Conference-Wide Bible in a Year Reading
The Northern Illinois Conference Committee on Discipleship and Spiritual Formation is launching a conference-wide initiative for 2026 inviting individuals and congregations to read the e…
The Northern Illinois Conference Anti-Racism Task Force and their partners, are pleased to present our 2022 Speaker Series.
During this 4-part series, we journeyed together to prayerfully learn, engage, and tackle our personal and corporate role in addressing racism.
The goals of the Speaker Series include….
- Increasing cultural competency through dialogue about the contexts, causes, and impacts of racism
- Reducing implicit bias by exploring cultural frameworks
- Learning our Methodist racial history—both in our complicity but also in our notable efforts to dismantle racism.
Learn about the 2023 Film Series
Called: Doing God's Work for the Beloved Community
Thursday, December 1, 2022, 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Dr. Hart addressed what the local church can do to combat the continuation of racism in the church and in society.
via Zoom
Speaker: Dr. Drew G.I. Hart
Zoom Recording More Information
Undenied: No Longer Willing to be Unheard
Thursday, September 22, 2022, 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Rev. Chebon Kernell shared insights and learning related to indigenous communities’ history, present work being done, and how we can be in solidarity as we prepare for the future.
In-person (Our Redeemer's in Schaumburg) and Online
Speaker: Rev. Chebon Kernell, UMC Native American Comprehensive
Moderator: Dr. Richard R. Guzman
Livestream Recording More Information
Unafraid: Stand up for Social Justice
Thursday, June 23, 2022, 12:00 -1:30 PM
Representatives from different conferences discussed what the local church and their conferences are doing to address racism.
via Zoom
Speakers: Rev. Derrek Belase, Rev. David Lagos-Fonseca, Rev. Dana Neuhauser, Rev. Brian Tillman, & Rev. Kathy L. Williams
Moderator: Rev. Pamela Pirtle
Zoom Recording More Information
Unsilenced: Our Stories, Our Voices
Thursday, March 24, 2022, 12:00-1:30 PM
Representatives from the Northern Illinois Conference and their neighboring Indiana Conference shared stories about the impact that racism has had on them.
via Zoom
Speakers: Tim Alexander, Rev. Sandy Harlan, Dr. Betty Hart, & Rev. Dr. Michelle Oberwise Lacock
Zoom Recording More Information
Resources from the Events:
- Download the text typed in the Chat from the March 24 event, the June 23 event or the December 1 event.
- Learn more about the work of the NIC Anti-Racism Task Force.
- If you would like to become active in the work of the Anti-racism Task Force, consider joining the NIC Anti-Racism Taskforce Champion Team.
- Participate in the 2022 NIC Rally Against Racism
- Review the phases and contemplate particiation in The Ephesus Project.
- Discover the Becoming the Beloved Community workshipps for your church.
- Save the Date for the Black Healing Collective 4-Hour Retreat in 2023
- Get in on the NIC 2023 Civil Rights Pilgrimage - April 26, 2023 - May 1, 2023
- Learn more about the IN Covenant to Being "IN Against Racism!" - Action Network
- Informative videos from the IN Conference - Covenant for Anti-Racism: Where Do We Go from Here…Chaos or Community? An Exploration of John Wesley, Methodism and Racism
- Connecting Faith and Justice - Youth Lectionary B Curriculum from UMC Church & Society - The curriculum is designed to help students actively engage the intersection of faith and justice and explore why our faith compels us toward justice. It is available to download today for free.
Read the panelists' books:
- Sandy Harlan
- Dr. Betty Hart
- By the Light of the Moon
- Prayers in the Black Tradition - with Richard Bowyer and Charlotte Meade.
- Dr. Drew G. I. Hart
- Chapters by Michelle Oberwise Lacock in the following books:
Recommended Reading:
- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY) by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- Diversity Beyond Lip Service: A Coaching Guide For Challenging Bias by La’Wana Harris
- Educating All God’s Children: What Christians Can and Should Do to Improve Public Education for Low-Income Kids by Karen Baker Fulgham
- God of the Oppressed by James Cone
- How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby
- I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes
- I’m Black, I’m Christian, I’m Methodist edited by Rudy Rasmus
- Massacre at Sand Creek: How Methodists Were Involved in an American Tragedy by Gary L. Roberts
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad (Young Reader's Edition also available)
- Ministering Cross-Culturally: A Model for Effective Personal Relationships by Sherwood G. Lingenfelter and Marvin Keene Mayers
- Multiethnic Conversations: An Eight-Week Journey Toward Unity in Your Church by Mark DeYmaz and Oneya Fennell Okuwobi
- My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
- On This Spirit Walk: The Voices of Native American and Indigenous Peoples by Henrietta Mann and Anita Phillips
- Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue
- Radical Reconciliation: Beyond Political Pietism and Christian Quietism by Curtiss Paul DeYoung and Allan Aubrey Boesak
- Resurrection Hope by Kelly Brown Douglas
- The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline, and New Hope for Beloved Community by Stephanie Spellers
- The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race by Willie Jennings
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree By James H. Cone
- The Diversity Gap: Where Good Intentions Meet True Cultural Change by Bethany Wilkinson
- The Deeply Formed Life by Richard Villodas
- The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted by Obery M. Hendricks Jr.
- The Racial Healing Handbook by Anneliese Singh
- We Can’t Talk About That At Work: How To Talk About Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics by Mary-Francis Winters
- Who Lynched Willie Earle: Preaching to Confront Racism by Bishop William H. Willimon
Speakers Series Partners:
Anti-Racism Task Force of the Northern Illinois Conference
Church & Society
General Commission on the Status and Role of Women
Great Plains United Methodist Conference
Indiana United Methodist Conference
Minnesota United Methodist Conference
Native American Comprehensive Plan
North Georgia United Methodist Conference
Our Saviour’s United Methodist Church