August

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57 attend 31st Pembroke Institute

(August 29) Fifty-seven young African-Americans from 12 different churches attended the 31st annual Maceo D. Pembroke Institute for Ministerial Recruitment and Leadership Development Aug. 10-16 on the campus of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston.

The Institute is a one-week intensive religious life experience designed to recruit, train and nurture high school through college-age youths and young adults from black United Methodist churches for lay or ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. Sponsored by Chicago Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) and the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC), the Institute has provided pastors and leaders for NIC black churches for more than three decades.

Among current NIC clergy who graduated from the Pembroke Institute is the Rev. Tracy Smith Malone, president of Chicago BMCR and senior pastor of Wesley UMC in Aurora.

“I came through this program,” Malone said. “I answered my call when I was 13 years old. BMCR raised me. Whenever I come back here, I get chills. I know that I am where I am now because of the seeds that were sown here.”

Malone said Institute attendance is usually limited to 50. “But we found out that some of the other conferences don’t have BMCR-sponsored youth events,” she said, “so this year we opened this up to other conferences.” As a result, seven students from Indiana participated in the NIC event for the first time.

Classes are offered at three levels: first-year students, second-year students, and those in their third term.

Malone said the emphasis of the Institute has changed over the years.

“There used to be a time when all the kids who came here were considering ordained ministry,” Malone said. But this year’s session attracted more youths who are just trying to learn how to be better Christians.

“For some kids, this is the only safe haven they have with other kids who are unashamedly Christian,” Malone said. “I’ve watched kids come up here and be completely transformed.”

Samuel Favors, Institute Dean and member of St. Mark UMC in Chicago, said the youths are divided into six family focus groups. “They meet and talk about their own faith journeys and their concerns about getting closer to God and doing what Jesus would have them do. That’s what makes this really go — the interaction with kids from other churches.”

“Everything is individualized,” Favors said. “Each one really has to participate.”

This year’s curriculum and faculty included “Blacks in the Bible,” led by the Rev. Charles Woolery, pastor of First Wesleyan Academy UMC, Harvey; “Ethics,” led by the Rev. Harriet Cross, associate pastor of Our Saviour’s UMC, Schaumburg; “Communications,” led by Julia Porter-Maddox, youth ministry chairperson, Ingleside-Whitfield UMC, Chicago; “Polity,” led by Dr. Donald Guest, Chicago Southern District superintendent; and “Worship,” led by the Rev. Pamela Lightsey, pastor of Southlawn UMC, Chicago.

Preacher for the week was the Rev. Al Sampson, pastor of Fernwood UMC, Chicago.

Assistant Dean is Sirchester Jackson, of St. Mark UMC in Chicago.

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Vision UMC files lawsuit against Long Grove

(August 29) United Methodist News Service — Vision UMC, a predominantly Korean-American congregation formerly named Good Shepherd UMC, has filed a $5 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging the Village of Long Grove has “maliciously” worked to stop development of a new church.

The congregation purchased 27 acres of unincorporated land in Lake County three years ago for the purpose of relocating and building a worship facility. The property is located at the corner of Gilmer (Rte. 83) and North Kruger roads.

After selling their former building in Park Ridge, members of the congregation have been sharing space with Mundelein UMC.

First and 14th Amendments

Justification for the suit is based on the First and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act of 2000. One provision of the act prohibits burdensome land-use restrictions on houses of worship.

The 120-member congregation has “been rebuffed and rejected at every point by the Village of Long Grove to build a church,” said John Mauck, an attorney specializing in religious law who is representing the church.

The Village of Long Grove describes itself as “an oasis that the rapid advance of urban sprawl has not penetrated,” according to its web site. It goes on to say that “a cherished feature of Long Grove is the privacy its residents enjoy. This is due to rural zoning and emphasis on the retention of natural vegetation on both public and private property alike, which ordinances zealously protect.”

Sought permission

When the property was purchased, the church sought permission to build a new facility and was denied. At that time, the village refused to annex the church-owned property. When the church sought permission from the county, the village then forcibly annexed the property by buying up land around the property, thus preventing the county from granting permission to build a church, Mauck said.

“The church, showing great Christian patience, reapplied to the village and was turned down a third time,” Mauck said.

“We have followed up to their every demand, and they have denied us,” said Han Cho, a member of the congregation and chair of the church’s building committee. “The lawsuit is our last choice.”

“It is the Korean church’s tradition to establish churches in order to exhibit a Christian culture,” Cho said. He pointed out that the area has no Korean United Methodist churches.

