Skip to Main Content

Bishop Calls for Prayer for Storm Victims

Posted: April 4 2023 at 10:00 PM

In the past week, a number of Northern Illinois communities have been battered by storms. These include Belvidere, where a tornado touched ground on March 31, and Camp Reynoldswood, which suffered damage to the roof of one of its buildings on April 4.  

Damage At Camp Reynoldswood

Damage at Camp Reynoldswood

To support relief efforts, please give through your church and mark your donation for one of the following funds: Midwest Mission, Advance #50000150, or NIL Conference Disaster Preparedness and Response Fund, Advance #50000148. Your church treasurer will send the donations with your church’s apportionment remittances. Joining together, all of the churches in our conference can do much more to help our neighbors in need. 

Bishop Dan Schwerin invites us to join him in this prayer for recovery and hope. 

A Prayer for Those Coping with Storms 

God of Creation, 

We give thanks for your presence in all our days. 
You separate light from darkness and the sea from dry land. 

Like the dew on Mt. Hermon, your presence engenders righteousness and blessing. 

We lift to you all who grieve the loss of life in Belvidere, and the many who experienced loss from these storms. 

We pray for the healing that is possible, and recovery for families and communities across the country. 

We lift to you our ministry at Camp Reynoldswood and pray that the damaged manor house can be repaired and ministry restored. We give thanks to the people of Ashton UMC who offered help with repairs. 

Grant that we might grow more deeply in neighborliness and peace until we come to know Beloved Community now and forever.

Amen. 

News & Announcements

Abindingtruth Poster Cmyk

'A Binding Truth' Screenings

Collective Action to Build Community, a partnership of NIC with other organizations, has planned free screenings of the film "A Binding Truth," Sept. 10-16. It follows the intertwined stories of tw…

Pn Lanark Mission Trip

Summer mission trips: Serving near and far

This summer, churches across Northern Illinois lived out their faith through mission trips near and far—serving neighbors in local communities, repairing homes in Appalachia, and supp…

Bible Hope Flower Image

2026 Will Be a Year of Hope

Bishop Schwerin looks ahead to 2026 by turning to scripture; specifically, Psalm 130:5: “I wait for the Lord; my soul waits, and in his word, I hope.” He ponders, What kind of spiritual focus is nee…

Scales Mound Vbs Boys

VBS Adventures Inspire Faith and Community

This summer, churches across the conference brought vacation Bible school to life, each one putting its own unique spin on the beloved tradition. From creative scheduling and special…

Print