Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, July 2-6, Greensboro, N.C.

Church Revitalization and Development Team, July 26, 9 a.m.

Leadership Team, Aug. 19, 6:30 p.m.

National Older Adult Conference, Sept. 1-5, Lake Junaluska, N.C.

Illinois/Wisconsin District Conference, Nov. 7-8, Chateau Hotel / Conference Center, Bloomington, IL

[all meetings via Zoom unless otherwise noted]

June/July Newsletter

The 2025 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference will take place Wednesday, July 2, to Sunday, July 6, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Registration and hotel reservations are open at www.brethren.org/ac2025. The Annual Conference office has announced the following registration fee schedule:

 

Advance registration has ended; on-site registration opens July 1: Delegates $425; Non-delegate adult, full conference, $210; Non-delegate adult, daily rate, $75; Post-high school to age 21, full conference, $50; Post-high school to age 21, daily rate, $20; Current high school student or younger, free; Active BVSer, free. Note there is an additional fee for age-group activities.

Registration for virtual participation (non-delegate only): Adult (until June 10), full conference, $195 or daily rate, $75. Group/institutional registration, $500; Post-high school to age 21, full conference, $75. Worship services are available free of charge.

Pastors Dennis Beckner (Columbia City, Ind.) and Glenn Bollinger (Port Republic, Va.) headline this year’s Annual Conference ballot as candidates for moderator-elect. Find the full ballot at https://www.brethren.org/ac2025/business/ballot/. Worship preachers this year will be moderator Dava Hensley; a “cowbell service” featuring preachers Becky Baile Crouse, Josiah Ludwick, and Tony Price; Mount Hermon Church of the Brethren pastor Lupita Ortiz; Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary professor Gennifer Brooks; and South Waterloo Church of the Brethren pastor Dave Kerkove.

Business items will include three items of unfinished business and four items of new business, including the query “Concerns About Current Practices Related to Matters of Sexuality” brought by this district.

To date, the following congregations have registered delegates: Canton, Dixon, Freeport, Peoria First, Polo, and York Center. Please consider sending a delegate from your congregation. Congregations of up to 200 members receive one delegate, with one additional delegate for every additional 200 members or portion thereof. Delegate and non-delegate registration can be found at www.brethren.org/ac2025 (click “Registration”). A guide to registering online is available if needed.

Lodging: the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons is connected to the Koury Convention Center, making it extremely convenient for guests. The Annual Conference room rate is $120 plus tax (12.75%) totaling $135.30 per night. Parking is complimentary. The Sheraton Hotel provides complimentary shuttle transportation to and from Piedmont Triad International Airport from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. In room Wi-Fi is complimentary for all hotel guests. The link for hotel registration will come up immediately after registering for the conference.

New this year will be a conference welcome meal, beginning 5 p.m. July 2 at the hotel’s Joseph’s Restaurant. The dinner buffet will be $19.95 for adults, $14.95 for 12 and under. No reservations are required, and attendees will pay onsite.

The Annual Conference Witness to the Host City this year is benefiting BackPack Beginnings, a nonprofit dedicated to making a difference for local, low-income children and families by providing for their tangible basic needs. Their mission is to connect children and their families to resources needed to thrive. For a list of items to be collected at Annual Conference see www.brethren.org/ac2025/activities/witness-to-the-host-city. Monetary contributions can be made by check during the Friday night worship offering or on the Annual Conference website offering page. To learn more about BackPack Beginnings visit https://backpackbeginnings.org.

Volunteering: It takes a village of volunteers to staff Annual Conference. There are many ways you can help.

• Caregivers and chaperones are needed for our age group activities (early childhood-senior high youth).
• 25-30 ushers are needed for each worship service.
• Tellers are needed to help with vote counts and distribute materials to the delegate body.
• Around 550 delegate packets need to be stuffed on Wednesday evening after worship.
• Assistance is needed with registration and ticket sales.
• Folks are needed to staff the silent auction.
• People who are bilingual in English and Spanish are needed to assist with simultaneous interpretation during business and worship services.
• Doctors, nurses, and EMTs are needed to staff the first aid room.
• Caring companions are needed for some attendees with accessibility needs.

If you have an hour or two or more to spare and would like to be part of Annual Conference’s “volunteer village,” click here to sign up. Thank you!

Silent auction: Volunteers to assist with the auction are also needed. To volunteer, sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945AFA722A4FCCF8-annual. And, of course, bid at Annual Conference! Bidding opens at noon July 2 and closes at 2 p.m. July 5.