Mauck described Long Grove Village as a municipality that prides themselves on very tight zoning control and very low density. It is largely a residential area of upper-income homes. “The proposed church would be the first non-Caucasian church in the area,” he said.

Conference may join lawsuit

The Northern Illinois Conference is considering joining in the lawsuit to show support for this church, said Sam Witwer, conference attorney. “The conference is greatly concerned about the violation of this local church’s rights in attempting to relocate and construct a church,” he said.

Mauck said it is very encouraging that the church at the conference level is considering joining the suit to stand behind this local church. “They are going out there and fighting for everybody,” he said.

”Long Grove is the giant Goliath trying to squash young David [and] David has had enough,” said Mauck. “This is one of the most malicious, mean-spirited and systematic attacks on a church that I have ever seen by a government.”

The manager of Long Grove Village, David Lothspeich, said he had not seen a copy of the lawsuit and was unable to comment.

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‘Been there, done that’ more than slick lingo

By the Rev. Dr. Martha Scott
Chicago Northwestern District Superintendent

“Awe came upon everyone, because many signs and wonders were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” — Acts 2:43-47

(August 29) Been there; done that; bought the tee shirt;” so goes the popular adage. But on the Chicago Northwestern District, “being there” (context); “doing it” (mission); and “buying the tee shirt” (putting on our biblical identity) is more than slick lingo. Instead, it has become the rallying cry and meaning behind our participation in the Conference apportionment.

Three years ago the District Board of Stewards accepted the practice of the early Christian community as our biblical understanding of being an apportionment-paying district. Paying our apportionments was a way we contributed to the “common pot.” We understood the budgeting process to be the method by which we all participated in the “distribution to any who had need.” We committed this truth to our memories and put it on our tee shirts to remind us when we forgot. Under the leadership of Nedra Oyen, we raised the percentage we paid on our apportionment from 71.8% to 85% over the past four years.

But our biblical identity and inspiration for paying our apportionment exceeds our commitment to the “common fund” reenactment. Our District actually resembles the early Christian community on the Day of Pentecost. Except today, the gathering of diverse nations and languages is not in Jerusalem but in Chicago. Thirty four of our churches could be identified as racial-ethnic, language-specific or multicultural. In addition to the Vietnamese, Korean and Filipino congregations, the Indian congregations worship in three different languages. The newly chartered African Community UMC is mainly composed of persons from Ghana and Nigeria. The Hispanic congregations represent 21 different countries. Furthermore, nearly 20% of the congregations are reconciling congregations. On this District, as in the earliest Christian community, diversity has become the norm.

Precisely in this context we have come to understand the power of God as we live out our mission together. At each charge conference we read Acts 2: 43-47, and a part of our annual reporting includes testimonies about where each congregation sees God at work in its midst. With strangely warmed hearts we rehearse the “many signs and wonders” the apostles are still performing.

Although our District is the smallest in both membership and number of churches, it is assessed the highest per capita apportionment of all six districts. We work hard, sometimes against challenging circumstances, to pay our share.

We do this because we understand the difference these resources make in our congregations. The Chicago Northwestern District receives more from the Annual Conference for the previously mentioned ministries than any other district receives back.

Not only do we believe in the connectional system, we also know firsthand what it means to “give with glad and generous hearts.” As a biblical people, we can do nothing less.

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Ivanhoe filled with kids all summer

(August 22) All summer, children have filled the halls of Ivanhoe UMC,14500 S. Clark St. in Riverdale, a suburban community south of Chicago.

First there was Cultural Camp from June 9 to Aug. 1. Then there was a two-week Vacation Bible School, followed by two weeks of Summer Play Camp. And the Friday night Drop-In Center continues year-round. All are part of the church’s “It Takes a Village” youth outreach ministries.

“We will have had children in here every day this summer,” said the Rev. Irene Taylor, pastor.

Taylor said the Ivanhoe congregation — along with the entire Riverdale suburb — was in the process of transitioning from predominately white to predominately black when she was appointed pastor in 1997.

“The congregation was a predominately white, older congregation when I arrived here,” Taylor said. “They said they wanted a pastor who could reach out to the community and reach out to the African-Americans in the neighborhood.”

Taylor said members realized that if the congregation was going to grow, they would have to attract African-Americans to a church that had been seen as “white.”

Reach out to children

“One way we found that we could reach out to the community,” Taylor said, “is to reach out to the children.”

