Congregations in Northern Illinois are invited to participate in an important growth and training opportunity, Skin in the Game: Equipping Congregations to Challenge Racism. This half-day workshop on August 19 will provide practical guidance and resources for clergy, lay leaders and Christian Educators to address one of the most troublesome issues in our churches.
God won’t help us out of a dark place or even the dark night of the soul. But a flashlight will. Thoughtful reflection of how much we matter to God and praying to Him might help us through desperate times. But when we pray, we should pray— not for the deus ex machina to drop down out of the sky but pray for the constancy of God’s presence and voice.
United Voices for Children has announced the recipients of its 2017 Bishop Jesse R. Dewitt Award. Lorena Cory of First U.M. Church Arlington Heights is being honored for founding and facilitating Pinwheels, a support group for families with gender-creative children. The Rev. Dr. William Lenters, retired Northern Illinois clergyman, is recognized for his 19 years of service as chaplain at Rosecrance.
One of the most helpful tools in my ministry toolbox is the relational meeting (or one on one). Meeting with visitors, church members and community leaders, usually over coffee, helps me to get to know them. In my role in local church, relational meetings have helped me to build engaged teams of people who lead our children’s and youth ministries.
Resilient, Strong, Steadfast, Passionate and Caring are a few of the adjectives that describe how MYSI operated in 2016. We all are reenergized, and committed to continue the legacy of MYSI and its mission, we hope that you will join us in our mission as we strive to change lives.
The Rev. Dr. Virginia Lee will be the featured speaker at the United Voices for Children’s Annual Breakfast on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Dr. Lee is Associate Professor of Christian Education and Director of Deacon Studies at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. The UVC Annual Breakfast will be held at 6:45 a.m. at the Pheasant Run Resort, in St. Charles, Illinois, during the session of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference.
Technology is a tool we can use to strengthen and extend those relationships in amazing ways not available just a few years ago. Yet all tools can be weapons when not used as they were designed. Therefore I try and revisit how my use of technology is effective and safe by researching, talking with colleagues, and connecting with the young people in my life.
A conversation, "Violence: A Faithful Response to the Plague in Our Neighborhoods and in Our Nation," with Thomas Dart, Willie Jennings, Otis Moss III, and Michael Pfleger and moderated by Robin Robinson will happen at First UMC Chicago on Monday, April 3, from 5:30-7:30PM. Sponsored by Yale Divinity School, this event will feature a timely dialogue between civic, academic, theological, and religious leaders confronting violence in our communities.
To me, mentoring is igniting, engaging and empowering the sacredness of another’s capacity to risk growing. Introducing valuable skills, acquiring expansive knowledge, and experiencing different people and cultures and are important “instructive” components to mentoring. It is the promoting of trusting, sustaining mentors I hope congregations will be more intentional to develop and grow.
ALL of our children need to feel safe in their neighborhoods, have schools that provide them with a good education, have a stimulating environment that nurtures their development toward adulthood. This is why our three NIC/UVC United Methodist affiliated agencies (Rosecrance, ChildServ, and MYSI) are so important in their services to the children, youth, and adults in our communities.