Over 150 laity and clergy gathered at Barrington UMC on Saturday, February 17 for Laity Convocation 2017.  This was a different Laity Convocation. We shortened the day and were together from 9 am to 12:30 pm.

We started with an interactive and participatory Bible study led by our Bishop and then went into small group (less than 20) sessions to learn about active listening (“Are We Listening:  The Spiritual Discipline of Active Listening).

The goal was for participants to leave Laity Convocation with techniques and information that they could immediately use in their local churches and know where to get help if they needed it.
We also reinforced the connection we have through interaction in our small groups with people from around the conference as well as having a VBS exchange. The VBS exchange allowed churches that needed curriculum and materials take what they needed from materials donated by churches throughout the conference.

The Board of Laity hopes that what we tried at his year’s Laity Convocation meet the needs for training expressed at the Landscape Listening session that took place in 2016.  So far, the word we hear is positive.

Your Board of Laity will be reviewing all of the feedback we have gotten via word of mouth and an online evaluation form.

We want the people of the Northern Illinois Conference to know that we are available to help and want to work collaboratively to help meet the needs of our conference.

Thank you,
Jessie Cunningham, Elisa Gatz, Mark Manzi
Co-Conference Lay Leaders