General Conference to move to 2021
Subsequent to the announcement by the Executive Committee of the Commission on the General Conference that the 2020 General Conference will be postponed, the full Commission met March 21, 202…
181st Northern Illinois Annual Conference
June 7-9, 2020
Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, 1551 N. Thoreau Dr., Schaumburg, IL 60173
AC2020 remains scheduled at this time. We will continue to monitor restrictions on gatherings and respond accordingly. Please read the weekly NIC eNews carefully for updates or check back on the calendar periodically. Don’t receive the weekly conference eNews? Click here to subscribe.
Most of the Conference will be located in the Adventure Hall.
The theme for the 2020 session of the Annual Conference is “Y Church,” grounded in the scripture 1 Peter 3:15b that calls us to always be ready to make an account of the hope that is within us. Bishop Sally Dyck asks us to reflect on why church matters to us and why church still plays an important role in our communities. Bishop Dyck hopes these reflections will help us re-focus and stay focused on how to live out the mission that Jesus has given us.
Online registration opens Monday, April 6, 2020.
Hotel Reservations
Room reservations at the Renaissance Hotel are open. The rate is $152 + tax, per night. Deadline to cancel a reservation at no penalty is 72 hours to arrival date. Rooms must be booked by May 22. Click here to book your room online or you may call the hotel directly at 847.303.4100.
Legislation/Historical Documents
All historical documents and proposed legislation for the conference must be submitted by April 1, 2020 (no exceptions) to Rev. Katie Voigt, ACdocuments@umcnic.org. If you have any questions about how to format your documents, please feel free to contact Rev. Voigt at this same email address during your writing process, well in advance of the deadline.
NEW: Presenting at Annual Conference
In order for the conference schedule to run smoothly, the AC committee has established a new procedure for organizations and individuals who want to present at Annual Conference. All potential presenters must provide essential information to the Annual Conference Committee, including contact information, reason for requesting an opportunity to present, a short description of the proposed presentation, estimated time for the presentation, and if the presentation includes slides or video. Fill out the “2020 NIC Annual Conference Presentation Request Form” below. Priority will be given to requests received from January through March. Final decisions regarding scheduling are made by the Daily Proceedings Coordinator in conjunction with the Annual Conference Committee.
NEW: Booklet Advertising
New for 2020, we are selling advertising space in the AC booklet. Limited space is available. Full-page, half-page or quarter-page ads must be submitted as 300-dpi JPG, PNG, or PDF files: no Word files will be accepted. Ads will be included on a first-come, first-served basis. The Annual Conference Committee will make the final decisions on inclusion. Groups placing an ad in the booklet will receive special pricing is for on their display table. Click here for the info sheet providing more details, including pricing. The deadline for ad submittals is April 15, 2020.
Bishop’s Appeal
Bishop Sally Dyck has designated the Secondary School in Tanzania as the recipient of the 2020 Bishop’s Appeal. Churches are encouraged to fundraise to help finance the second stage of the school’s construction and bring their offering to the Annual Conference in June. Global Missions Missionary and NIC elder Rev. Young Seon (Christina) Kim is leading the project, which is in the second stage of construction, and hopes to open the school to students by Jan. 2021.
Display Tables
Display table registration is now open. Click here for the guidelines. Display tables are being offered at no cost to for-profit or non-profit organizations who purchase full-page or half-page advertisements in our program booklet. Click here to reserve and pay for display tables and program advertisements.
Tentative Worship Services Schedule
Sunday, June 7
New Member Orientation
Ordination Service - 4pm
Monday, June 8
Retirement Service - 1:30pm
Tuesday, June 9
Memorial Service - 10:30am
Please remember to submit names and photos of Lay Members to AC who have passed away since June 2019 to communications@umcnic.org.
Worship Leader: Rev. Rich Rubietta, a NIC elder serving in extension ministry with Abounding Ministries will be our worship leader working with the Annual Conference Worship Committee to develop our three main services.
Bible Study Leader: This year’s Bible Study Leader is Rev. Junius B. Dotson, the General Secretary/CEO of Discipleship Ministries (formerly the General Board of Discipleship). Dotson is a nationally recognized leader, speaker, and author on evangelism and church revitalization.
Memorial Service Message: NIC Dir. of Human Resources Woody Bedell will be delivering the message at the Memorial Service. Bedell manages the benefits and human resources needs of the NIC.
Mission Challenge will again collect bulk items for Personal Dignity Kits to send to the Midwest Mission Distribution Center, which is celebrating 20 years of ministry this year. Watch for the specific items needed, but they will include such things as towels, combs, adult toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and shampoo. (All items must be new.) Stay tuned for the specific items each District will be asked to donate. The trailer from the distribution center will be outside the Schaumburg Convention Center on Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
Reminders:
- Volunteers needed! Interested in being an usher, plenary page, greeter, part of the secretarial pool, or a volunteer in other areas? Please check back in February to fill out our volunteer form or email Laura Lopez at llopez@umcnic.org.
- On-site Childcare will be available. Online registration coming soon.
- We will be offering the “New Member Orientation” on Sunday, June 7 at the Convention Center.
- Accessibility Coordinators will be available on site to help with any needs (vision, movement, hearing, etc.), within our ability. Please visit the coordinators at Annual Conference with any special requests.
- Blueprint for Wellness Screenings will be held at Annual Conference on Monday and Tuesday (June 8 and 9). Time and location to be determined. Online registration coming soon.