The Anti-Racism Task Force (ARTF) of the Northern Illinois Conference and its partnering conferences and sponsors wrapped up its 2022 Speaker Series, “Race, America, and the Church: Unafraid and Unashamed to Tackle It.” The series concluded with a webinar featuring Dr. Andrew G. I. Hart, a theology professor and proponent for social change through Christian activism.
Read MoreAt the consecration service, Bishop Schwerin learned he would be assigned to the Northern Illinois Conference effective Jan. 1, 2023, for which he expressed his gratitude. “I've been your neighbor for many, many years. I am so grateful to be assigned to the Northern Illinois Annual Conference," said Schwerin. "You have a history of justice-seeking ministry that humbles me and makes me grateful to be called to be assigned to you. I look forward to making relationships with you, learning from you, and shepherding with you."
Read MoreWhen I think of being called into ministry, I think of my father. Oh, he wasn’t a pastor. He was a mechanic who quit school in the eighth grade and was mostly a “home” Baptist. That means he did not go to church very much. He was “spiritual” but not “religious” long before those were sociological categories.
Read MoreAs I look back to April 2011 and my first day on the job as the new NIC Director of Communications, my first introduction was to the monthly print Reporter and the process of publishing it. I remember looking over former NIC Media Resource Director Susan Gieseler’s shoulder as she made edits to the final proof to be sent off to UMR Communications in Dallas to be printed. This would be my first task and now my last assignment.
Read MoreJean Bush-Norris, Diaconal Minister of the Northern Illinois Conference, passed away on November 23, 2022. Jean served in several ministerial positions both in Minnesota and Illinois. As a Diaconal Minister she was certified in music, an Associate Pastor at Buffalo Grove: Kingswood, and a Church Growth Consultant at Freeport: Trinity as well as a local pastor at Warren.
Read MoreAt the end of October, on our last day in the Northern Illinois Conference offices at the Chicago: Temple, while packing boxes and sorting through years of materials, I found the memories of that space bubbling up and sat down to capture a few of those images. This month’s article is my reflection at that moment of change.
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