Members of the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Congregational Development and Redevelopment Committee helped Ivanhoe do a demographic analysis of its community. The study identified “an awful lot of children in the community with single moms,” Taylor said.

So the congregation established a Friday night Drop-In Center for youths. Ivanhoe’s United Methodist Men converted the church’s fellowship hall into a youth center. Helped with an Emerging Ministries grant from the NIC Council on Ministries, the congregation purchased pool tables, air hockey, table games, videos, video games, basketball and a karaoke machine.

“The Drop-In Center was started to give mothers a night off,” Taylor said, “and provide a caring, nurturing environment for children to come and interact with other children and adults.” Now 80 to 90 kids — 5-years-old through seniors in high school — gather at the center each week.

Foundation grant

In 2002 the church got a $3,000 grant from the NIC United Methodist Foundation to expand the outreach.

That summer, Ivanhoe conducted a pilot Cultural Camp with 25 children, ages 4 to 17. This year, through a partnership with the local school district, the church distributed flyers about the camp to parents of school children. As a result, 65 children and youths participated in the camp, ranging in age from three to 17.

“Approximately 15 of them are members of the church,” said Sybil Mendenhall, the church’s minister of Youth Development and director of the Cultural Camp, “but most of them are from the neighborhood.”

During the eight weeks of camp, children learned African history, were taught words in Swahili, and heard about the Middle Passage, slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement. Segments on hip-hop, music videos and popular rappers helped the children understand how the current music culture is affecting them and how to cope with it.

Heritage and culture

“A lot of the kids didn’t know much about their heritage and culture,” said Mendenhall, who also included exercise, spiritual enrichment, arts and crafts, and field trips in the program.

This fall, the church will restart its “No School Days” program, opening the church to local school children and providing structured activities on days when school is closed. The church is considering also offering tutoring and a “Just Us Girls” program to help young girls build self-esteem.

And the programs are attracting new church members.

“When we started reaching out to the community, that’s when we started getting people coming in,” Taylor said.

Self-supporting programs

Through enrolment fees and grants, the church is trying to make all the programs self-supporting.

Ivanhoe UMC received subsidies from the NIC for pastor salary support for several years. But this year the church is working to become self-sufficient.

“This has been a make-or-break year for us,” Taylor said. “We should not be able to do what we’re doing. But, somehow, by the grace of God, we’re doing it.”

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For ‘Doc,’ joy was in giving
and seeing lives transformed

By the Rev. David Carlisle
DeKalb District Superintendent

"Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethern, you did it to me.” — Matthew 25:40

(August 22) "Doc” White was a child of God in Christ, a United Methodist, a physician, spouse, father and grandfather. Doc even made house calls occasionally, up and until he “hopped the twig,” as they would describe his death.

Whenever you would see the doctor, you would see his wife, Edna. She had been his nurse for many years until she began to lose her eyesight. Then, you would see Doc, Edna and Auggie as in “St. Augustine,” a yellow labrador working dog.

The Whites would tithe at least 10% of their income to their local church, plus 5% of their income for apportionments and missions! They had worked as medical missionaries in the United States and abroad. Whenever you needed an enthusiastic resource person on the vital need for apportionment giving, Doc White was the person.

Yet there was more.

On Sundays, Doc, Edna and Auggie would go to church, where they taught in the church school and sang in the choir. For Sunday dinner, they went to the Rescue Mission sponsored by the city’s Council of Churches. Doc White anonymously paid for dinner for 75 to 100 homeless every Sunday for 20 years.

Doc worked at the serving table and blessed the food. If his prayer was too long, Auggie would look up and put his paw on Doc’s foot.

This physician committed his faith to action, and found the courage to be a Christian devoted to the United Methodist connection because he knew that this is such a special way to care for God’s children.

Doc White would not tolerate self-centered conversations about “What do we get for our money?” For him, the joy was in the giving, and seeing lives transformed and spirits lifted, and for that I am profoundly grateful.

Giving to and living in the mission and ministry of God in Christ to which we are called is at the heart of what it means to be the Church. This is a matter of the Spirit, and this is how we proclaim the Good News! Peace.

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ChildServ kids get golf lessons from Kaufman

(August 22) Marshall’s, one of the nation’s leading off-price family retailers, sponsored a golf clinic for 15-20 ChildServ clients from the foster care and community-based programs at ChildServ’s 2003 Charity Golf Outing this summer. The outing was held at Royal Melbourne course in Long Grove.

