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Ministry Opportunities
Special Sunday, May 19th
This Sunday,
May 19th is Pentecost. Everyone
is asked to please wear
red/flame colors in honor of this
special day in the life of the church.
Thank
You!
Sam and Virginia Arvanis want to thank everyone for their
kind wishes for their 50th Anniversary and for
celebrating with them.
Bible
Study Classes
For several years we have had 2 very
distinctive Bible study classes... one during the daytime and
another in the evening. Since COVID, the daytime
class (currently on Tuesdays) has mainly been online via
ZOOM. The evening
class has been a "hybrid" with members meeting in
person and via ZOOM simultaneously. Both classes have
studied a wide range of topics and used a myriad of
resources. Because our church is in the midst of a
transition of pastors, our class schedule has been
interrupted. Here is our plan going forward:
WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY CLASS will resume their meeting again on Wednesday, May 8th
at 6:00 p.m. and each Wednesday following in
May. Again, a ZOOM link will be made available for
current class members.
Once Pastor Dave has arrived and gotten
settled (after July 1st), he will determine the continuation
of the classes, their meeting days and times in consultation
with those currently participating. Please be patient as he
learns his way around WUMC.
You're Invited
Join us on Sunday,
June 2nd for a Ministry Celebration for Rev.
Danita Anderson! We will celebrate Pastor Danita’s 10 years
of ministry at Woodridge UMC with worship at 10AM followed by
a potluck celebration for all! The Staff Parish Relations
Committee will provide the main dish and dessert. Please
bring a side dish, vegetable, salad, or fruit to share. Fun
and games for kids will be included. If you would like to
help with the celebration, please contact Patti Cash at
630-258-0533.
A printable invitation is here.
Upper
Rooms
Upper Rooms for May
- June are now available in the narthex with
a limited number in the mailbox.
60th
Anniversary Celebration
Join us in commemorating this 60th year of our church and
continuing our mission by purchasing a canvas tote bag ($25),
reusable grocery bags ($5) and/or stickers that allow you to
use an app to get credit for every time you refill your
grocery bag or water bottle and support important initiatives
for clean water through the Fill It Forward organization https://fillitforward.com.
Everything is on sale now in the narthex (or stop by the
church office). Follow the link to see Fill It Forward’s
partnerships https://fillitforward.com/giving/
and the clean water causes that are helped by your scans.
Graduate
Recognition 2024
We would like to honor all our graduates: high school,
college, and beyond.
If you or a family member are graduating this spring let us
know so we can include you! Please email the
church office (office@woodridgeumc.org)
with the graduate’s
name and the school from which they are graduating.
Police
Department and Public Works Campus Community Dedication
 Celebrate our new Village of Woodridge Police
Department and Public Works facilities on Saturday, May 18
from 9:00 am until noon at 7215 Janes Avenue.
The day will feature a wide variety of activities for all
ages such as tours of the new police department,
touch-a-truck, a drone demo, a bounce house, airbrush
tattoos, etc. You can view the event page here with all of the
information, or the Facebook event page here.
Woodridge
Names Tom Stefanson Chief of Police
Former Deputy Chief with 32 years of experience to lead the
Woodridge Police Department. See the full announcment here.
Christ the Servant Recycling Event
An Electronic Recycling Event is scheduled for
May
18th at Christ the Servant Church from 8:30 am to 11:30 am,
at 8700 Havens Drive, Woodridge in the parking lot.
This event includes electronics as well as
textiles (in plastic bags only) and books (one box of books
per car). Find the flyer for the event here
for a list of accepted and not accepted items or go to www.eworksesi.org.
A disposal fee will apply for all televisions and monitors
(cash – exact change only or credit accepted).
Blood
Drive at St. Scholastica
The Knights of Columbus are sponsoring a blood drive at St.
Scholastica on
Saturday, June 1st from 7:30 am to noon. To
schedule your donation, go to www.versiti.org/IL
or call Camille from Versiti at 847-305-9998. Appointments
are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome! Photo ID is
required. Flyers are here.
Sunday
School
Activity Bags are available in the Narthex.
We use inspiring stories, creative crafts, and fun games—all
done with guidance of loving, dedicated teachers—to engage
our students.
Here’s our process: Children begin the worship
service in the sanctuary with their family. Following the
“Praying” segment, the children will be invited up to the
chancel steps for conversation with the pastors. (We call
that time “Conversing with Children.”) Following that, the
Sunday School teacher will meet the children in the Narthex
(the big room outside the sanctuary) and walk them to their
classroom. They will be in either the Trinity Room in the
main hallway or the Blue Room in the Preschool wing.
Toastmasters
Would you like to speak with more confidence in any setting?
Toastmasters can help! The Woodridge Toastmasters club meets
on the 2nd
and 4th Thursday of the month at Woodridge United Methodist
Church. Come visit us and see for yourself!
