Rethinking Vacation Bible School: Faith Formation Beyond the Traditional Model
Vacation Bible school has long been a summer tradition in United Methodist churches, bringing children together for Bible stories, music, crafts, g…
The Boy Scouts of America settled a lawsuit related to accusations of sexual abuse of children. The United Methodist Church has chartered BSA troops or packs over the years and were assessed liability.
The denomination agreed to raise and contribute $30 million over a three-year period to a fund created by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to compensate survivors. The church also committed to supporting the healing of survivors and to continuing its work to end sexual abuse of young people. Of the $30 million committed by The United Methodist Church, the amount allocated to the Northern Illinois Conference was $754,348.
In the Northern Illinois Conference, the Repair the Harm to Children campaign was created by the Conference Committee on Finance and Administration and the Board of Trustees, in collaboration with Bishop Dan Schwerin, to address the needs of survivors in three ways: listening to and providing healing for survivors, contributing our fair share to the survivor fund, and strengthening safeguards to prevent harm in the future. Pledges and donations were requested from churches and individuals from Sept. 2023 through Dec. 31, 2025, to support restorative healing for survivors.
We are grateful that 108 churches and 212 individuals participated in this endeavor. This giving is above and beyond apportionment and mission link contributions. Because of the generosity of these churches and individuals, apportionment funds were not used to pay our portion to the Boy Scouts of America.
Thank you to the 108 churches:
Vacation Bible school has long been a summer tradition in United Methodist churches, bringing children together for Bible stories, music, crafts, g…
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