Registration for the Camp Emmaus 2025 summer season is open at campemmaus.churchcenter.com/registrations. The schedule includes the following offerings:

June 20-22 CIT Training
June 21-22 Elementary (K-Grade 2)
July 6-12 Survivor Camp at Camp Mack (Grades 6-8)
July 13-19 Senior High (Grades 9-12)
July 20-26 Middle School (Grades 6-8)
July 27-31 Intermediate (Grades 3-5)
Aug. 1-3 Young Adult/Young at Heart (Ages 18+)
Aug. 3-6 Target Sports Camp
Aug. 7-9 Women’s Camp
Aug. 22-24 Men’s Camp
Aug. 29-Sept. 1 Labor Day Family Camp
Sept. 13 Camp Celebration Day and Lunch (free event) 

Camp Emmanuel is expanding its programming with the purchase of two tandem and two single kayaks. Donations toward the project can be made at Campem.com or by mailing a check to Camp Emmanuel, 14999 Reservoir Rd, Browning, IL 62624. Mark the gift as “Kayaks.” 

Registration for the remainder of the summer season at Camp Emmanuel is also now open! Visit www.campem.com to register, and for other camp news. The remaining summer schedule will include:

July 14-18 Day Camp
July 18-20 Creation Camp
Aug. 8-10 Men’s Camp
Aug. 29-Sept. 1 Family Camp

National Junior High Conference takes place June 20-22 at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., with the theme “Let Your Gentleness Be Known.” Details are at www.brethren.org/yya/njhc. 

National Youth Conference 2026 will take place July 18-23, 2026, with a return to the site that the conference used prior to 1990: the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colo. More information will come in the months ahead at National Youth Conference. 

(Also be in prayer for the FaithX service trips taking place this summer!)

Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) is continuing work this year at a rebuilding site in Letcher County, Ky., with new builds and repairs of homes damaged during the July 2022 flooding event. 

 

BDM recently provided the following update: “Last week we attended a dedication of ten homes at Thompson Branch. It was a joy to see so many families with safe, secure housing that will not flood in the future. We will be continuing to work on finishing up those homes and starting a new higher ground community. We are also working on houses that have been raised up out of the flood plain.” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was among those attending the dedication (pictured, with volunteers). 

BDM said it anticipates having openings for individuals or small groups of people throughout the months of June, July and August. If you are available to serve this summer, please contact project leader Lynn Evans at bdmletchercountyky@gmail.com, and they will endeavor to match you up with one of the open spots. “This is a great opportunity to come out and work with people from other areas of the country and to bless the people of Kentucky,” she said. A YouTube video about the site is available at BDM Rebuilding Letcher County, Ky., Project Overview. Illinois/Wisconsin is scheduled to assist with a team in Letcher County Dec. 7-13. A second project site is expected to open later this year.

Elsewhere, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) was requested to serve in St. Louis, in two shelters accommodating survivors of a massive tornado that hit the city on May 16. A CDS team of four volunteers was to spend two weeks providing care for children in the shelters, providing parents and guardians with the assurance that their children are in a safe and supportive environment while they take the time to concentrate on next steps in their families’ recovery, including their own self-care.

The next National Older Adult Conference (NOAC) will be held Sept. 1-5, at Lake Junaluska, N.C., with the theme “Alive in the Spirit!” (from Romans 15:13). Registration is open at www.brethren.org/noac. Registration fees are $220 for early-bird registration (until July 20), or $250 for regular registration. First-time attendees receive a $20 discount. A virtual participation registration option is available for $150 per household.

The vibrant week includes worship, keynote sessions, workshops, service projects, field trips, ice cream socials, and more. NOAC has announced this year’s keynote speakers: writer and poet Cole Arthur Riley; musician and storyteller Ken Medema; playwright and actor Ted Swartz; and Dominique DuBois Gilliard, director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Evangelical Covenant Church. Preachers include Greg Davidson Laszakovits, Rebecca Dali, Herb Smith, Samuel Sarpiya, and Audri Svay.

While our district will not have transportation to the event, the Western Plains District will have a bus passing through southern Illinois that might be able to accommodate additional passengers ($450 round-trip from Kansas). If interested, please contact Monica Frye at 620-241-0919 x264 or mfrye@thecedars.org.

The planning team includes Heidi Berkenbosch, Deanna Brown, Bonnie Kline Smeltzer, Leonard Matheny (Peoria First), Don Mitchell, Karlene Tyler, and coordinator Christy Waltersdorff (York Center). Debbie Noffsinger (Highland Avenue) designed the NOAC 2025 logo.

The 2025 Illinois/Wisconsin District conference will take place Nov. 7-8 at The Chateau Hotel & Conference Center in Bloomington, Ill. Bill Williams (Yellow Creek) will serve as moderator, with the theme “Are You Being Called?” Jocelyn Watkins (Peoria First) serves as moderator-elect.

