The Best Day ever! BY TERRY EVANS, Robinson First UMC ROBINSON – As volunteers began to gather at Robinson: First UMC, each proudly sporting their NOW program tee-shirts adorned with the large NOW apple across the front, they anticipated what the day would be like. NOW (Nutrition on Weekends) Director Kirbie Ackman stepped to the front of the group and declared, “This is the best day ever!” The “Nutrition on Weekends”, NOW, Program was formed in 2013 as response to growing numbers of at-risk youth in the Robinson School district. Michelle Elliot, who was the Washington Grade School nurse, started noticing several children with complaints of hunger and she acted. The program began with $200 and 10 children. Michelle has since retired from the program and handed over the reins to Kirbie Ackman as program director. NOW has grown several times since 2013. What began with 10 children has expanded to serving an average of 158 children in the 2023/2024 school year. The NOW program is no longer just meeting the needs in one school but all six unit #2 schools. Volunteers assemble the meals at Robinson First UMC and they are delivered to the various schools prior to dismissal each week throughout the school year. NOW has grown in service beyond the school year. Ackman placed her focus beyond the weekend needs for nutrition during the school year and established a “Summer Lunches Program”. This program provides meals
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throughout the week at the various city parks in Robinson, Palestine, and Flat Rock. This past summer, volunteers distributed over 4720 nutritious meals, bottled water, and reading materials to any child they meet in the park during the summer months. The past two years children have also been supplied with fresh produce from NOW’s Community Garden located on the grounds of Robinson First. Under Ackman’s direction the NOW Program, expanded in many areas. The largest being the “Back to School Shopping Day” or as Ackman refers “The Best Day Ever!”. This past August, 493 students were welcomed into Robinson First UMC where they were assigned a volunteer shopper to assist students with selections of all grades from pre-K through high school required school supplies, new back packs, clothing, personal hygiene products, and a brand-new pair of shoes. In addition, each child is provided with a fresh new haircut supplied by the amazing folks from Hello Gorgeous; Jordan Medsker, Lynn Stucker, Vicki Olinger, Tomy Jo Ochs. They were also assisted by Jessie Lucas of Do or Dye Beauty Bar and Lounge. The students were also allowed the opportunity to sign-up for state required dental exams provided by Dr. Will Schaefer and his staff along with Jill McKeighan. All services are free of charge to all students and families. In addition to the aforementioned items and services, the students were also able to receive additional “extras”, i.e., winter coats, gloves, hats scarves, costume jewelry, books, slightly used shoes, while supplies lasted. This past year NOW has partnered with many local
businesses: Senco Construction, The Woods Event Center, The Smile Center, Women’s Network of Marathon, The Hershey’s Company of Robinson, The United Way of Crawford County, Body Builder’s Collison and Glass, Robinson High School Cross Country Teams, Victor Reinz, First Robinson Savings Bank, Schaefer Family Dental, Crawford County Health Department, Crawford Memorial Hospital, Robinson Police Department, Kate Pleasant Consulting, Hello Gorgeous, and Do or Dye Beauty Bar and Lounge and a large host of community and church volunteers. “The goal of NOW is to remove food insecurity from the students of Crawford County. We want to remove the stigma that these children are in the wrong or should be embarrassed to receive help that they deserve. NOW would love not to be needed and see every single child of Crawford County fed and until that time we will continue to stand on the front lines to help these children achieve every success.” Should you like more information or would like to partner with the NOW program you are welcome to reach out to Kirbie Ackman at First United Methodist Church of Robinson at 618-544-8016 or firstumcrob@gmail.com .
