Announcing the #BeUMC Awards
The Northern Illinois Annual Conference, with United Methodist Communications, is excited to launch the #BeUMC Awards! Celebrate laypeople, clergy, and congregations who love boldly, serve joyfully…
After Annual Conference Update:
Churches and individuals across the Northern Illinois Conference responded with overwhelming generosity to this year's Bishop's Appeal to churches wtih Innovative Outreach. A total of $18,746.95 was raised so far. If you missed bringing your church's donation, you can still donate here. Donations will be accepted for three months following Annual Conference.
Bishop Schwerin announced that he and his wife, Julie Schwerin, would donate half of the amount of his Episcopal raise in pay to this bishop’s appeal and the other half to Wisconsin Conference’s Bolivian partnership.
Watch the 2025 Bishop's Appeal Presentation at AC here.
This year's appeal will provide grants to churches that have devised innovative ways of doing outreach.
Watch a conversation with Bishop Schwerin and Rev. Christian Coon about the 2025 Bishop's Appeal
In their book A Way Out of No Way: An Approach to Christian Innovation, Stephen Lewis and Kimberly Daniel explore how Christians can innovate using practices rooted in our faith. They write, “A playful ‘what if?’ approach to imagining and refining ideas is necessary to develop, support, and amplify solutions that matter to everyday people given that the stakes are high.”
We are in a time where “what if?” kinds of questions are more important than ever and our congregations and communities must begin to imagine, innovate, and foster creative ways of nurture, outreach, and witness.
To encourage this kind of innovation and experimentation, this year’s appeal will encourage churches to leave their buildings and find new ways to engage with their communities.
Encourage your church to take an offering for the Bishop's Appeal. Bring your congregation’s donation to Annual Conference for the Tuesday collection or donate online (choose Bishop's Appeal 2025: Innovative Outreach from the drop down).
Learn about what Rev. Jan Schaulis is doing in the rural areas for Innovative Outreach.