Summer Community Experimentation Strengthens Faith
This summer, churches across Northern Illinois embraced Bishop Schwerin’s call to experiment with new ways of being the church—reshaping Vacation Bible Schools, hosting local…
The NIC Anti-Racism Task Force presented an Arts and Culture Series to explore the unique art forms of different ethnicities. Quilts have played a significant role in American history and culture for centuries. Quilts are as unique as the people who create them.
As we journeyed together throughout the year to embrace the rich diversity of music, art, and history, the ARTF Series team invited participants to help in the making of an NIC Arts & Culture Quilt.
The submitters completed individual quilt individual blocks. The submissions came from NIC individuals, churches and organizations. The squares represent their culture, community, history, or art.
Individual squares were assembled into a final quilt by Ida VanBoven, a volunteer quilting coordinator from First UMC in Elmhurst. She added sashing, borders, binding, and a hanging pocket to the back.
The completed quilt will be hung in the Northern Illinois Conference Office and shared at the 2025 Annual Conference.
A booklet was created to accompany the quilt. In addition photos of each square, it provides the information about the quilters and the statement they provided about the square they created.
Download the Quilt Project Booklet
Watch the Annual Conference Presentation
This summer, churches across Northern Illinois embraced Bishop Schwerin’s call to experiment with new ways of being the church—reshaping Vacation Bible Schools, hosting local…
On August 15, Korean-American United Methodists in Northern Illinois gathered at First Korean UMC in Wheeling to mark Korea’s 1945 liberation from Japanese occupation with b…
On August 6, Kids Above All gathered more than 70 faith and community partners, including United Methodist churches, for a Day of Celebration and Service at i…
At the beginning of August, Hispanic/Latinx United Methodists from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico gathered in Arlington Heights for the Annual MARCHA meeting, hosted th…