishops remind us, to engage in a just war requires a “just cause,” where “war is permissible only to confront a ‘real and certain danger’ i.e. to protect innocent life, to preserve conditions necessary for decent human existence and to secure basic human rights.” We do not find these conditions to have been met in order for the United States to declare a just war on Iraq. We categorically deny that war against Iraq would be legitimate. In fact, reports of the death of innocent children and elderly directly related to US policies against Iraq suggest that we ourselves may be destroying “conditions necessary for decent human existence.” To wage war on Iraq unilaterally and without the support of the world community through the United Nations would be to worsen those conditions and produce more suffering and death for the innocent.
Moreover, based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we assert that there is no justification for the United States to be the aggressor and to attack Iraq or any other nation. We urge pastors, Christian educators, laity and all people of good will to teach, preach and act against the spirit of war in whatever way they can. Let us not remember the horrible tragedy of 9/11 by raining down violence on others in our rage. Rather, let us hold to the teachings of our peaceable Savior who when confronted with violence on the night of his arrest said, “No more of this.”
Ted Campbell
|
Ruth Duck
|
Larry Murphy |
Cheryl Anderson |
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Training on revamped clergy evaluation
materials will be held for every district
(September 20) The Northern Illinois Conference Board of Ordained Ministry (CBOM) revamped materials used by local churches to evaluate their own ministries and that of their clergy. The revision was in accordance with changes in the 2000 Book of Discipline, said the Rev. Kenneth Crooks, CBOM member.
“Basic format for both local churches and clergy is a series of making a plan for ministry, determining ministry goals and any special capabilities needed to accomplish them,” Crooks said. “Then, over a year’s time the accomplishment of these goals is monitored by the Staff/Parish Relations Committee.”
CBOM will conduct training sessions in use of the new materials for clergy and representatives of each church’s Staff/Pastor Relations Committee.
“The revised materials have some accommodation to the new format of two orders of clergy,” Crooks said. “In addition, we now have materials available in both Korean and Spanish.”
Training sessions will be held:
“There is no need to register,” Crooks said, “because everyone is expected to attend.” If persons cannot attend training in their own district, they are urged to attend a session in another district.
For more information, contact Crooks at (708) 383-4983.
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Beth Eden UMC, Rockford, shows
how to appreciate a pastor
(September 20) October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Congregations looking for ways to celebrate can learn from Beth Eden UMC in Rockford. Last year the congregation overwhelmed the pastor when the members showed their appreciation.
Without their pastor’s knowledge, the Staff/Parish Relations Committee organized a month-long affirmation of the Rev. John Wesley Lee, Beth Eden pastor. Every day of the month at least one member of the congregation signed up to send a card, gift or letter sharing their appreciation of their pastor’s ministry.
“October 2001 was the most humbling and affirming experience I have had in my ministry,” Lee said. “Every day I received some message or token of appreciation and affirmation. It was overwhelming.
“Often ministry seems like a never-ending task with few moments when someone notices your efforts, but this congregation has always been affirming and last October the members poured out their love for me and my family. I am truly blessed to serve such a caring congregation. Every pastor should be blessed in this way.”
Karen Andrus, member of the Staff/Parish Committee, coordinated the program by signing members up for each day of the month and offering suggestions such as cards, favorite candies and gift certificates for local restaurants.
Lee said if the congregation is doing this program again this year, the members are not talking. “After all, they like to surprise their pastor now and then,” he said.
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Conference offices packing to prepare
for Sept. 26 move to Temple, Elgin First
(September 20) Northern Illinois Conference staff members are packing their files and supplies in preparation for a move next week out of offices at the Lutheran Center at 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago.
Higgins Road offices will be emptied the evening of Thursday, Sept. 26, and by Tuesday, Oct. 1, staff should be relocated to First UMC of Chicago (The Chicago Temple) in Chicago’s Loop and First UMC in Elgin.
The Office of the Treasurer and Administrative Services, including accounting, human resources, information services, accounts payable, apportionments’ administrator, benefits administrator and United Methodist Reporter subscriptions, and the Director of Connectional Ministries and his assistant will move to the 18th and 19th floors of The Chicago Temple.
The main telephone number there will be (312) 346-9766. All mail should be sent to the Northern Illinois Conference, 77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago, IL 60602.
Local church treasurers remitting apportionment and health insurance payments should continue to use the envelopes provided by the Conference that are addressed to a bank lockbox for immediate deposit.