For more information contact John.
Northern Illinois Conference
Annual Conference - I Freely and Heartily
Yield
The 185th Northern Illinois Annual Conference is Sunday, June 16th
through Tuesday, June 18th at the
Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center. Registration
is $130 and due by May 29th. There is no
on-site registration. See the link here
to register and for more information
Bishop
Announces New Assistant to the Bishop
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Greetings in the grace we share in
Christ on this Lenten eve.
I write this evening to announce changes in the
conference staff and to seek your prayers as we celebrate
the ministry of Rev. Arlene Christopherson
as Rev. Christopherson transitions to retirement,
effective Sept. 1, 2024.
With the retirement of Rev. Christopherson, I am also
pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Danita Anderson as the
assistant to the bishop, effective July 1, 2024.
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...Today I also am pleased to announce
the appointment of Rev. Danita Anderson as the new
assistant to the bishop, beginning July 1, 2024. Rev.
Anderson currently serves at Woodridge United Methodist
Church in Woodridge, Illinois.
In my prayer time and conversations around the annual
conference, I heard the need for an assistant to the
bishop with strong administrative skills and cabinet
experience. Danita also has extensive background from
serving on and as chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry
and as chair of our conference Council on Finance and
Administration. In addition, I want to continue to live
out the conference’s commitment to anti-racism and will
turn to Rev. Anderson to give leadership in diversity,
equity, and inclusion.
Rev. Anderson is a product of the Northern Illinois
Annual Conference. She was raised in Chicago as a
lifelong Methodist. Her grandfather and three uncles
have/are serving as elders in the African Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Rev. Anderson graduated from Chicago State University
with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with
a concentration in money and banking and a minor in
accounting. She attended Gammon Theological Seminary,
where she earned her master of divinity, focusing on
preaching, worship, and the arts. Danita was ordained a
deacon in 1983 and full member in 1985.
Her passion for ministry has been racial inclusion to
build and strengthen God’s beloved community, worship
experiences that relate to the current realities of life,
as well as a love for children and young people. Her
focus on hospitality seeks to encourage others to do the
same, crossing boundaries of race, ethnicity,
experiences, and education.
During her ministry she served at Chicago: St. Mark
(associate); Maywood: Neighborhood; Ingleside: Whitfield;
Aurora: Bethany of Fox Valley; Aurora District
Superintendent; Glen Ellyn: St. Thomas; Homewood: St.
Andrew; and Woodridge.
Rev. Anderson states that “it is an honor to be invited
to serve as the assistant to the bishop at this point in
history. This will be a milestone for both the Northern
Illinois and Wisconsin Conferences in sharing an
episcopal leader. The promises, possibilities, and
opportunities that this configuration can bring into
being are endless. It will be a privilege to walk beside
our Bishop Schwerin for such a time as this!”
Please hold Rev. Anderson, Rev. Christopherson, and the
entire annual conference in your prayers during this time
of transition.
Thank you.
Peace,
Dan Schwerin, Bishop
Northern
Illinois Conference UMC
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Dec. 13, 2023
Dear Servants in ministry,
Greetings in this holy time of anticipation and promise.
At this time of year, we celebrate the coming of a child.
Christmas, Epiphany, the boy Jesus in the temple—all center
on a child.
Indeed, children should always
be in our hearts and minds. And now, people
who were abused as children need our Christian compassion
and generosity.
Repair the Harm to Children,
the Northern Illinois Conference campaign to address the
needs of people who suffered abuse in a Boy Scout troop as
children, needs our support.
Many churches, including United Methodists, have chartered
Boy Scouts of America troops or packs over the years. As
part of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by these
survivors, the United Methodist Church has agreed to
contribute $30 million to a survivors’ fund over a
three-year period. Northern Illinois Conference’s share is
$754,348.
Your church can be part of the
healing for these survivors by committing an amount equal
to 1 percent of its budget to this fund.
This amount is payable over three years. Your church will
still have 99 percent for local and church-wide ministries.
We don't invite people to pledge because they participated
in the harm. We invite you to give because you care about
the welfare of children and want to help those who were
hurt as children to experience healing.
The Repair the Harm to Children
campaign is not only about financial compensation for the
survivors. We also commit to listening to
survivors, if they request it, with compassion. We will
also redouble our efforts to keep our churches safe for
children and vulnerable adults.
Our conference has received, as of this date, donations and
pledges from 28 churches and several individuals. We have
received commitments for $136,770, 18 percent of our goal.
So far, pledging churches have contributed $54,036.69. We look ahead with confidence that we Northern
Illinois United Methodists will achieve our goal.
Steps Toward Participation
- Your church identifies the amount
of its pledge.
- Visit umcnic.org/RepairtheHarm
and complete the Pledge Form linked from that page.
