The ongoing Syrian civil war has driven over 180,000 migrants from Syria to seek refuge in the U. S. since the outbreak of violence in 2011. Hager (a pseudonym) and her family were among these refugees. Hager is one of the first Syrian clients served by Northern Illinois Justice For Our Neighbors, which provides affordable, high-quality legal assistance for immigrants.
Read MoreThis is the season of assessment and planning for most organizations. As we near the end of the year, our congregations are gathering for their church conference. They will reflect on the past and plan their future. This cycle of reflection (evaluation) and planning is important for any organization. This work happens at many levels in an annual conference: in congregations’ committees; at the Annual Conference Shepherding Team table, where chairs and leaders of the conference gather to coordinate and collaborate; in Cabinet meetings, and on the floor of the annual conference session.
Read MoreIt is a time to say “thank you” to the people who may be most visible as preachers and teachers, but who, in reality, are on-call 24/7 standing with congregants and others to offer spiritual and other support in times of confusion and transition, times of heart-wrenching sorrow and times of overwhelming joy.
Read MoreWisconsin and Northern Illinois conferences continue to anticipate the possibility they will share a bishop—something like a two-point charge—in the near future. A Bishop-Sharing Task Force in Northern Illinois met on Aug. 28 to plan NIC’s next steps in the exploration.
Read MoreThe Northern Illinois Conference is thankful to its many churches for their faithful apportionment giving and celebrates those who paid in full. In 2022, 173 churches paid 100% of their calculated apportionments compared to 198 in 2021. Because of your apportionment giving in 2022, the Northern Illinois Conference will be able to help fund the conference budget for programs and ministries both locally and globally. Apportionments denote an understanding that the purpose of the church is not just to care for its members, but also to reach beyond itself to engage with the world, minister to the world, and be in mission to the world.
Read MoreOne of the goals of the Northern Illinois Conference for 2022 was to ramp up our Safe Sanctuaries training and increase the number of volunteers who have gone through this valuable course. Online training through Safe Gatherings is an ongoing tool for this training. In addition, eight Safe Sanctuaries Trainings were held in 2022 throughout the summer and fall to train over 1,850 lay and staff. This brings our number of people leaders in the past 2 years to over 2,790!
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