CAMPING MINISTRY CHANGES LIVES
Upcoming events at East Bay
S’mores during fellowship time for donations to directly benefit summer camp scholarships
BY NANCY LANE IGRC Coordinator of Camping
Experience the transformative work of camp and retreat ministry! East Bay Camp Bring your local church to serve for a few hours or even enjoy an overnight at no cost! • Fall workday - Oct 12 • Spring workday - April 26, 2025 Upcoming free events at East Bay Camp: Oct 20 – Fall Cookout 4-7 p.m. Dec 21 – Winter Solstice Hike - 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. April 5 – Easter Egg Hunt May 3 – Summer Camp Open House For more information on these events, please check out https://www. eastbaycamp.org , or call 309-365-7531. Upcoming events at Little Grassy
Camping ministry changes lives! In 2024, we shared just under $14,000 to help children and youth attend church camp. Please consider how you or your local church might join in our mission by supporting our camp scholarship fund for 2025. For more information, or to have a camping team member share at your church, contact Rev. Nancy Folsom Lane 404-667-2707 or nlane@igrc.org . Consider: • Sharing designated gifts for camping ministry that may already be in your budget Take a Noisy Offering • Invite those who’ve had their life impacted by church camp to share a dollar for every year, since they first attended church camp. • Inviting those with Required
Camp Sundays
Your IGRC Camp and Retreat Ministry Team loves to share about camp in local churches and communities! Please review your church calendar and let us know when we can share about how children and youth experience Jesus at church camp. We are now scheduling through 2024. Consider us for: • A children’s or youth ministry event • Scheduling a VBS type of event for your community • Pulpit supply • Inviting us to do the children’s time and share about camping before or after worship For more information, or to have a camping team member share at your church, contact Rev. Nancy Folsom Lane 404-667-2707 or nlane@igrc.org .
CIVIL RIGHTS TRIP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
Bartonville charters new course outside the walls of a building
Though every site we visited was impactful, the Legacy Museum of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery was a highlight for many. “In traveling through the rooms at the Legacy Museum, the pieces, the ‘dots’ of history I had known, became more of a straight line - a continuum. When advancements in civil rights were made, Black people were retaliated against in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. At the end I came face to face with the picture of a foot on George Floyd’s neck. A shock went up and down my spine. Systemic racism continues to be alive and well. We see this in the disparities that exist between the Black and white communities in Bloomington/Normal today.” – Diane, Normal 1st UMC The just-opened 3rd site of the Legacy Museum is the Sculpture Park, ( https://legacysites.eji.org/about/monument/ ) more powerful than we could have ever imagined. “There are a few reasons the Sculpture Park stands out for me. One is the striking juxtaposition of the context and setting of the park with the content of historical experiences. The park is placed on a beautiful setting of nature near the riverbank with winding paths. “The morning that we visited was a beautiful spring day and the birds were singing. The striking beauty of the natural setting belies the horror and the brutality that the sculptures portray. Each sculpture seemed to be alive in that the artist was able to convey a visceral emotionality on the faces and poses of the statues. As all our museums did, the narrative by each sculpture gave a brutal account of the experience depicted. “I found myself lulled into the beauty of the entrance of the park and the art to quickly be caught off guard with the whiplash of emotions as I took in the inhumanity, the dehumanization, the violence, and the wanton brutality of white people on people of color, all for the most ignoble of reasons; power and greed.” – Diane, Grace Episcopal Pontiac & Normal 1st UMC At Birmingham’s Bethel Baptist Church, where Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth pastored, we heard a presentation by Alabama historian Barry McNeal. He reminded us that “History has two legs. One is behind us; it’s where we’ve been. The other is in front of us; it’s where we’re going. But if we shoot out that back leg – in other words, if we don’t know our history – then we can’t move forward.” We need both legs of history in order to move forward as a country. Our group continues to wrestle with the history we learned and what that knowledge is calling us to do. Some in our group are learning about reparations. Others are considering creating a Sister City partnership with a community in Alabama. And Normal 1st will be planning a 2026 Civil Rights trip. Guided by the “one leg” of history, we believe we have a better chance of creating a better, more just world for all. If you’d like to learn more about our trip, get resources to create your own trip, or be on the list for the 2026 trip, please contact me at: pastorkathy@normalfirst.org
about what it would be like to share building space. “When the building was being toured, I shared about the progress we were making to begin the process to sell our building,” said Totten- Jones. “Throughout this entire journey, it is clear that we are called to be better stewards of our money. The Holy Spirit and the United Methodist Church through our Illinois
BY PAUL BLACK
BARTONVILLE – Members of the Bartonville UMC have been on a journey since Lent that has culminated in deconsecrating their building and moving their witness into the community. “What a season we are in. A season of immense change and transition. A season of living out faith in God's hope. A season to see our community in a new and different way,” wrote the church’s pastor, the Rev. Erin Totten-Jones in a post on
Among those that attended the Deconsecration Service were former pastors, from left: Alan Newhall (1992-1997), Linda Richard (2005-2014) and Carol Edman (seated, 2002-2005); present pastor, Erin Totten-Jones and North District Superintendent Mike Crawford.
For more information on these events, check out: https://www. littlegrassycamp.org , or call: 618-457-6030 April 26, 2025 – Spring workday Illinois Great Rivers Conference Camp and Retreat Ministries: Connecting people, nature, and Christ.
