Before President Obama’s statement of support yesterday for gay marriage, I had already entitled the reflection “Love Makes a Family.” It is what I believe, and I invite you to find within it a place to stand and give thanks for all those who have loved you into being (and all those you have loved!)

Pastor Bonnie

What happened at the Conference? Join Pastor Bonnie in the Wesley Room following 9:30am worship Sunday for a debriefing of the turmoil in Tampa! No Kaleidoscope this week.

First United Methodist Church, Arlington Heights pastor, Bonnie Beckonchrist is currently attending the 2012 General Conference.  Please have her in your thoughts and prayers as she and many others work to help transform the world.

The United Methodist Church’s top legislative body, the General Conference, will gather April 24-May 4 in Tampa, Florida. Setting policy and direction for the church, as well as handling other business, will be 988 delegates from around the world.General Conference meets every four years and is the only entity that speaks for The United Methodist Church.

The theme of the 2012 conference is “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ to Transform the World.”

The 25-member Commission on the General Conference, led by Randall Miller of Emeryville, Calif., has planned the conference. A local committee from the Florida Annual Conference, under the leadership of Bishop Timothy Whitaker, is hosting the event. The Rev. Jim Harnish, senior pastor at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, is chairman of the host committee. Some 4,000 people will serve in a variety of roles, such as greeters, registration officials, marshals, pages, translators, hosts, guides, drivers, musicians, technicians, reporters and emergency responders. The majority will be volunteers.

Continue reading and get more information at UMC.org .
You can also visit General Conference at GC2012 Conversations for blogs and other information.

By the time you read this, our first Special Parents Night Out will be a fond memory. This new ministry, funded in part by the United Methodist Foundation, provides an evening out for parents of special needs children. Confident that their special needs child, and any siblings, are well supervised, parents can enjoy some evening free time. The kids are having fun, thanks to the adult and youth volunteers who are caring for and playing with them.

If you would like to help us build this ministry by joining our volunteer team, please contact Pastor Lynn Mikels at the 847-255-5112. We need “buddies,” chefs, activity leaders, event organizers, and more! We have one more Night Out in June and then the planning begins for September.

Come celebrate the journey of our young people as they confirm their faith. During our worship service, the eighth graders, who participated in confirmation class and served along side us in the community, will join the congregation as full members. Please join us and celebrate this step in their journey.

Eighth grade confirmation students, their parents, and their mentors, are invited to a celebration Saturday night, May 19, at 6:00pm. A pasta supper will be provided. Immediately following dinner we will have a rehearsal to prepare for the next morning. Seventh graders, who have been a part of confirmation class this year, you are invited to come and celebrate the confirmation of your friends.

In celebration of the 175th Anniversary Jubilee next year, plans are being made for an updated church directory. Our last directory was published in 2008. There have been many changes since then and many new faces among our congregation. A pictorial directory is a help for members and staff as they work with everyone in our church. We hope that you will be sure to participate and schedule a photo session. Scheduling begins in June. Photo sessions will be held on Monday & Tuesday, July 30 and 31, and Wednesday through Saturday, August 22, 23, 24 and 25. Please mark your calendars and schedule early to get your preferred time. If the July and August dates won’t work for you, please contact Diane Piper (847-903-6967) for a possible option in June.

All individuals and families will receive a complimentary 8 X 10 portrait. You will have the opportunity to purchase portrait packages at the time of your photo session. Those portraits will be available to you in time for holiday gift giving.

Help us make our directory a big success, filled with everyone’s picture!

Vintage FUMCAH Photos Wanted

Our 175th Anniversary Committee needs your historic church images. Soon our church will be celebrating an incredible milestone. Our humble beginnings go back to circuit riders on horseback congregating at an Elk Grove cabin in 1838. For those interested in etymology, it’s our Septaquintaquinquecentennial. That’s a mouthful, so we’ll simply call it the “175th Anniversary Jubilee.”

The Haiti Solar Oven Project is a teaching/training program that distributes solar ovens in Haiti. Recipients receive training on solar cooking, baking, water pasteurization and environmental awareness. This organization’s endeavors to place solar cookers in the hands of the poor in deforested lands by partnering with indigenous church and relief organizations, to help alleviate human suffering and environmental destruction, following the United Methodist Volunteers In Mission motto of Christian Love In Action!

The use of solar ovens reduces systemic problems of hunger, poverty, and environmental destruction caused by deforestation in Haiti. There was and remains an extreme shortage of increasingly expensive wood and charcoal as the primary commodity for cooking fuel. Solar Ovens will relieve the under nutrition of children in the poverty-stricken nation of Haiti.

To “purchase” your $15 solar cooker gift card or to obtain more information, please visit the Missions table after worship each Sunday through May 8 which is Mother’s Day. With each purchase you will receive a special card acknowledging your charitable gift. Mission offerings received during May will also be directed to this mission opportunity.

On Sunday April 22^nd, the staff Parish Committee announced that Bishop Hee-Soo Jung has appointed Will Green as our new Associate Pastor

A 2012 graduate of Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Will grew up in Hope Arkansas where he experienced a call to ministry while a youth. He is a graduate of United Methodist related Hendrix College (B.A. religious studies), where he was student body president. While in college, he was appointed to a two-point charge; Overcup and Cleveland United Methodist Churches. He represented students on the national Reconciling Ministries Network Board. Upon graduation he entered Garrett-Evangelical and was appointed student pastor at Granville Avenue UMC on Chicago’s northside.

In addition to his studies and pastoral responsibilities, Will has served since 2008 as Co-chair of the Division on Ministries with Young People of the United Methodist Church, with responsibilities for development of denominational curricula for youth and young adults, legislative oversights of the Global Young People’s Convocation, and coordination of young people’s legislative efforts at the 2012 General Conference currently in session.

We will welcome Will to our ministry team on Sunday, July 1^st.

Music  and Drama Camp

July 30-August 2, 4:30-6:00 pm

Perform in Worship on August 5;
led by staff from Setting the Stage Children’s Theater

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