The Media Resource Library, director of Leadership Development, director of Outreach and Witness Ministries, and an assistant will be located next to the Elgin District offices in First UMC, Elgin. Their mailing address will be 217 Division St., Elgin, IL 60120. The telephone number will be (847) 931-0710.
Because of construction delays in Elgin, the Media Resource Library may not be operational from Sept. 25 to Oct. 23.
“Anyone who will need videos or other materials from the Media Resource Center during that time should call by Sept. 20,” said the Rev. Rosalee Blake, Media Resource Center director, “to give me time to ship them out before we pack everything up for the move.”
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81 from 19 churches glean 9,000 pounds
of fresh produce from fields
(September 13) In the first Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) gleaning event, 81 volunteers from 19 United Methodist churches spent a Saturday morning in the fields gathering fresh produce that was left behind by harvesting machines. The food was distributed by the Society of St. Andrew to food depositories and pantries throughout northern Illinois.
“It was a huge success,” said Joe Royston, NIC Hunger Relief Advocate. “The Lord gave us a beautiful day to work and we did rejoice.”
Royston said the group gleaned 6,000 pounds of potatoes and 3,000 pounds of sweet corn on Saturday, Aug. 3, at Neumiller Farms in Savanna.
“The corn was so tender we ate some raw in the field,” Royston said. “We had to leave approx-imately 10,000 pounds of sweet corn in the field because we had no more room to haul any more.”
Volunteers came from across the Conference, including the eastern edge of the NIC, to the farm on the western edge of the Conference near the Mississippi River.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the large number of volunteers from Chicago,” Royston said. “I was also impressed that there were at least six clergy members working in the field. That gave me a renewed appreciation of the servant leader.”
Royston praised the owners of the farm. “Without the cooperation of Tom and Walene Neumiller, none of this would be possible,” Royston said.
The first event was so successful, a second gleaning is planned at Neumiller Farms on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 8 a.m. until noon.
“Maybe we can work longer if anyone has any energy left,” Royston said, adding that it would be helpful if volunteers could bring additional vehicles and turning forks.
Neumiller Farms is located at 7389 Highway 84 South, Savanna, about four miles south of the intersection of IL Routes 64 and 84. Camping is available in Thompson and Savanna, as well as in Mississippi Palisades State Park, north of Savanna.
Those interested in participating in the gleaning should contact Royston at (630) 663-1087 or joelroydton@hotmail.com.
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Group meets to discuss Latin America initiative
(September 13)A group of United Methodists concerned about the severe problems facing Latin America met in Chicago recently to develop strategies to make Latin America and the Caribbean missional priorities of the United Methodist Church.
Hosted by the Rev. Oscar Carrasco, director of Connectional Ministries for the Northern Illinois Conference, the group began its work just as the denomination prepared to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15).
Many in the group, including Bishop Elias Galvan of the Pacific Northwest Conference, said the only way to celebrate the heritage of Hispanics is to be involved in mission and ministry with the countries of their origin. Pointing to the large number of United Methodists who come to the United States from Latin American and Caribbean countries, he said more involvement of United Methodist churches in this country with churches in Latin America “would give our churches a better understanding of the Latin American cultures so they can be more effective in ministry right here.”
Latin American countries are suffering from widespread poverty, child labor, political and economic turmoil, armed conflicts, inadequate health care, and discrimination against indigenous people and persons of African descent, the group said.
“The quality of life is rapidly deteriorating,” said the Rev. German Acevedo, president of Methodists Associated to Represent the Cause of Hispanic Americans (MARCHA). “Prompt intervention by the Church could turn that around.”
Carrasco said he became aware of the urgency of the need in 2001 when he participated in a trip to Mexico and Guatemala sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) in support of Encounter with Christ, a GBGM Permanent Fund to support mission partnerships for Methodist churches throughout the Southern Hemisphere.
The U.S. group met with members of the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean (CIEMAL). “On that trip, we saw the needs and the work that CIEMAL is doing,” Carrasco said. “After we saw them, we agreed that at least $25 million needs to be raised to fund projects of evangelization that touch the lives of people in a positive way.”
Indicating that their work is just beginning, the group’s members said they plan to take their requests to the General Council on Ministries, the Council of Bishops, general agencies and, eventually, the 2004 General Conference. “We’re working on developing the case for the importance of this issue so the Church can respond,” said the Rev. McArthur Brantley, director of Connectional Ministries in the North Georgia Conference. “We believe that even in the financial crisis we face in the world, the money is there if we can just tell the story.”