Each child received a commemorative T-shirt and lunch, along with golf instruction according to his or her ability level. After a buffet lunch, the children received an hour of golf instruction from Betty Kaufman, men’s golf coach at DePaul University who was LPGA Midwest Teacher of the Year. She has also been named a top golf teacher by Golf for Women and Golf Magazine.

Kaufman instructed the children on fundamentals of the game, from putting to driving.

This event was an opportunity for children, ages 6-13, living in communities lacking in social and economic resources to learn a new sport as part of ChildServ’s efforts to help children and their families expand their skills and opportunities.

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UMW School of Christian Mission
draws 350 persons for drive-in day

(August 15) More than 350 people, including five youths, attended the Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Women’s School of Christian Mission drive-in day last month in Lisle. Another 105 registered to attend the full three-day program, “Crossing Boundaries: Journey in Hope,” which offered studies on Exodus and the African-American Methodist journey, Mexico, and creating interfaith community.

Eleven children took part in the study designed for them on creating interfaith community.

Vivian Matthews, dean of the school, said the drive-in day attendance was among the best, “if not the best,” in the school’s history.

The School of Christian Mission featured classes taught in Hispanic and Korean languages. Bishop C. Joseph Sprague led the plenary sessions on Exodus.

Other highlights of this year’s school included special sessions with Rosangela Soares de Oliveira, an international missioner with women, children and youths assigned by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) to women’s leadership development in Latin America; and Dana Jones, former Northern Illinois Conference communications director and current editor of Response magazine, published by GBGM’s Women’s Division.

The School of Christian Mission is open to anyone of any age, according to Matthews. It offers studies in theological, geographical and missional areas. For several years, the Northern Illinois school has also offered programs for children and youths.

The school is traditionally held twice a year: usually a weekend retreat in January and the larger four-day event in July.

Upcoming studies, prepared by the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, are 2004, “Concerning Prayer,” “Cuba” and “Public Education.” 2005’s studies are “Children in the Bible,” “Public Education” and “India and Pakistan.”

For more information, contact Matthews, (773) 626-6256, or assistant dean, Barbara Garlinger, (630) 665-1549.

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Lessons on sharing learned early in life

By the Rev. Danita Anderson
Aurora District Superintendent

(August 15) Early in my life I learned lessons on what it meant to share with others — even when you feel as though there is nothing left share. My mother and grandmother frequently extended themselves and their resources around the church, throughout our extended family and even in the neighborhood when persons often fell on difficult times. And it seemed that every time they did, we always had more to share.

This sharing business was a difficult learning for one who falls into the oldest/only line in the birth-order philosophy. But it was a lesson taught and learned at home, at church and even at school.

I shall never forget the night we watched in amazement as a three-story, 18-unit building went up in flames and a classmate from my second grade class was left homeless. The following week the class collected clothes and other items for Walter and his family, not fully knowing or understanding how one would exist without a home and familiar things around. A lesson brought to life in a scary kind of way.

Life sometimes has a way of doing that for us. It brings to reality things we sometimes take for granted. We live in the “land of plenty” and yet people walk our streets in hunger, homeless and hopeless. We have cures for common ailments and relief for all types of pain, yet many in our country cannot afford the luxury of medical treatment. We throw away food, clothes, money, time and people with no thought to the reality that some people must live with next to or nothing.

We have been given an opportunity to share what we have, and yet our hands are clenched closed and our arms folded across our chests, looking for bigger, better and more. How are we the recipients of the fullness of God’s grace with our hands closed and our arms folded? Are we keeping it for ourselves or saving for a rainy day? How can we continue to look away when others stand before us in need? Where is the Christian compassion and empathy for the “least of these our brothers and sisters”?

Rather than focus our attention on whether one believes the same as we do, let’s focus our attention on being Christ-like. Rather than always having our hands outstretched for more, let’s reach out or down to lift another person. Rather than always asking for what we think we need and what we want, why not talk to God on behalf of someone else’s needs? Rather than giving someone a fish for them to eat for a day, why not try teaching them to fish so that they may eat for a lifetime? Rather than consult your daily planner for what is next on your agenda, why not take time to show someone how much you care?

It is only in our giving that we receive. It is only in our living that we have life. What have you done for God lately?

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Centro Mi Pueblo extends helping
hand to Hispanics in LaSalle area

By Danira Parra
General Board of Global Ministries 10-10-10 Missionary

(August 1) I’ve heard it said there are only six degrees of separation between any two people. For example, I can be connected to a Russian farmer living in Karelia by having a friend who knows a third person, who works with a fourth, who interacts with a fifth person, whose close buddy is that Russian farmer. If I went through just the right six channels, I could meet that farmer.

