NIC eNews for November 17, 2021

November 17, 2021

Thank You for Tending to the Harvest

The NIC Discipleship Task Force thanks all those who attended the Tending to the Harvest weekend events Nov. 13 - 14. It was a great joy to be in person for the conference-wide worship service at Our Saviour's UMC in Schaumburg.

Rev. Olu Brown brought an inspiring message on “Making Disciples” to “see,” “connect,” “call,” and “follow.” Click here to watch the service. Special thanks to the choir and musicians with One Big Tribe!

Also a special thanks to Rev. Kyungsu Park who led a symposium on Saturday, Nov. 13 speaking about the connection between relationship building and discipleship making with youth. Participants later shared their thoughts and experiences around Intentional Discipleship Systems (IDS).

The Task Force has several resources available to help congregations develop or enhance an Intentional Discipleship for your congregation, including IDS Resource Team contacts for each district who can help guide you.

Click here for more information.

North Central Jurisdiction Delegates Commit to

Anti-Racism, Inclusion

At a virtual North Central Jurisdictional Conference on Nov. 10-11, delegates created and overwhelmingly approved a covenant naming their commitment to anti-racism work and LGBTQ inclusion. They also voted to reduce the jurisdiction's number of bishops from nine to eight.

Fall Fill-the-Truck Mission Challenge

The NIC Board of Global Ministries with the Midwest Mission Distribution Center is organizing a fall collection drive from Nov. 29 - Dec. 7 to support recovery efforts from the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season and the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

New collection sites in each district are set up around the conference to drop off your donations. For items needed and more information on times and locations for collection, click here.

Korean New Faith Community Charters

Showing Jesus' Love

We welcome the newest congregation to The United Methodist Church: Chicago Jesus Love.

On Sunday, Nov. 14, Bishop John L. Hopkins, Lake North District Superintendent Rev. Brittany Isaac and Congregational Development and Redevelopment Director Rev. Martin Lee presided over the chartering service for Chicago Jesus Love, which shares space at Central UMC in Skokie. Rev. Sun Hyung Jo leads the congregation.

The church started as Jesus Love Korean New Faith Community and was planted in 2008 under the NIC's Harvest 2020 movement. It's gone through many changes, including three bishops, three District Superintendents, two pastors, and a pandemic that postponed their chartering for two years. Today, the congregation has grown from 30 to 145 members with a mission to serve and love their community. Read more.

Communicator's Corner

HealthFlex Open Enrollment

The 2022 HealthFlex Annual Open Enrollment ends Nov. 18, 2021, for clergy and eligible members. You must register through benefitsaccess.org. In addition to completing the Annual Election, Benefits Access also includes your HealthFlex plan details, shows any health account contributions, and provides direct access to medical, dental and vision providers. Please note, the plans have not changed from 2021. If you have questions or experience trouble registering, contact Wespath Customer Service at 1-800-851-2201.

Kids Above All Holiday Gift Drive

Put your Holiday Spirit into action by stepping up to support Kids Above All’s Holiday Gift Drive 2021. You can help make the holidays joyful and bright for all the children they serve in a variety of ways, including sponsoring children, volunteering in their toy room Dec. 1-13, and/or ordering online to help stock their pop-up toy store. If you would like to help, contact Deaconess Catherine Inserra at 847-224-2870 or [email protected].

Do No More Harm Resources

The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) has partnered with United Methodist Communications to bring their UM Sexual Ethics site over to ResourceUMC. This collaboration has allowed this crucial website to be more user-friendly. You can visit the new site at umsexualethics.org. Along with the UM Sexual Ethics re-launch, GCSRW has released a new sexual ethics resource entitled Do No More Harm to assist those navigating the complexities of the complaint process in a more comprehensive way. You can find this resource at donomoreharm.org.

Mark your calendar

Around the Conference

Lake North Advent Clergy Retreat - (Dec. 1) 9:30 am - 12 noon. At Skokie: Central UMC, 8237 Kenton Ave, Skokie, IL. The program will be a spiritual retreat called, Notes of Rest, hosted by artist-theologian Julian Reid. Cost $20. Click here for more information and registration.

Around the Connection

Discussion Series Explores What it Means to be United Methodist - (Tuesdays through Dec. 21) “Tuesdays at the Table: Should I stay? Or should I go?” is a new discussion series for United Methodists, presented by the Connectional Table (CT) in cooperation with general agencies and contributors. Weekly segments will explore topics aimed at helping viewers better understand their faith, their church and themselves. The sessions will premiere every Tuesday at 10:00 am CT on Facebook, and will also be available for later viewing at UMC.org/ComeToTheTable and the UMC YouTube channel. For details, click here.
Early Response Team Basic Training - (Nov. 19 & 20) Volunteers in Mission training online. Contact Mariellyn Grace for more information and registration.
Special Sunday: United Methodist Student Day 2021 - (Nov. 28) United Methodist Student Day (last Sunday of November) furnishes scholarships and loans for students attending United Methodist-related and other accredited colleges and universities. This offering helps provide for more than 70 scholarships available for United Methodist students to further their education and enrich the life of the Church. The fund is administered by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Click for resources.
Giving Tuesday: Give love, joy, hope and peace. - (Nov. 30) Give love, joy, hope and peace. Giving Tuesday has become one of the largest fundraising efforts of the year. You are encouraged to use this day as an opportunity to provide basic needs to the most vulnerable populations. Support Global Ministries’ Give Love campaign by downloading resources and being a part of the transformational, impactful ministry of The Advance network. Click for resources.