A continuing education event will be offered for clergy and others during the day on Friday, Nov. 7, with the main conference starting with worship Friday evening in the Smart Auditorium followed by the traditional ice cream social and continuing with business and equipping sessions in that space on Saturday, along with meals, exhibits, and other events in an adjacent ballroom. The spaces are handicapped-accessible, and ample parking is available. Cerro Gordo and perhaps other area congregations will help to “host” the conference. Peoria First members are working on worship center plans.

All congregations are encouraged to send their allotted delegates to the conference. Per the 2022 constitution revisions, each congregation of 100 or fewer members can send three delegates, with one additional delegate for every 100 members or portion thereof. The pastor (if any) and board/leadership team chair typically serve as delegates, along with at-large members called by the congregation. The district Program & Arrangements Committee recently voted to increase the district conference assessment to cover costs; it will now be $30 per allotted delegate. Non-delegate registration will also increase slightly, to $15 per person. A block of rooms will be available at the hotel (located just off Veterans Parkway in Bloomington) for Thursday and Friday nights for $99/night including breakfast.

Among the items on the agenda will be the district budget for 2026, the slate of candidates for offices that is being finalized by the Gifts Discernment and Call Committee and the leadership team, agency and committee reports, and equipping session workshops. A district auction will not take place at the conference this year. Registration will open in late summer or early fall. We hope that you and other members of your congregation will join us for this important time in the life of our district!

 

• Official IL/WI Channel
• Older Content

There is a Speakers List for the Illinois/Wisconsin District. Persons included in this document have accepted the invitation to be available to preach during worship services or for other special events as indicated. Hopefully you will find this tool useful and valuable when the need arises for inviting a guest speaker.

The speakers on this list are all credentialed ministers, either licensed or ordained. We would like to expand the list to include more credentialed ministers as well as interested laity. If your name is absent from the list and you have interest in serving as a guest speaker, please inform the district office. We would also welcome the names of persons you might suggest for inclusion on the list.

Since this is a new venture, it is likely we may need to provide more information than is included. Your input as to how the list can be improved would be welcomed.

Please share with the District Office any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.

Grants available through the district include the following:

1. Mission and Mortar: Sustaining and developing ministry (mission) within congregations, as well as maintaining property (mortar), is sometimes hindered because of inadequate financial resources. The Illinois/Wisconsin District, whose mission is to support the growth and development of member congregations, realizes that this dilemma exists and desires to financially support congregations that are in good standing with the district and have specific needs. More information can be found here.

2. Being Jesus in the Neighborhood: Congregations can apply for $100 in seed money to start a new outreach project or initiative in their local communities, or to expand an existing one. These should be projects that intentionally engage with the neighborhood immediately around the congregation, or for those in rural locations, with the town or area around the church. Each congregation receiving a grant will be asked to share a little about their project at district conference. More information can be found here.

3. Emerging Missions Fund: To facilitate the growth and establishment of new faith communities, this grant is available for church and ministry planting initiatives. New church and ministry plants are encouraged to apply by contacting the district office and/or the CRDT.

All ordained ministers, licensed ministers, and congregations need to keep the District Office informed of changes in contact information. Changes include: phone number, cell phone number, email address, mailing address, and congregational email or website. Please email Peggy Moylan, peg.district@gmail.com, or call 630-644-4259 with your updates. Your effort will save valuable staff time trying to track down these changes. Other information to share: changes in key leadership positions at the church or the death or serious illnesses of minister, retired ministers, or spouses. Help us serve better!

Do not wait to begin to log your Continuing Education Units. The 2025 Five-year Ordination Review process for ALL ordained ministers will launch in 2024. Ordained ministers are required to produce verification of 5 CEU credits for this five-year period. It is your responsibility to secure certificates, letters or verifying documentation regarding CEU credit. Retired clergy are exempt from this requirement with the exception of those retired clergy actively involved in Interim Ministry.

CEU Notation: The district does not grant CEU credit for personal study and/or self-designed experiences you have had and/or books you have read. It is the minister's responsibility to secure a CEU certificate, Letter of Verification, and/or authentication document for completed training, seminars or workshops, or learning experiences offered by the presenting organization. This verification should always state the number of hours of the training - 10 hours of training equals 1.0 CEU credits. Please take personal initiative to become a life-long learner and increasingly effective minister of the Gospel.

The Gifts Discernment and Call Committee seeks your help. We are commissioned to call active, informed, and committed members of congregations or fellowships from within our District to positions of service. These persons, both pastors and lay members, are to be called from all parts of the District and to represent the diversity among us. Our committee's knowledge of members eligible and capable to serve is limited. Therefore, we make this appeal for assistance.