About Us

The 2012 General Conference was held in Tampa, FL from April 24-May 4. This is a meeting held every four years and is the only body that speaks for the 13 million member denomination. Four lay delegates and four clergy delegates represented the Northern Illinois Conference, of which our church is a part. In total, 988 United Methodist delegates from five continents (40% from Africa) attended the event.

General Conference is a time of worship, music, fellowship and decision-making.

It has been fun, this past week, to receive brief text messages and photos from Jim of the high school Chapel Choir trip to New York. From the first day's surprising glimpse of two of our students joyfully hoisted in the air at a recreation area; to a glimpse of that same evening, of the choir preparing for their first concert; to a glimpse of them gathering on Wednesday to sing at the United Nations - these momentary glimpses helped me to understand the fun - and the significance - of what they were experiencing.

Even though it was Valentine"s Day night, there was a good turnout for the meeting of the church work area " the members knew the work they were in the process of accomplishing together was worth giving attention to, even on that special evening.

And our attendance was not taken for granted. At each place was a tiny Valentine's gift - a ribboned bag of conversation hearts and chocolate kisses. No one took credit for the gifts, but we were pretty sure it was the handiwork of our Chairperson. A nice gesture that said, "your presence is valued."

Throwing a pile of vegetables, seafood and beef together to be cooked in concert to arrive done meant that things had to happen quickly. At the Mongolian Grill last night, cooking to raise funds for choir tour, I felt like the psalmist, "My cup overflows." The dinners kept coming, some meatless, some with an egg that if you squashed it just right it might break without leaving its shell as an extra ingredient.