eNews - March 15, 2023
Interest in the presentation and panel discussion for the first quarter event in the 2023 Anti-Racism Task Force Film Discussion Series on Sat., March 25, has led to opening up the opportunity for online participation via Zoom at 11:15.

The event will focus on Black History & Culture and will include information from The Negro Motorist Green Book Exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Online participants will join in a presentation by Dr. Richard Guzman followed by a discussion with NIC and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary panelists. The panelists include Rev. Tennille Power, Dann Gire, and Dr. Larry Murphy. The discussion will be moderated by Rev. Megan Tobola.

Online participation is free, and no registration is needed.

Registration is now closed for the in-person event. We are checking into adding a few additional spaces. Please click here to add your name to our waitlist. If space opens up, we will contact you.

*Before participating, it is recommended to read the book Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candace Taylor, as well as watch the documentary The Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019), and the Award Winning movie The Green Book (2018).
Committee members continue to plan for the 184th session of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference that will be held June 6-8, 2023 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center at 1551 N. Thoreau Dr., Schaumburg, Ill.
  • April 3 - Online registration begins ($100)
  • April 3 - Historical Documents & Proposed Legislation due - Form found here.
  • April 28 - Early Bird Registration ends (changes to $125)
  • May 8 - Video and Media presentations due - Form found here.
  • May 15 - Childcare Scholarships due - Form found here.
  • May 23 - Clergy Session
  • May 28 - Registration closes
  • May 30 at 7:00 pm - Pre-conference Briefing, online
  • May 31 at 10:00 am - Pre-conference Briefing, online
  • June 6 - Evening, Ordination Service
  • June 7 - Morning, Retirement Service
  • June 8 - Morning, Memorial Service
Group meals
This year we are pleased that we will be able to host group meals on-site. Please contact Bri Wadlington, Events Coordinator, at events@umcnic.org if you are interested in hosting a meal. More information about meals will be shared soon. Registration for meals will be included in the general Annual Conference registration.
More updates and details will be posted in the NIC eNews and on the website at umcnic.org/AC2023.
Communicator's Corner
UMCOR Sunday is a denomination-wide celebration designed to raise awareness and support for UMCOR. UMCOR, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is dedicated to alleviating human suffering around the globe. Working in more than 80 countries worldwide, UMCOR provides survivors with temporary relief and long-term education, training and support. UMCOR spends 100 percent of designated gifts on the projects that donors specify. None of these designated gifts support administrative or operating costs. Every year on the fourth Sunday in Lent, we celebrate UMCOR Sunday, a day when individual and local church gifts are received to support UMCOR’s administrative costs.

In celebration of Women’s History Month 2023, The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) will be publishing eight blog articles written by the Rev. Emily Nelms Chastain in order to highlight the newly elected women bishops by The United Methodist Church. This blog series will follow the national theme of “Celebrating Women who tell our Stories.” Additionally, they encourage you to document your own celebrations of women in leadership and that you share these stories with your Annual Conference COSROWs through social media using the #GCSRW. Learn more and read the current article here.

Scholarship Applications are now being accepted for the following UMC-based scholarships:
  • Archives and History Grants/Awards - for students and researchers to in a number of fields of study, including United Methodist history, particularly as it relates to women and ethnic groups and archival science. Deadline for applications is March 17, 2023. For the complete list, along with details about applying, click here.
  • General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) - for United Methodist students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees. Scholarship applications are open until March 30th, 2023. To learn more and apply, click here.
  • United Methodist Foundation - for students to empower them to continue their education. This scholarship is designed to assist minority United Methodist students to attend a trade school, community college, college, or university. Applications are due April 30, 2023. Click here for more information and to apply.
Mission Around the Denomination
Watch this new UMCOR overview video and download it for use at your church here.
Mark your calendar
  • Kids Above All Distribution Center Grand Opening - Mon., March 20 at 10:00 am at the Better Life Distribution Center, 1801 E. Oakton St, Des Plaines, IL. Join Kids Above All for Continental Breakfast and tours of the New Better Life Distribution Center. Questions and RSVP to Deaconess Catherine Inserra, cinserra@kidsaboveall.org
  • NICUMM 2023 Annual Meeting - Sat., March 25 at 8:30 at Kingswood UMC, 401 W. Dundee Rd., Buffalo Grove, IL. Join the Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Men for their Annual Meeting and Communion Service. Breakfast will be served, followed by the UMMen Annual Meeting, Worship Service, and Communion. The event will also be live-streamed. Click here to register and for more information.

Around the Connection

The health of leaders and clergy is extremely important to the health of your church. There are over 30 books for clergy and laity to borrow from United Media Resource Center for more learning.

Resources include:
  • Flourishing in Ministry: How to Cultivate Clergy Wellbeing by Matt Bloom
  • Healthy Holiness, and Wholeness for Ministry Leaders by John Matthews
  • Path to Belonging: Overcoming Clergy Loneliness by Mary Kay DuChene and Mark Sundby

Find the online catalog here. The UMRC email address is umrc@igrc.org. 
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