December 2021 - January 2022 | Volume 167 | Issue 10
Hopkins remains NIC Interim Bishop in 2022 While not necessarily in his plans, Hopkins said he joyfully accepts another year of interim assignment with the Northern Illinois Conference. "I thought my interim ministry would be concluding soon. I thought the pandemic would be over by the end of summer. Last October, I thought we could have an in-person annual conference," Bishop Hopkins said. "Although my expectations have not turned out, I have been surprised by the blessing of serving in Northern Illinois. I continue to meet people with a love of Jesus and his Church. I am surrounded by people who want the Kingdom of God to be on earth as in heaven. I am inspired by your faith, hope, and love." Bishop Hopkins thanks all the churches, clergy, and laity in the Northern Illinois Conference for welcoming him and his wife Elaine this past year. "Northern Illinois already feels like home to Elaine and me," said Bishop Hopkins. "Staying in a place you love with people you love is a blessing. God is good."
North Central Jurisdiction special session addresses racism, inclusion and number of bishops By Christa Meland, Dir. of Communications Minnesota Conference
When Rev. Ron Bell was in high school, his father became superintendent of the Eastern District of the Delaware Annual Conference. As their family was moving into the superintendents’ big, beautiful parsonage in Eastern Maryland, the entire local police department surrounded the house with guns drawn and told Bell and his father to get on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Why? “Because a little white girl across the street saw black folk in her neighborhood,” said Bell, who serves Camphor Memorial UMC in St. Paul, Minn. “That's when I knew race matters.” Rev. Juyeon Jeon, senior pastor at First UMC in Bensenville, Ill., came to the U.S. from South Korea in 2008 and said “she worked very hard to assimilate to the culture and language.” But says she deeply realized that race matters through her six-year-old daughter. “It was right after George Floyd’s death and I was taking a walk in our predominantly white neighborhood with my daughter, who looks just like me,” said Jeon. “About 100 feet away two men in a car driving by started shouting ‘hey Chinese’ and they kept calling out to us.”
Jeon said she held her daughter close and kept walking but said the experience is still hurtful. “Whatever their intention was, I was feeling threatened and mocked and to think this is the reality my daughter will live, I was so upset,” Jeon said. “This needs to be changed and stopped.” Jeon and Bell were among six “truthtellers” who shared their personal experiences with race at a virtual North Central Jurisdictional (NCJ) gathering that took place Nov. 10 and 11. Approximately 250 delegates participated in the official Zoom meeting, and others from across the 10-conference jurisdiction watched it live online. Delegates spent the majority of their time together on three big topics of conversation—dismantling racism, the future of episcopal leadership, and the future of The United Methodist Church.
down together, all to the glory of God,” she said. She noted that the Council of Bishops has centered the ministries of equity, inclusion, justice, diversity, and antiracism— and in doing so, has appreciated the work of Brian Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, and chief creator of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. He urges four pillars for anti-racism efforts: • Hear and share true stories; in particular, give space to and honor stories of people of color. • Get “proximate” to the suffering and pain of racism and inequality. • Expect resistance. • Protect your hopefulness.
After hearing from Ward, the six truth-tellers each issued a challenge to the North Central Jurisdiction and the Church. Dismantling racism “Justice takes more than just words; it In the dismantling racism portion of the requires sacrifice,” said Andres De Arco, session, retired Bishop Hope Morgan Ward National Assistant Director to the United reminded attendees that the ministry of anti- Methodist Hispanic Youth Leadership racism centers in discipleship. Academy and a member of the West Ohio “The arc of history bends toward justice, Conference. “What are you willing to and we will be forceful in pulling that arc sacrifice for justice?” continue on page 2, see From the Cover: Beloved
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At the close of their fall meeting, the United Methodist Council of Bishops approved the extension of retired Bishop John L. Hopkins as Northern Illinois Conference Interim Bishop past the initial end date of December 31, 2021. The North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops called to extend Bishop Hopkins' assignment in the Northern Illinois Conference until either new episcopal elections are held within the jurisdiction, or another plan for episcopal coverage is brought to the Council of Bishops. In 2020, the NCJ College of Bishops made a plan to cover for retiring bishops and Bishop Hopkins agreed to serve in the interim through 2021. With the North Central Jurisdiction Conference postponement until 2022, the College of Bishops said they needed to extend the interim assignments, including Michigan Conference Bishop David Bard who is also covering the Minnesota Conference and Iowa Conference Bishop Bishop John L. Hopkins welcomes guests and online viewers to the ordination and commissioning service held Laurie Haller who is also covering the Oct. 1, 2021. Dakotas Conference.
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INSIDE THE ISSUE From the Bishop: Living with expectation and finding joy ...2 Delegates support covenant ...3
Landmark grant awarded to Chicago church ...6
Discipleship launches book club ...8
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