The 185th session of the Northern Illinois Conference came to order on June 16, 2024, in Schaumburg, IL.

Celebration of Ministries

The highlight of the day was the ordination service and recognition of ministries.

Northern Illinois United Methodists hear God’s call to set-apart ministries in different ways, and The United Methodist Church has a number of categories for those who lead and serve, lay and clergy. Barbara Sutton (pictured to the right with Bishop Dan Schwerin) was consecrated as a deaconess at the UMC General Conference last month and the NIL recognized and affirmed her consecration. (A deaconess or home missioner is a layperson who commits to a lifetime of love and justice.) 

Miriam Safford was blessed for her candidacy for missionary service.

Nineteen local pastors were recognized for their commitment, gifts, skills, time, and resources they have devoted to their leadership ministry. The service included appreciation for their being “the lifeblood of our mission, bringing Christ to the world.” Listed were Ed Bickham, Seth Botts, Jonah Boutell, Fernando Candumbo de Castro, Christopher Druce-Jones, Sandra Gulledge, Lambert Habonimana, David Hamer, Kelli Harrison, Robert Houston, Hwankyu Kim, Fredrick Lartey, Roberto Moreno-Cruz, Ha Son Nguyen, Jason Princer, Gerardo Rodriguez, Jacqueline Salgado-Moreno, Valorie Tatum, and Jacob Tipantasig-Wolverton.

One person was ordained: Rev. Tura J. Foster Gillespie, to the order of deacons.

Three people were commissioned as provisional members of the order of elders: Abby Savannah Holcombe, Young Sun Lee, and Eric Marc Reniva.

Rev. Dr. Tércio B. Junker's orders from the Methodist Church in Brazil were recognized.

Ordination Sermon: Sow Seeds, No Matter What

Bishop Sally Dyck, who served Northern Illinois Conference for two terms before retiring, preached the ordination sermon. She observed that church people used to seem very certain about the way forward for the UMC: “But so many thing in our lives have been turned upside down.”

Bishop Dyck--who comes from a long line of farmers--observed that yield also means the farm's harvest. There are many factors that affect a farm's yield, she noted, that are out of the farmer's control. Still, the farmer's work is to plant and nurture seeds.

Drawing on Jesus’s parable of the sower (Matt. 13, Luke 8), she reminded those being recognized that their ministry is about sharing seeds of the gospel, even if we never know if these seeds will bear fruit. Many factors out of our control will influence how the seeds grow and bear fruit.

Still, our call is to sow seeds, extravagantly. We don’t know whether those seeds will grow. We cannot control them.

But we may be surprised to learn that some small caring act we offered—one that we may not every remember—made a great difference to someone. 

She urged those in ministry to recognize that whether the seed becomes fruitful relies on many factors.

Still, we are called to sow seeds. Continuing to sow seeds is an act of hope, Bishop Dyck said.

Still, our call is to sow seeds, extravagantly. We don’t know whether those seeds will grow. We cannot control them.

But we may be surprised to learn that some small caring act we offered—one that we may not every remember—made a great difference to someone. 

She urged those in ministry to recognize that whether the seed becomes fruitful relies on many factors.

Still, we are called to sow seeds. Continuing to sow seeds is an act of hope, Bishop Dyck said.

Laity Session: Getting Caught Up

Lay members of annual conference session gathered on Sunday afternoon for their session. Eugene Williams, a conference co-lay leader (with Connie Augsburger), updated those present on decisions made at General Conference. 

A member of the Shared Bishop Task Force, he also provided factual information about NIC’s sharing a bishop with Wisconsin Conference beginning Sept. 1. This is not a merger; the two conferences will continue to govern themselves. The bishop (whoever that will be) will fulfill the responsibilities of a bishop in both conferences. 

The bishop’s office will be located in the Wespath building in Glenview. (Wespath is the denomination’s health and pension benefits agency.) 

Wisconsin Conference will continue to have offices in Sun Prairie and Northern Illinois staff will continue working from the Chicago office. Both conferences may have an assistant to bishop and an administrative assistant for the bishop’s offices. A significant amount of the Episcopacy Fund will help cover some of these costs.

All photos in this issue by Marc Dean

Don't Forget!

• Plan to attend the UMC School of Congregational Development, Aug. 4-7, in Schaumburg. Register here. Assist participants by volunteering to greet them, help them find rooms at the venue, and more.

• Apply for a Migrant Ministries Grant
• From the NIC
• From the General Board of Global Ministries

Resources for Juneteenth 

Juneteenth falls on Wednesday. (It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.) The UMC's Committee on Religion and Race offers a Juneteenth worship and study resource that you can download for free. (The people of the UMC paid for this for you via apportionment giving.) It follows the themes lament, repentance, hope, liberation, healing, and reconciliation. Even though the study is for Juneteenth, you can still use it later this summer.

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