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From Your Bishop: A Year of Practicing Hope

Acknowledging the challenges of a fractured and uncertain time, Bishop Dan Schwerin lifts up gratitude for the resilience, courage, and faithfulness of the Northern Illinois Conference. He reframes smaller numbers not as loss, but as opportunity, reminding readers that God uses remnants to create new possibilities. Looking ahead, he invites congregations to consider how they will actively practice hope in 2026, offering a clear and compelling witness to the hope found in Christ.

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From the Bishop: Keep Practicing Hope

"I believe hope is a practice of God’s creative freedom at play in human creativity and freedom," says Bishop Dan Schwerin. "God’s word is always breaking in for good. We as the church may be smaller than we once were, but I believe we are not too small to steward the moral imagination of Jesus."

From the Bishop: Pay Attention to Your Neighbor

With the presence of aggressive federal agents, many immigrants are afraid to go to work, visit food pantries, or take their kids to school. Missing work means losing pay. Help by supporting the NIC Emergency Solidarity Fund.

From Bishop Schwerin: Children Under Threat

Beginning Oct. 3, Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched an operation, reportedly named “Freaky Friday,” targeting unaccompanied children aged 14 and older of all nationalities. Bishop Dan Schwerin and the United Methodist Council of Bishops advise on how to help these children and their families.

A Scripture and a Prayer for the Church After a Shooting Death

Bishop Dan Schwerin offers a prayer and meditation on scripture following the news that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a man leaving the scene of a traffic stop.

From The Bishop Leads Us Not Into Temptation

From the Bishop: Lead Us Not Into Temptation

As the nation's president talks about sending the National Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement troops to Chicago, Bishop Dan Schwerin urges United Methodists to return often to the Lord's Prayer and its plea to bring in God's kingdom.

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