Download the 2023 AC Fact Sheet

Important Dates:

• April 3 - Online registration opens. (Link will be available when registration opens)
  Cost:
    April 3 - April 28 - Early bird registration $100/person
    April 29 - May 28 - $125/person
  No on-site registration
• April 3 - Legislation and Historical Documents due.
  A new form is available here for submissions to help streamline the process. Requirements are listed on the submission form. Questions about the form or submissions can be emailed to Joanne Ray at ACdocuments@umcnic.org.
• April 29 - Registration cost changes to $125.
• May 1 - Display Table applications due. Guidelines available here.
• May 2 - Submission of names and photos of AC lay members who have died since May 2022 due (Send to Communications@umcnic.org)
• May 5 - Legislation and documents posted online.
• May 8 - Video and Media presentations due.
  Requests for presentations, including media and videos to be projected on the screens, will need to be submitted and preapproved. Form for submissions is available here. Most presentations will be pre-recorded video. Questions about the form or submissions can be emailed to Lisa Smith at ACMedia@umcnic.org
• May 23 - Clergy Session
• May 30 at 7:00 pm - Pre-conference Briefing, online
• May 31 at 10:00 am - Pre-conference Briefing, online
• June 6
  • 9:00 am - Laity Session
  • 10:30 am -  Annual Conference session begins
  • Evening Ordination Service
• June 7 - Morning Retirement Service
• June 8 - Morning Memorial Service

---

Bishop's Appeal

This year, the Bishop’s Appeal focuses on Migrant Needs. The funds that we raise together will go to organizations providing immediate needs like hygiene kits, temporary shelter, and food; and longer-term needs like employment, housing, medical care, and legal assistance. We will partner with groups such as Justice for Our Neighbors, World Relief, Refugee One, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and local NIC Churches.

---

More Information, Resources and Links

Listed Alphabetically

• An Accessibility Coordinator will be present to help with any needs (vision, movement, hearing, etc.), within our ability. Please indicate your requests in the registration process. Large print programs will be available at the accessibility table near the hall entrance.
• Blueprint for Wellness Health Screenings are planned for Wed., June 9, and Thurs., June 10. More details and sign up coming soon. Signup will be through your "HealthFlex/ WebMD" account.
• Charging Stations will not be offered this year. Please come with devices charged.
• Childcare will be not offered on-site this year. The Annual  Conference Committee has done an extensive investigation and exhausted options for providing safe and friendly childcare on-site at the 2023 annual conference. We regret the limitations that prevent us from providing on-site childcare.  Clergy and lay members are encouraged to begin thinking of alternative plans for their children.
  • If you needed or were depending on on-site childcare services, limited funds are available for Childcare Scholarships to help offset childcare costs. Families applying need to be registered members of Annual Conference and have children under the age of 12.  Applications for scholarships are available here and are due May 15.
• Clergy Session will take place on May 23. More information coming soon.  Sign up for Clergy Session occurs during registration.
• Display Table applications are due May 1.
  • Application available here. 
  • The cost is $50 per eight-foot table, and electricity is not available. Display tables will be open all three days in the Nirvana Threshold, and assignments will be made after May 25. View the guidelines here.
  • Send questions to George Groves at groves101@comcast.net.
• Group meals are available to be hosted on-site.  If groups wish to meet, they can contact Bri Wadlington for coordination at events@umcnic.org.
  • General food options at the hotel:
    • Food Cart outside of our conference center area: Coffee, Sandwiches and Snacks
    • RENdezvous Cafe (Starbucks): Breakfast, Lunch
    • Schaumburg Public House: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Hotel Registrations will be available at Renaissance Schaumburg. The rate is $169 plus 11% tax. The link for registrations will be posted in early April.
• Laity Session will take place on June 6 at 9:00 am. Sign up for Laity Session occurs during registration.
• The number of Lay Members to Annual Conference per church was adjusted in 2021. The number of Lay Members per church can be found in this document.
  • If a church's Lay Member is going to be different from those currently listed in the portal, s/he must contact the Conference office to be included. 
• Legislation & Historical Documents are due April 3. All legislation and historical documents will be posted online May 5.
  • A new form is available here for submissions to help streamline the process. Requirements:
    • Documents must be in the Action/Rationale format with a maximum of 500 words for the rationale.
    • Documents must be submitted as an editable WORD document the Chair of Daily Proceedings, Joanne Ray.
    • No web links may be included in actual legislation (because websites cannot be amended by our voting body).  If groups wish to include websites as resources, they should be listed as a resource within the rationale.
  • Questions about the form or submissions can be emailed to Joanne Ray at ACdocuments@umcnic.org.
  • Late documents must be submitted at conference to the chair BEFORE the opening of the annual conference session both electronically and with two printed copies.
• A Livestream of the Conference for guests will be available on the NIC YouTube channel.
• Media and Videos to be projected on the screens during AC will need to be submitted and preapproved. Most presentations will be pre-recorded video.
  • Click here for the Presentation request form.
  • Final decisions regarding scheduling are made by the Daily Proceedings Coordinator in conjunction with the Annual Conference Committee. We will do our best to schedule presentations as time and agenda permit. Most presentations will be shared as pre-recorded videos via the NIC website and/or possibly during breaks.
  • Videos and Media are due May 9.
• The Memorial Service will take place on Thursday morning, June 8. 
  • Submission of names and photos of AC lay members who have passed since May 2022 are due May 2. Please send to communications@umcnic.org.
• For the Mission Challenge, we will be collecting items for the Midwest Mission Distribution Center.  More information coming soon.
• New Member Orientation will be available online, details are still being coordinated.
• The Ordination Service will take place on Tuesday evening, June 6.
• Pre-Conference Briefings will be virtual this year. There are two choices available, and Tuesday, May 30 at 7:00 pm and Wednesday, May 31 at 10:00 am. Sign up for a Pre-Conference Briefing during registration.
• Packets of information for the Conference will be available for pick up on the morning of Tuesday, June 6.  There will be no onsite regisrtation, only packet pick up.
• Distribution of Print materials will be limited as we continue to be good stewards of the environment. The Annual Conference Secretary, Randy Hayes, must preapprove any material to be distributed on the AC floor. Only ushers may distribute materials. Groups may provide handouts at their display tables. Other handouts may be housed at the lobby table. Announcements during AC will be projected on the screen after approval. Submissions can be sent to Randy Hayes at ra50h1y9s@comcast.net.
• Registration opens April 3. Registration includes Clergy Session or Laity Session, and Pre-conference briefings.
  • Registration link will be available here.
    • April 3 - April 28 - Early bird registration $100
    • April 29 - May 28 - $125
    • No on-site registration
    • If a church's Lay Member is going to be different from those currently listed in the portal, s/he must contact the Conference office to be included. 
    • Active clergy who are not attending Annual Conference need to send their reason for absence in writing to Episcopal Administrative Assistant Marva Andrews either by e-mail at mandrews@umcnic.org or by postal mail to Northern Illinois Conference, Attn: Marva Andrews, 303 E. Wacker Dr, Suite 2020, Chicago, IL 60602 
• The Retirement Service will take place on Wednesday morning , June 7.
• Volunteer Opportunities. We need ushers, plenary pages, legislative section leaders,  greeters, secretarial pool members and more to help Annual Conference run smoothly and efficiently. Please contact Bri Wadlington, Events Administrator, at events@umcnic.org if you are interested in serving as a volunteer for a day or even part of a day or if you have questions. No previous experience is necessary. 

