Urgency Is Not Enough: Shepherding Team Talks About Change
Liz Gracie, who has been one of the co-chairs of the Annual Conference Shepherding Team for the past eight years, told the Annual Conference 2023 members of an insight…
Download the Legislation and Documents
Download the 2023 AC Program (attendees will receive a copy during check-in)
Important Dates:
- April 3 - Online registration opens.
Cost:
April 3 - April 28 - Early bird registration $100/person
April 29 - May 28 - $125/person
No on-site registration - May 5 - Legislation and documents posted online.(Submissions were due April 3)
- May 23 - Clergy Session - Sycamore UMC
- June 6
- 9:00 am - Laity Session
- 10:30 am - Annual Conference session begins
- 7:00 pm - Celebration of Ministry
- June 7
- 10:30 am - Retirement Service
- 7:00 pm - Korean Peace Reflections and Prayer during Plenary 6
- June 8 - 10:30 am - 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. Learn more here.
Hotel Reservations
Booking info for the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel:
Cost: $169 plus 11% tax per night (price may vary after April 11)
Central Reservations Phone Number: (888) 236-2427(Mention Northern IL Conference UMC)
Online Reservation Booking Link: book.passkey.com/go/NorthernILConferenceUMC
Rooms are available to be reserved Mon., June 5 - Wed., June 7
*We have noticed more reservations for Tuesday, June 6, than Wednesday, June 7. Please confirm your reservations if you plan to stay at the hotel for the entire AC.
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.
- Closed captioning will be provided during all services and plenary sessions.
- Scooters are available for rental for $255 all three days. Rental registration is included in the regular registration.
- The basic Agenda can be downloaded here.
- Blueprint for Wellness Health Screenings are planned for Wed., June 7, and Thurs., June 8 from 7 am - 10 am in the First Aid room near Adventure Hall. The screenings are available for those who participate in the conference health insurance plan. Testing involves one blood draw and a few measurements. The results provide valuable information about several common health risks. Screening Registration now closed, some on-site walk-in appointments may be available.
- Charging Stations will not be offered this year. Please come with devices charged.
- Childcare will not be 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.
- Applications for Childcare scholarships are now closed.
- Clergy Session took place on May 23 at Sycamore UMC. Click here for more information.
- Display Tables applications are closed. See Printed Materials and Media section below for other ways to share information.
- 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.
- Hotel Registrations will be available at Renaissance Schaumburg. The rate is $169 plus 11% tax. Click here for the link for registrations. Rooms are available to be reserved Mon., June 5 - Wed., June 7. Registration block prices can change after April 11.
- 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 were due April 3. All legislation and historical documents were posted May 5 here.
- 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.
- Legislation Section assignments and participant list are now posted here.
- Questions 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.
- Requirements:
- A Livestream of the Conference for guests will be available on the NIC YouTube channel.
- Meals at Annual Conference. Group meals will again be hosted on-site by some organizations. There are also organizations that will be hosting off-site meals. Many meals are invite only. See a listing here.
- General food options at the hotel:
- Food Cart outside of our conference center area: Coffee, Sandwiches and Snacks
- RENdezvous Cafe (Starbucks): Breakfast, Lunch
- Gather Lounge: Dinner
- Schaumburg Public House: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- General food options at the hotel:
- 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.
- 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.
- Announcement slides will need to be submitted and preapproved. They will be shown on screens between plenary sessions as time permits.
- Videos and Media were due May 9.
- The Memorial Service will take place on Thursday morning, June 8.
- For the Mission Challenge, we will be collecting most needed items for the Midwest Mission. Click here for more information.
- New Member Orientation is available online as a pre-recorded video. Click here for the video.
- The Ordination Service will take place on Tuesday evening, June 6 during the Celebration of Ministry.
- Pre-Conference Briefings happened virtually this year. There were two live sessions Tuesday, May 30 and Wednesday, May 31. A recorded video of the briefing is available here.
- 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 is now closed. Registration included Clergy Session or Laity Session, and Pre-conference briefings.
- 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 their District Administrative Assistant 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 greeters, ushers, 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.