Equip, Learn, Lead: NIC Lay Academies
Lay Academies provide valuable opportunities for laity to grow as leaders in their churches and communities. Academies are held in each district, a few times a year, offering convenient ac…
Rev. Wendy Hardin Hermann, Prairie Central Dist. Superintendent
The Prairie Central District is the geographical center of the Northern Illinois Conference. We are comprised of clergy and churches from Aurora to Oswego to Woodstock on the west side all the way to Schaumburg, McHenry and Elmhurst on the east side. We reach from the Wisconsin border on the northern end to Joliet on the southern end. We are rich in diversity, gifts, and graces as clergy and laity together seek to make the love of Christ a reality in each community. We seek to be people of grace and intentionally connectional to one another, our conference, our denomination, our communities and the world.
On this page, you will find contact information for our District leadership as well as upcoming events and news.
Here you will find communities that are welcoming, generous and real. Here you will find people that understand that we are all broken but we are strong in our belief that the unwavering grace of God is available to all of us, even when we fail. Here you will find a place to belong. Join us as we serve our neighbors, our communities and even our enemies and seek to fully realize God's potential in our lives.
List of churches in the district (updated Sept. 2025)
List of all NIC churches
District Contacts
303 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 2020
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-346-9766
District Superintendent
Rev. Wendy Hardin Hermann
Email
872-810-0873
Administrative Assistant
Leola Tucker
Email
872-810-0913
District Lay Leader
Leonard Jones Email
District Superintendency Committee Chair
Rev. Cindy Marino Email
District Committee on Ordained Ministry Executive Committee
Rev. David Lagos-Fonseca, Chair Email
Rev. Eric Blachford, Vice-Chair Email
Rev. Ashish Singh, Registrar, Prairie Central District Email
Rev. Lori Bee, Recording Secretary, Prairie Central District Email
Rev. Steve Good, Mentor Coordinator Email
District Shepherding Team Co-Chairs
Leonard Jones Email
Rev. Robert Hamilton Email
Lay Servant Ministry
Rae Kipper Email
United Women in Faith President
Betty Erickson Email
United Methodist Men President
John Maxson Email
District Board of Church Location and Building Chair
Pastor Ron DeBaun Email
Disaster Response Coordinator
Colin Monk Email