As a 10-10-10 missionary serving in the rural towns of LaSalle and Bureau counties, I sometimes wish I had six degrees of separation to shield my eyes and heart from the poverty and hunger that people in my charge know so intimately.

Miguel and Fabiola are a typical immigrant family. Both are young and vibrant in their mid-twenties. They decided to settle in LaSalle because their growing family of four needed more stability than the migrant worker’s life could give them. So they moved into an efficiency apartment one block away from Centro Mi Pueblo, the mission site where I work.

With barely enough money to buy food and car fuel, all four of them were sleeping on one-inch foam padding over a hard vinyl floor. During the day, Miguel would go to work at the only job he could find in our work-depressed area: a part-time job in maintenance that paid less than $6 per hour. Meanwhile Fabiola, eight months pregnant, stayed at home to care for their three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter.

Through generous donations of clothing and furniture that we receive at Centro Mi Pueblo, we found a crib, sleeper sofa, table and folding chairs for this family. We found toys for the children, a car carrier for the newborn baby boy, and clothes for everyone. We arranged for the children to get vaccines and other medical attention and helped them connect to the food pantry and WIC program by providing transportation and translation services.

Miguel and Fabiola still live in that little efficiency, but now Miguel has taken a second job and they hope to be able to move to a small one-bedroom soon. Fabiola and the kids come to Centro Mi Pueblo pretty regularly to browse through donations we’ve received, to have me translate a letter, or just to say “hi” and help us unpack boxes and bags.

The hard and mean conditions that this family knows firsthand are fairly typical for Hispanic immigrants. Other poverty-related problems such as alcoholism, domestic abuse, malnutrition, illness and depression are commonplace among the immigrants.

Miguel and Fabiola are blessed because they’re still living in that blossom of young love. They sill believe they can do anything if they do it together. That’s not usually the case for the many others I see.

Although Centro Mi Pueblo has a direct connection to the rural Hispanic community, we don’t let skin color and cultural backgrounds determine who we will help. Our clients come in every color and hue, from young to old. We serve individuals, family groups, and people bonded through friendship. We work with institutions and organizations to provide translation services, hold after-school programs, and develop training for developmentally disabled youths. We hold craft classes, English courses and U.S. citizenship studies.

We truck in tons — 150 tons in 2002 — of produce, bread, tortillas, juice and cookies and distribute them free-of-charge to area food pantries, senior citizen centers, low-income housing units and day-care centers. Sometimes, we distribute food on street corners and in parking lots.

Recently, Centro Mi Pueblo worked with the Society of St. Andrew NIC coordinator Joe Royston, member of First UMC, Downers Grove, and the Midwest Mission Distribution Center, in Chatham in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, to bring 1,170 processed chickens to the poor and hungry. The live birds were donated by Walt and Rick Caruthers, members of Waverly UMC in Chatham. The birds were processed in Sterling, but we need to raise money to pay for having the chickens hauled, dressed and frozen.

A donation of $5 will pay for providing a family with enough chicken for two to three weeks. It will keep hunger at bay long enough for us to help the family make a connection toward helping themselves. It will be a first step in receiving the love of God through the care and brotherhood of Christians.

There may be six degrees separating us, but there doesn’t have to be.

11 congregations receive Bishop’s ecumenical award

(August 1) Eleven congregations were presented the 2003 Bishop’s Award for Ecumenical Shared Ministry during the Northern Illinois Annual Conference session in June. Ecumenical Shared Ministries are congregations formed by a local United Methodist church and one or more local congregations of other Christian traditions.

This year’s award recipients are Cosmopolitan, Melrose Park; Church of the Three Crosses, Chicago; Amboy United First Church, Wilton Center; Federated Church, Manhattan; Hanover UMC and Hanover Presbyterian Church; United Protestant Church, Grayslake; Federated Church of Wauconda; United Church of Rogers Park, Chicago; Grace United, Park Forest; United Church of Hyde Park, Chicago; and University Park Pilgrimage Protestant Church, Chicago.

Each year at Annual Conference the Bishop presents the Bishop’s Ecumenical/
Interreligious Award in recognition of a person or ministry who has witnessed by word and action to God’s purpose for the unity of the human community in ecumenical or interreligious settings. The Bishop gives the award on recommendation of the NIC Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

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