From our Bishop: Love Each Other Like Members of Your Family
Bishop Schwerin calls on United Methodists to reclaim the deep Christian call to love our neighbors—especially those who are suffering. He urges faithful action—thr…
A Blueprint for Racial Healing is a 22-minute TED Talk that explores the journey of a Southern white man learning about and confronting his slave-holding and KKK ancestry before meeting Black descendants of people his family enslaved and terrorized.
What happens when you find your ancestors on the wrong side of history? Spenser Simrill Jr was teaching an ancestry course at the University of Georgia when he discovered a horrible truth: his great-great-grandfather belonged to the Ku Klux Klan in York County, South Carolina. Around the same time, Spenser received a “friend suggestion” for Michael Simril, a black man his age whose ancestors had been enslaved by Spenser’s. Would Spenser abandon the project or would he reach out to Michael and his relatives? And if so, would Michael answer his letters or take his call? (Description taken from the YouTube video.)
Watch A Blueprint for Racial Healing on YouTube
Click here to listen to the Audible podcast with family members discussion the racial healing for the two families.
Bishop Schwerin calls on United Methodists to reclaim the deep Christian call to love our neighbors—especially those who are suffering. He urges faithful action—thr…
At the 2025 Northern Illinois Annual Conference, the NIC Anti-Racism Task Force unveiled the Arts & Culture Quilt—a powerful symbol of unity, justice, and cultural pride.…
More than 65 United Methodists and allies gathered in Springfield on May 7 for the second annual Advocacy Day, meeting with legislators to promote justice, compa…
Northern Illinois Conference’s HEAL (Helping Everyone Access Life) Well ministry has planned an Earth Day event for all ages on April 26, 10:30 a.m., at Olivet UMC in Chicago.