Oct. 19 – Golf Scramble Nov. 1-3 – Youth Retreat Jan. 18-20, 2025 – Alumni Retreat Feb.14-16, 2025 – Elementary Retreat
Great Rivers Conference made a way for the church building to be used in new and exciting ways.” The last service in the building was held Aug. 25 with a service of deconsecration. “The selling of the church building is not the end of BUMC,” she said. “We will embrace a season of newness and change. The church is not closing but reimagining our ministry and enabling ourselves to see our community and its needs more clearly.” Beginning Sept. 8, the church gathered in the Alpha Park clubhouse for its worship service. “Our identity is not our building. It’s the community of people who follow Christ and share his witness. We are the church, living into and out of the light of God’s love.”
Minimum Distributions to consider supporting camp scholarships Provide
Facebook in August. “I never imagined how God and the Holy Spirit would be at work within us and never around us. We have been praying our breakthrough prayer for over a year now.” During Holy Week, the church met with District Superintendent Mike Crawford and had a conversation about the church’s future. The decision was made to begin the process to sell Bartonville UMC’s building, a historic icon of the community at 6005 S. Adams Street. In less than five months, God has been on the move in our midst. The opportunity came that a non-profit, Ask & Ye Shall Receive, needed a new ministry hub and the church began a conversation
GRANDPARENTS' DAY FEOM PAGE 4
Father in heaven.” The legacy of love, faith, and character that grandparents instill in their families endures far beyond the medals and chocolate coins, leaving a lasting impact on generations. The true wealth of a grandparent’s legacy lies not in material gifts, but in the timeless values of love and faith that will continue to inspire and guide future generations.
REQUEST FROM BISHOPS DAVID BARD AND KENNETHA BIGHAM-TSAI: In corresponding or communicating with the two bishops, the IGRC communication channels remain unchanged. Please use bishop@igrc.org and mail needs to be addressed to the Illinois Area Office, P. O. Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62794-9207. By doing so, your concerns may be addressed more expeditiously. DO NOT send IGRC communications to the Michigan Area Office for Bishop Bard nor to the Iowa Area Office for Bishop Bigham-Tsai. The mixing of communications with those other conferences will only slow down the process in responding to your communication. This is especially important when dealing with deadlines where things have to be to the Bishop and/or Conference by a specific date. Those deadlines assume receipt in Springfield at the Illinois Area Office so it would be possible for someone to miss a deadline by failing to follow these guidelines. Thanks for your assistance in helping us serve you!
The celebration concluded with a reminder of grandparents' role as spiritual guides and moral examples. Quoting Matthew 5:16, Rev. Esguerra encouraged the congregation to honor the way grandparents allow God’s light to shine through them: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your
This summer, the number almost doubled: 3,791 lunches! The lunch program initiative was funded, not only by the individual CHURCHES IN LEBANON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
Churches in Lebanon rise to the challenge of feeding children in the summer
did they provide? Was the ministry a one-church initiative, or was it community-based? There were many answers, but what I realized was that our community was the only one NOT serving the children during the summer. Because Lebanon has a 50-year history of a community VBS, I reached out to five other churches to ask for their participation. Every church stepped up immediately! We chose to use packaged food to avoid any possible contamination. Three distribution points were selected. Each church took one day a week to assemble and distribute. The first year, we served 1,936 children.
BY KAY KORTE
LEBANON – “Listen, listen to me,” God says… Do you act upon God’s nudging, or do you ignore it? I kept hearing God whisper that the children in our school district needed lunches during the summer. I chose to ignore that voice, not that I did not believe it to be true, but I did not want to be the one to initiate it! Thankfully, we serve a very patient God, as He did not give up on me. I kept hearing the same message over and over. Finally, I presented the idea to our pastor and Church Board in 2023. They were totally in support of this new ministry. The next step was to contact surrounding communities to gather information about their experiences: How did they distribute? What food
churches, but with donations from The Lebanon Lions, The Lebanon Rotary and local citizens buying from an Amazon Wish List.
A few words of advice: remember the adage that, “If God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it.” That was SO true! God has blessed our children with regular meals, and He also blessed the participating churches and clubs who gave their time and money to feed His lambs. (Kay Korte serves as coordinator of the Grab ‘n Go summer lunch program at Lebanon First UMC, Central District)
cutlines...........Churches in Lebanon
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