Change is an integral part of our living. In fact, they say change is the only unchanging part of our lives. We are ever
evolving, ever learning how to be better humans and how to do things better.

Our Annual Conference is no different. We are always looking to do things in a way that is aaffordable, accessible,
and manageable for all our members.

As we shared with you at the end of our last Annual Conference session, the 2019 Northern Illinois Annual Conference session is set for June 2-4, 2019 at our new location, the Schaumburg Convention Center, 1551 N Thoreau Dr
Schaumburg, IL. Please place the dates on your calendar, if you have not already done so.

Here are a few plans we can share as the AC committee continues to work on the details:

• Our theme for the 2019 session of the Annual Conference is “Back to the Future.” No, we won’t be time warping in a DeLorean like Marty McFly in the 1980s classic sci- fi flick who needs to make sure the past doesn’t change so he will exist, but we will be remembering our history, reaffirming it, and reclaiming it for a hopeful future. We will celebrate our 180th year as a conference together along with Global Ministries which is celebrating its bicentennial in 2019 and United Methodist Women which is observing their 150th anniversary.
• This year’s Bible Study Leader is UMW President Harriett Olson who has served as chief executive officer of the United Methodist Women’s national administrative and policymaking arm since 2007. The Rev. Russell Pierce, Executive Director of Mission Engagement and Director of the Advance for Global Ministries, will speak on 200 years of mission work together and the future of mission both in our local communities and around the world.
• Gary Rand will once again be our worship leader for a second year working with our worship team to develop our three main services. The Many Band will again bring us the music.
• The Conference will open on Sunday aafternoon with the Ordination service. Watch for more information about clergy processional and all other related instructions.
• Clergy session will be held at an earlier date on May 21, 2019 at Faith UMC in Orland Park. The Bishop will make the official call at a later time.
• Among other business, we will celebrate all who are ending their ministry as appointed clergy in a Retirement Service and honor those who have transitioned into eternal life in a Memorial Service. Please remember to submit the names and photos of Lay Members to AC who have may have passed away since June 2018 to communications@umcnic.org.
• We will be offering the “New Member Orientation” on Sunday, June 2 at the Convention Center.

A few reminders:

• ALL historical documents and proposed legislation for the conference must be submitted by April 1, 2019, to Rev. Katie Voigt, ACdocuments@umcnic.org. Please note that there are no exceptions to this deadline. If you have any questions about how to format your legislation, please feel free to contact Rev. Voigt at this same email address during your writing process. She is willing to help, however, the earlier you contact her, the better to avoid the time crunch (*see below for submission guidelines).
• All this information and more will also be shared on the Annual Conference page of our Conference website at www.umcnic.org/AC2019. You will find many helpful tools on that page.

And also:

• Onsite childcare for children 12 years old and under will be available for parents/guardians attending Annual Conference.
• The registration form for display tables will be made available by February 15.
• Being in a new location we will have our onsite Accessibility Coordinator present to help with any needs (vision, movement, hearing, etc.), within our ability. Please be sure to indicate in your registration form, how we can extend welcome and hospitality to you during Annual Conference.
• If you are interested in ushering, greeting or volunteering during plenaries and worship services, please email Alka Lyall at pastoralkalyall@gmail.com.

Your Annual Conference committee is always in need of your prayerful support and cooperation, but more so this year as we transition to a new facility, and as we continue to strive to make your experience at Annual Conference session informative and stimulating but also comfortable.

We are confident that the facility will be a welcome change for us, we know that change is always hard to navigate, so we welcome your creative input and support. We will continue to share details with you on the website, in the Reporter and the weekly eNews.
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*All legislative documents must be in the Action/Rationale format with a maximum of 500 words for the rationale, be submitted as a WORD document and editable. At-conference documents must be submitted to her BEFORE the start of the annual conference. The author must submit both a printed version and on a flash drive or similar USB storage device (the device may or may not be returned), and the author must bring 1000 copies to the annual conference session
for distribution.