Bishop Schwerin's Reflections on General Conference 2024
Bishop Dan Schwerin offers some reflections after listening to how news of The United Methodist General Conference is being received in Northern Illinois.
The Hispanic/Latinx Ministries of our Northern Illinois Conference has a tradition of offering a dinner during the sessions of our Annual Conference. This feast could not happen in the last years because of COVID restrictions. Like other groups, they were eager to get together, talk, laugh, eat and share about their ministries.
After two long years, this dinner was offered again on the last day of the 183rd Northern Illinois Annual Conference, on Friday, June 10, at Our Saviour's United Methodist Church in Schaumburg. Thirty-five people from different churches across the conference attended the dinner.
"Our annual Hispanic/Latinx ministry celebration highlights the numerous and diverse ministries within the Northern Illinois Conference," said Rev. Patricia Bonilla, Chair of the Hispanic/Latinx Ministry team.
The Prairie North District Superintendent, Rev. Fabiola Grandon-Mayer, opened the dinner with a prayer and greeted the audience by saying, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!" using the psalmist's words in Psalm 133.
This year they also celebrated the new class of pastors taking the licensing school in Spanish to become Licensed Local Pastor and will continue their process through Course of Study.
Our Northern Illinois Conference has 20 Hispanic/Latinx churches and New Faith Communities and 35 pastors and lay missioners who serve in Spanish-speaking congregations and cross-cultural appointments. It has not been easy to get together in the last years, but the plan is to create new spaces to meet to share experiences and support each other in the coming years.
Bishop Dan Schwerin offers some reflections after listening to how news of The United Methodist General Conference is being received in Northern Illinois.
Rev. Cheryl Weaver, Wisconsin Conference’s benefits officer, will also serve Northern Illinois Conference in this capacity, beginning June 1.
The UMC General Conference (postponed from 2020) came to order on the morning of April 23. Follow daily reports focusing on topics of interest to Northern Illinois Conference readers.
General Conference takes thousands of people to help the event run smoothly and do its work. United Methodists from across Northern Illinois partici…