---

184th Northern Illinois Annual Conference Comes to the Table

The 184th session of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference is set to take place June 6th – June 8th, 2023. The Conference will return to the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center at 1551 N. Thoreau Dr., Schaumburg, IL, again this year.

Continuing with the theme, “Connected in Christ”; the 2023 theme is "Connected in Christ: Come to the Table," placing the focus on one of the core elements of our Christian faith – communion. Communion brings us into the real presence of Christ on a regular basis. As we join at the table, we are nourished so that we might bring Christ into the world, ultimately forming community, from baptism to the communion table. By participating in communion and becoming a community, we are called in ministry and mission. This theme allows us to go outside of the temporal issues of the world into a deeper theological reflection and ideology of God’s grace offered to us while also calling us into action.

Rev. Arlene Christopherson reminds us that, "[The] Annual Conference is a central element of our life together in the United Methodist Church. It is in this gathering that we celebrate, worship, plan, and learn. Last year we stepped back into an in-person conference relearning what it means to gather together. We look forward to expanding our numbers, and our activities in 2023.  This year will also be the first of many years that our session will be led by Bishop Dan Schwerin. We look forward to growing in community under his leadership.”
 
Ordination and Commissioning will be held on the evening of Tuesday, June 6th. The conference will honor those retiring on Wednesday morning, June 7th. We will be remembering those who passed in the past year during the memorial service on the morning of Thursday, June 8th.

The cost of this year’s meeting is $100 for early registrations before April 28 and will increase to $125. Registration will close on Sunday, May 28. There will be NO on-site registration.
 
The committee is diligently working on the arrangements for childcare for this year, and details will be forthcoming. Clergy and lay members are encouraged to begin thinking of alternative plans for their children in case childcare will not be provided.

As we prepare to fellowship again, the Committee will continue to monitor all state and local health and safety guidelines on large gatherings.

Online registration will open in April 3. Bookmark this page umcnic.org/AC2022 and check back for updates and details in the coming months.