The Rev. Franklin Guerrero, GBGM executive secretary Latin America/Caribbean, said the group’s vision is that the United Methodist Church, through evangelization, funding for health ministries, leadership development, especially for women and children, and support for Afro-Latin American/Caribbean and indigenous persons ministries, will help the area’s 502 million people now living in poverty seek ways of transforming their lives, congregations and communities.
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Sept. 11 observances will take
many forms in many locations
(September 6) While United Methodist churches in New York City and Washington, D.C., continue to respond to people affected by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the entire denomination and its local churches around the world, including Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) congregations, will commemorate the tragic events next week.
United Methodist bishops, including the NIC’s Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, have encouraged congregations to set aside Sunday, Sept. 8, as a “Day of Remembrance” and proclaimed September “United Methodist Open House Month.” The request for the bishops’ actions came from Igniting Ministry staff at United Methodist Communications, which established Open House Month in 2001 to coincide with the debut of the denomination’s TV advertising effort.
A church TV spot called “Amen,” in remembrance of the tragedy, will air twice on NBC’s “The Today Show” on Sept. 11. “Amen” extends the promise: “No matter how you pray, or where, the people of the United Methodist Church are praying with you.”
Probably the most visible presence of this denomination’s remembrance will be in Manhattan. Drivers and pedestrians in downtown Manhattan will see 15-second motion messages from the United Methodist Church every hour, 24 hours a day, throughout September. These pastoral messages of reassurance and hope, adapted from the church’s Igniting Ministry campaign, will be shown on a 425-square-foot motion-image “jumbotron” at the Holland Tunnel. The tunnel, which carries 1.2 million vehicles a month between New York and New Jersey, stretches under the Hudson River and emerges in lower Manhattan, near the World Trade Center site.
The denomination’s web site, www.umc.org, unveiled a new feature called “Remembering 9/11” on Aug. 12. The site honors lives lost on Sept. 11 and celebrates the volunteers and ministries that reached out to those in need. It features reflections from people directly affected by the tragedies, and United Methodists share written and video accounts of how their personal faith journeys have changed.
NIC Remembrance Services
NIC remembrance activities encompass a broad spectrum.
Bishop Sprague will be interviewed on DeKalb public radio (FM 89.5) on Sept. 11 from 10-11 a.m. The bishop will discuss his trip to Afghanistan this summer as a member of a Global Exchange tour that included Christians, Jews and Muslims. That evening, he will be at Grace UMC in Naperville to take part in a worship service and discuss “9/11 — A Year Later.”
Following are some of the commemoration activities that will occur in the Northern Illinois Conference in the next few days:
Sunday, Sept. 8, the liturgy, music and sermon at First UMC at the Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St., will acknowledge the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The choir will sing Puccini’s “Requiem” as the offertory. Sermon by the Rev. Phil Blackwell, senior pastor, will focus on the reality of evil and the reason to hope. After the 8:30 a.m. service, United Methodist Women will host a special coffee hour in Pierce Hall. Following the 11 a.m. service, the congregation will meet in Pierce Hall for a potluck meal.
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, First UMC at the Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St., will host an Interfaith Service from 8-8:45 a.m. Representatives from several religious traditions will lead worship.
At noon the city of Chicago will host a gathering in Daley Plaza, across the street from First UMC. It will be a civic ceremony that will honor the memory of those who died in the attacks, including those from the Chicago area.
Throughout the day, First UMC’s sanctuary will be open for prayer, reflection and Holy Communion. A pastor will be present to serve Communion and meet with anyone who requests it at all times except during the Interfaith Service.
First UMC, corner of Duane and Forest Sts., Glen Ellyn, will offer a drop-in “Commuter’s Consolation Service of Remembrance” on Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 6-9 a.m. Bells of consolation will ring at 8 a.m. For more information, call (630) 469-3510.
Lemont UMC, 25 W. Custer St., Lemont, will hold a memorial service from 10-11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The hour of remembrance will include reflection and prayer. For more information, call (630) 257-5210.
Diane Winston, one of the nation’s leading religion journalists, will speak on “When More Is Less: Religion in the Media Since 9/11” at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Room 205 of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2121 Sheridan Rd., Evanston. The lecture, which is open to the public, will be a featured part of the school’s observance of the first anniversary of the tragedy.
As a religion correspondent for the Dallas Morning News, The Baltimore Sun and the News and Observer in Raleigh, NC, Winston earned a national reputation for insightful reporting on major trends in American religious life. She has taught at Princeton’s Center for the Study of American Religion and at New York University. Currently, she is a program officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia which provides substantial grants in religion and the media and religion and academic scholarship. Her book, Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of the Salvation Army was among the foremost religion books published in 1999 winning major reviews in The New York Times and a variety of religious and academic publications.
