IGRC News

IGRC Prayer Vigil During General Conference (Mon, 23 Apr 2012)
The IGRC Cabinet is asking every United Methodist in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference to participate in a prayer vigil during General Conference, beginning on Tuesday, April 24. "It is our strong hope that every United Methodist will be praying for all those who are involved in the vision casting, decision making processes  of the 2012 General Conference," the Cabinet statement read. "To help us give focus and serve as a reminder of this time of prayer, we are asking each district of IGRC to have a concentrated day of prayer during the conference. Rather than specifying a certain time during the day, we invite all the folks of that district to pray throughout the day and night for our church that all may be ready to follow the Holy Spirit's leadings. We ask that each person and church claim times and perhaps set aside places for prayer to pray for our delegates and for all to have  openess of heart and mind  to understand and to discern as a unified Body of Christ in Tampa." The schedule will be as follows: Tuesday April 24 -- Cache River District  Wednesday April 25 -- Embarras River District  Thursday April 26 -- Illinois River District                         Friday April 27 -- Iroquois River District   Saturday April 28 -- Kaskaskia River District Sunday April 29  --  EVERYONE                                 Monday April 30 -- LaMoine River District                       Tuesday May 1 -- Mississippi River District                        Wednesday May 2 -- Sangamon River District                        Thursday May 3 -- Spoon River District Friday, May 4 -- Vermilion River District 
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Weatherall appointed Spoon River District Superintendent (Mon, 27 Feb 2012)
SPRINGFIELD -- Bishop Gregory V. Palmer has announced the appointment of Rev. Sylvester Weatherall as conference superintendent assigned to the Spoon River District, effective July 1. The announcement was made Feb.26. Weatherall, 56, said he was humbled by the announcement combined with a "healthy fear of the unknown." "I am aware that the learning curve of the office of District Superintendent is steep," Weatherall said. "However, I am confident that my colleagues will be great teachers. They are already great examples." Palmer, in making the announcement noted Weatherall's gifts which he will bring to the superintendency. "He is a strong preacher and has the heart of an evangelist," Palmer noted. "In every community where he has served he has a track record of missional engagement. He is a compassionate pastor and a committed lifelong learner." Weatherall succeeds the Rev. Janice Griffith who has served as Spoon River District Superintendent for the past six years. Griffith was named Executive Assistant to the Bishop in late January and will assume her new responsibilities July 1. "I look forward to being a cheerleader of what God is doing in the Spoon River District," Weatherall said. "It is my prayer that together we will have the strength to love one another -- even when the way is not clear to some of us. I seek to find God in each moment we encounter, and I am confident and have faith in the gifts God has given us to serve the Church. And, because God is there, I already feel at home." The Spoon River District has been a leader in the IGRC campaign for Imagine No Malaria, raising roughly $300,000 of the more than $1.5 million secured in pledges and funds to date. In addition, 79 of the district's 82 churches finished 2011 by paying 100 percent of their apportionments for a conference-leading district remittance of 98.86 percent -- 6 percent above the overall collection rate of 92.21 percent. Born in St. Louis, Mo., Weatherall graduated from East St. Louis High School, McKendree College and Eden Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1991. A probationary member with the former Southern Illinois Conference in 1990, Weatherall was ordained into full membership in 1993. He began serving the East St. Louis Metro Ministry, which later became Washington Park Grace UMC in 1989 and was there for 13 years before being appointed to the Springfield East Side Mission Parish (Springfield Grace-Kumler and Trinity UMC's) in 2002. Following the closure of Trinity, Weatherall has continued as pastor of Springfield Grace-Kumler UMC's. Weatherall is one of six clergy delegates to the 2012 General Conference and was elected as General Conference alternate and jurisdictional delegate in 2008 and jurisdictional delegate in 2004. He is a two-time winner of the Denman Evangelism Award, having been honored by both the former Southern Illinois Conference and the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. He is a former chair of the Conference Commission on Religion & Race and currently chairs the Sangamon River District Commitee on Ministry. Weatherall is the father of six adult children.     