- When your church is ready to
begin fulfilling its pledge, visit the Make a Payment
link on that page. Remember, your church can fulfill
its pledge over three years.
This site also contains many resources
to help interpret the importance of this commitment. People
in your church who have participated in Scouts as young
people or leaders and those who care deeply about
children’s wellbeing can serve as ambassadors for this
opportunity to help others.
Please remember that Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other youth organizations support
children’s faith formation and are worth hosting in our
churches. The BSA commits itself to
strengthened protections for participants. Adding your
church’s vigilant observations of Safe Sanctuaries
practices, Scout troops and packs can be a safe and
enriching experience.
Knowing about NIC churches’ and individuals’ generosity, I
look forward to our receiving your pledges and gifts.
It is good to be in ministry with you.
Peace
Dan Schwerin, Bishop
Northern Illinois Conference
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If you would like more information, you can
visit the FAQ page here.
Prairie
Central Informal Gatherings with the District Superintendent
Informational
gatherings will be held on the second Thursday of the
month.
Zoom Links (The links will stay the same for all meetings,
though clergy links and lay links will be different)
Clergy Gathering 9:00 am link.
Lay Gathering 7:00 pm link.
Lay persons: This is NOT for Lay Leaders only. It
is intended for all lay persons who want to know more about
what is going on and be connected.
Northern
Illinois Conference
Find out
about upcoming events in the Northern Illinois
Conference of the United Methodist Church by clicking
this link
Outreach
Opportunities
May Outreach Offering
Missionary Nancy Carew
Nancy Carew is a missionary with the General
Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church
assigned to the Liberia Annual Conference in West
Africa. She is serving in the ministry of empowerment in
the areas of skills training and leadership development for
women, including young adults.
Nancy teaches courses covering food and nutrition, home
management, and basic computer skills at the United Methodist
Women’s Leadership Training Center. She has additional
administrative duties at the United Methodist Mission
Missionary Compound in Monrovia. She also organizes a
nutrition program with emphasis on children in her community.
A native of Sierra Leone, Nancy has a Bachelor of Science
degree in home economics education from Njala College,
University of Sierra Leone, and is a certified facilitator in
nutrition. She also earned certificates as a patient care
technician at DeKalb Technical College (now Georgia Piedmont
Technical College) and in Windows and Microsoft Office from
Georgia Perimeter College, both in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).
Prior to her commissioning as a United Methodist missionary,
she taught high school for six years in Sierra Leone before
proceeding to London, where she worked for three years in the
dietary department of St. Mary’s Hospital. After moving to
the United States, Nancy worked in the food and beverage
department with Stouffer Concourse Hotel and the Evergreen
Mariott Conference Resort in Atlanta, while her husband
taught at a local college. Nancy says, “My training in
nutrition and experiences working in hospitals and hotels has
prepared me for God’s mission…” She feels blessed to
have been called to serve in this capacity.
“The suffering and hardship of innocent civilians, including
women and children, during the civil war in Sierra Leone and
Liberia has touched me deeply,” Nancy says. “I know God is
working through my ministry to bring relief and hope to
women, in particular, who are desperately in need of help.”
Before her assignment to Liberia, Nancy and her family served
for three years in Nigeria. Mrs. Carew was manager of the
United Methodist guesthouses in Jos, taught with the adult
literacy program, and helped to develop a children’s Sunday
school. She was also treasurer of the urban ministry program.
Nancy is married to George Carew, a retired missionary with
Global Ministries, and the Carews are members of Clarkston
United Methodist Church in the North Georgia Annual
Conference. Nancy and George are the parents of six children.
Ways to donate to the May Outreach Offering:
- Check or cash in an Outreach
Offering envelope placed in the offering plate in the
- Narthex (the room outside the
sanctuary) or in the gold-plated mail slot at the
church’s east door.
- Online via our website. Select
“Current Month Outreach” in the drop down menu.
- Text the amount you want to give to
630-449-7121 and select “Current Month Outreach” in the
drop down menu.
Ongoing
Opportunities
"Goin' Green" Shoes & Clothes
Recycling Box
Located in the northeast corner of our parking lot,
this receptacle is a convenient place to recycle any shoes
and your clothes that are at or near the end of their
usefulness. Did you know discarded clothes account for
more total landfill space than any other waste item? The
“Goin’ Green” Box helps us reduce our waste.
West Suburban Food Pantry
There is a shopping cart that is waiting
for donations. It sits in the narthex, usually near the
sanctuary doors. The food pantry serves many
households and always welcomes
donations!!! We are all one bad month, week, or day
away from needing emergency food services. The
pantry strives to provide their customers with
nutritious meals like we would our own families.
Used Eyeglasses
There is a
basket also in the narthex for collecting
used eyeglasses. Kendra Manderfield Moore makes
sure that they are recycled to the Lions Club and Gift
of Sight groups. (Prescription eyeglasses only).
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