The Northern Illinois Committee on Discipleship and Spiritual Formation has released A Year of Practicing Hope, a new devotional booklet created for  2026. Rooted in Bishop Schwerin's invitation to consider this year as a time to practice hope, the devotional invites individuals and communities to live hope as an active, daily practice of grace.

The devotional brings together diverse contributions from laity and clergy across both the Northern Illinois and Wisconsin Conferences.  Rather than presenting hope as an abstract idea, it invites readers to experience it as a lived, faithful life.

Hope is not something to be consumed, but something formed and sustained within Christian community through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Each entry provides scripture, reflection, and prayer, making the devotional accessible for a variety of spiritual practices.

A Year of Practicing Hope is inspired by earlier conference-wide resources that sustained the church through pivotal seasons, including Times Like These, a prayer and reflection resource distributed in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic, and Sufficient: Reflections on a Year of Grace, which was shared at the 2025 Annual Conference. Building on the legacy of these shared devotionals, A Year of Practicing Hope continues the tradition of grounding the conference in scripture, reflection, and prayer during times of discernment, transition, and faithful response.

Designed for both personal and group use, A Year of Practicing Hope is well suited for individual devotion, small groups, youth gatherings, or congregational study. The booklet invites readers to gather, reflect, and share stories of hope.

Copies of A Year of Practicing Hope will be distributed at key gatherings throughout the year, including district trainings, Laity Convocation, the Order of Elders gathering, and Annual Conference. A digital copy may be downloaded here. Local churches may also order printed copies in quantities of 100 or more directly from the printer by contacting Lisa Smith.

Download "A Year of Practicing Hope" pdf

Download 2020's Times Like These
Download Sufficient: Reflections on a Year of Grace