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How Congregations Can Reach the Hispanic Community (Fri, 24 Feb 2012)
Being missionaries in your own “back yard” may be not sound as fun and risky, but let me walk you through different suggestions with the hope you can feel called to partner in ministry by reaching your own Hispanics neighbors for Jesus. Get in a High Risk Mission by reaching the Hispanic Community. Buy a box a Spanish Bibles and prepare ready to hand them out to your “amigos,” in the restaurants or when they visit your church. Change both outdoor and inside signs. Go “Bilingual.” Welcome-Bienvenido; Sanctuary-Santuario; Nursery – Cuidado de Niños; Restrooms – Baños. The department stores do, why not the church? It’s a sign of Radical Hospitality. Your Outreach Program Flyers should be bilingual, andbe placed in your community’s Mexican or international groceries, Mexican restaurants, Migrant Council Office; International Student Center boards, etc. Choose to designate September as your “Hispanic Heritage month.” Colleges and universities celebrate it. Extended an invitation to your church, invite the international students in your area, and cater some Mexican food from restaurants. Use Cinco de Mayo free advertisements in your community and offer your own program.The Hispanic community might have a formal folklore dance group and bring Hispanic bilingual speaker to talk about the Hispanic culture in your community, this will be very educational for your congregation and you will find very useful information that will help you reach them. Connect with your community college and ask offer them your building for English as a Second Language and U.S. Citizenship classes. Prepare a group of your mission team to host and welcome students, provide child care and see how easy it’s to make friends. Offer Spanish classes to your leadership team or Mission team. Make a missions trip to Honduras. The IGRC Missions office is working with them to start new churches. See information at www.igrc.org/honduras.  After the trip, use the highly motivated group to reach your Hispanic friends in your community. And last but not least, partner up with one of our Conference’s Hispanic congregations. A new church start is a challenge, but starting a new Hispanic church is the hardest. Most of the new converts don’t have any basic Bible knowledge; most of them have never attended a Sunday school class nor sang a hymn. Be our missionary partner. Contact any of our Hispanic Pastors and help them to get the harvest.   Jesús es el Señor UMCCobden, Illinois Pastor Ernesto Treviño   618-893-2050 trevipe@hotmail.com Nueva Esperanza-Caseyville, IL. Pastor Pablo Martí618-363-2309                    martyzoi@aol.com Manantial de Vida - Moline, IL.   Pastor Juan Carlos Lara 309-230-2379                 juancar70@aol.com Nueva Vida - Beardstown, IL. Lay Missionary Evaristo Rodriguez  618-967-6209 hmnuevavida@yahoo.com Nueva Jerusalen – Kankakee, IL. Pastor Juan Ángel Rosales 815-214-0414 jangel_027@yahoo.com Renuevo, Latino ministry of the FUMC Peoria, IL.Pastor Adrián García 309-272-0910 agarcia@igrc.org
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The End of an Era: Holden Center closes at UM Village (Fri, 24 Feb 2012)
LAWRENCEVILLE – After 86 years, a landmark at the United Methodist Village closed its doors. The United Methodist Village Board of Directors and administration announced the closing of Holden Center, the oldest section of the Lawrenceville campus in late January.   Officials at the Village noted that changes in long-term care led to the closure. “As the government has become increasingly involved in the regulation of long-term care, more and more changes have been forced upon the industry,” the Village noted in a press release. “After a small fire in 2004, residents were moved off the third floor while the residents on the remaining floors stayed. In 2005, because of added government mandates, it was clear the remaining residents would also no longer be able to stay. Holden Center was then assigned to be used for administrative offices and storage.”   They also noted that continued cuts in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and increased costs of operating the 86-year-old facility made the closure necessary. “The needs of the residents which has been the top priority of the Village” was placed above all else.   For resident 98-year-old resident Rosemary Hague, the Holden Center is full of memories. Hague moved into the Village in 1999, but her mother-in-law, Flossie Hague came to the Village 22 years earlier. “People moved in and enjoyed life,” Hague said. “I can recall residents making pottery and other craft items and there was a great deal of activity.”   Hague and her husband, Rev. Virgil Hague, who served as Director of Development, were mission representatives for McCurdy School from 1970 to 1982. McCurdy, along with Red Bird Mission, were two missions of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church, that became United Methodist missions following the 1968 merger with the Methodist Church.   Approaching her 99th birthday in April, Hague still played piano for worship in the Nettleton Chapel, named in memory of former UMV administrator James Nettleton, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1986. “I played the good old hymns,” she said. “I didn’t try the classical stuff.”   A Service of Thanksgiving and Leave Taking was held in January at the Nettleton Chapel with Rev. Cynthia Jones, Kaskaskia River District Superintendent, officiating. Several items have been given to area United Methodist congregations while others will be brought to a new worship space within the new buildings of the Village.   The United Methodist Village began in 1908 as the Old Folks Home in Smithboro. In 1915, the building housing the facility burned and residents were moved to rented quarters at Greenville, and then Litchfield and Lebanon. In 1918, a home in St. Francisville served as the new facility for eight years prior to the building of a three-story building located on a five acres donated by the Lawrenceville Chamber of Commerce.   Meeting in Special Session at Lawrenceville M.E. Church on May 25, 1926, the former Southern Illinois Annual Conference voted unanimously to borrow to empower the conference trustees to borrow $70,000 for “the use of the Old Folks’ Home at Lawrenceville and to secure the same by placing a bond issue” against the donated five acres. The special session also approved that the Old Folks Home trustees were empowered to sell off the St. Francisville property and property held in Clark County to be used for Old Folks Home in Lawrenceville.   In 1953, wings were added to the three-story building and the building became known as the Holden Center.   Because of the pressing need for nursing care, Wesley Center was built in 1967, and Dycus Center in 1974. A 28-bed Alzheimer Unit was completed in 1990. In 1991, the Village Playhouse was opened to assist employees and the community with daycare needs.   In order to meet the demand for independent living, the Village has built or acquired a number of apartments, cottages and houses called Southern Meadows. In 1994, the Village added McKiou Center (now called Southern Meadows Estates), an independent living apartment complex.   The United Methodist Village purchased the Lawrenceville Manor, 2101 James Street, Lawrenceville, Illinois on March 1, 2004 and changed the name to The United Methodist Village North Campus in 2006. The North Campus is a 98 bed Skilled Nursing Facility. In the early part of 2009, the North Campus added a chapel onto its south side so its residents would be able to attend services.   In 2011, the Village began converting a wing at its main campus to accommodate residents with memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
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