Rockford Interfaith Council will sponsor a Wednesday, Sept. 11, memorial service on the downtown mall. The service will include readings of obituaries and prayers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The service will use the special memorial obituaries written by New York Times reporters as well as other memorial readings taken off the Internet, said Stanley Campbell, executive director of Rockford Urban Ministries and coordinator of the readings. He said prayers will also be read from the various faith groups. He said special music will be interspersed among readings and prayers. For more information, call (815) 964-7111.
Members of First UMC, 534 Whitney Blvd., Belvidere, will gather for dinner at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, and conduct worship at 6 p.m. The service will feature a video and drama presentation. The Rev. Joy Starwalt, pastor, will bring the message. At 6:45 p.m. the service will adjourn to the Belvidere Community Building for an ecumenical worship service, “God Bless America —A Prayer for Our Nation.” Clergy in the Belvidere area will conduct the hour-long service.
St. Andrew UMC, 250 N. Gary Ave., Carol Stream, will host a Day of Remembrance Community Service at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11. Special music will be performed by professional violinist Barbara Farley, trumpeter Carrie Schafer, a student at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and 11-year-old vocalist Adam Stephan. The service will conclude with an outdoor flagpole memorial dedication featuring the Color Guard of the Carol Stream Veterans of Foreign Wars. For more information, call (630) 653-7116.
The events of Sept. 11 will be remembered with a special gathering at Grace UMC, 300 E. Gartner Rd., Naperville, on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The discussion, “9/11 — A Year Later,” will be led by Bishop C. Joseph Sprague following a potluck meal at 6:15 p.m. At 8 p.m. Bishop Sprague will participate in a worship service highlighting prayers and singing. Child care will be available for children under age five. A special small group discussion and activities will be offered at 7 p.m. for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. For more information, call (630) 355-1748.
A joint outdoor prayer service involving Community and Wesley UMCs and First Congregational Church will be held Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 7-8 p.m. on Center Street, which runs between the three churches’ buildings. Attendees should bring their own chairs. The service will be a gathering for prayer, singing, remembrance and hope. In the event of rain, the service will be held in the sanctuary of Community UMC, 20 N. Center St. For more details, call (630) 355-1483 or 355-1834.
Fourth Street UMC, 551 S. Fourth St., Aurora, will observe the Sept. 11 terrorist-attack anniversary with an outdoor candlelight prayer vigil at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11. The Rev. David Eichelberger, pastor, said the service will be around a peace pole on the church site at Fourth St. and Marion Ave. The peace pole, installed earlier this year, is a four-sided, six-foot-tall wood pole with each side inscribed “Let there be peace on earth” in one of four languages. The church bell choir will provide music. For more information, call (630) 897-5257.
Kingswood UMC, 401 W. Dundee Rd., Buffalo Grove, will offer a service for persons of all faiths, titled “A Celebration of Hope.” The service at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, will remember those who died but focus prominently on the universal hope for a new world where hatred, terrorism and injustice are overcome. Participants in the service will include members of the Buffalo Grove Fire and Police Departments. An offering will be received for United Methodist Committee on Relief. For more information, call the Rev. Richard Oliver, senior pastor, (847) 398-0770, ext. 11.
At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, First UMC, corner of Duane and Forest Sts., Glen Ellyn, will conduct a “Solemn Service of Remembrance.” The service will feature a liturgy of ashes, oil and light. The chancel choir will sing. For more information, call (630) 469-3510.
First UMC, 418 Touhy Ave., Park Ridge, will host the Park Ridge Ministerial Association’s 9/11 Community Remembrance Service at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11. The memorial service will include a special multimedia presentation and inspirational music from several local churches. For more information, call (847) 825-3144.
Friendship UMC and New Life Lutheran Church, both in Bolingbrook, will cosponsor a service of remembrance and prayer vigil walk on Wednesday, Sept. 11, starting at 8 p.m. The candlelight vigil walk will begin at Friendship UMC, 305 E. Boughton Rd. Walkers will stop at Fire Station 3 on Boughton Road for a prayer service honoring the community’s emergency service workers. The walk will end at New Life Church, 249 S. Bolingbrook Dr. Return transportation to Friendship UMC will be available. For more information, contact Friendship UMC at (630) 972-1011 or New Life Lutheran Church at (630) 759-7636.
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