Northern Illinois Annual Conference
Special Session
Northern Illinois Annual Conference Special Session
November 15, 2003
First United Methodist Church
216 E. Highland Avenue
Elgin, Illinois
7:30 Registration
Begins
9:00 Opening Worship
9:30 Discuss and Vote
on Resolutions remaining from June, 2003
11:00 Presentation of
2004 Budget
Noon Lunch
1:30 Discuss and Vote
on 2004 Budget
4:00 Adjourn
The 2004 budget was explained and adopted
without significant amendment.
Document 702-04 INCREASE YOUTH REPRESENTATION AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE
was
approved as amended by Section 12. The amendment reads "In Section IIA,
insert a new
item 'g.' "In addition twelve youth would be chosen by ....."
Document 900-9 HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFIT Section 4 had
moved referral to
the Board of Pensions & Health Benefits. The body voted NOT to refer and
the
document was approved as is.
Document 900-11 RESTRUCTURE ANNUAL CONFERENCE REPRESENTATION AT
GENERAL
CONFERENCE failed. A later motion to reconsider also failed.
Document 900-12 RETHINK FIRST STRIKE POLICY was approved.
Document 900-13 SENSITIVITY TRAINING was approved. An
attempt to remove sexual orientation from the second "whereas" clause
failed because there is an NIC standing rule against altering whereas
clauses in a document. Only the resolution clauses can be amended.
Document 900-14 STOP URBAN SPRAWL was approved with an
amendment which
removes references to the Northern Illinois Annual Conference and replaces
that
phrase with "The United Methodist Church." The amendment also adds a
second
resolved statement that the General Conference send this resolution to all
members
of the U.S. Congress, the President of the United States, and the
Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development. Note: This document will become a petition
to
General Conference.
Document 900-18 STOP ACTING AS THE WORLD'S ARMS BROKER
was approved.
Document 900-07 DECISION MAKING BY CONSENSUS was
defeated. (There was
considerable discussion ... this was also intended to be a petition to
General
Conference)
Document 700-14 HIV/AIDS INITIATIVE was approved as
amended twice. The
amendments change line 3 on page 8 to read as follows: "Make HIV/AIDS an
emphasis
during the coming conference year under the conference priority Claiming
Christ
on the Margins" and insert "to be encouraged" before "to engage" on page
8,
line 5.
Document 680-07 HEALTH PLAN ELIGIBILITY was replaced with
a rewrite numbered
680-007. This is the document which was extensively amended as mentioned
above. The amended document was approved.
Document 700-18 A POLICY ON RACIAL HARASSMENT was
approved.
Document 700-35 CONTINUATION OF THE DISTRICT BOARDS OF STEWARDS
was approved
with an amendment requiring that each district Board of Stewards report
its
apportionment formula to the Annual Conference.
Document 700-36 NATIVE AMERICAN AWARENESS IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
was approved as
amended by changing the reference to the 2003 Charge Conferences to the
2004
Charge Conferences.
2002 Statistical Tables: Table
I — Table
II — Table
III
Special Session approves $7.6m budget for 2004 (November
28, 2003)
(Nov. 28) At a Special Session of
the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) Nov. 15, members approved a 2004
budget of $7,648,465, down 6.2% or $508,321 from the 2003 budget. The
budget is based on the assumption that NIC churches will pay 82.8% of
their Conference apportionments, down from the 89% assumption used to
develop the 2003 budget.
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Special
Session will vote on 2004 budget
(Nov. 14) Saturday, Nov. 15, clergy and lay members of the
Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) will meet in Elgin in a Special
Session at First UMC, 216 E. Highland Ave., to approve a Conference
budget for 2004 and vote on resolutions they did not have time to deal
with during the regular session in June.
The Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CCFA)is
proposing a 2004 budget of $7,648,465, down more than $500,000 or 6.2%
from the budget of $8,156,787 for 2003.
“This budget reduction reflects the current economic conditions of
our country, in general, and our Conference, specifically,” said the
Rev. Felix Burrows, CCFA chair. “Our churches are just not meeting the
connectional commitment to give as we have in years past for a variety
of reasons. I believe it is better stewardship to propose a budget that
fairly represents the Conference’s ability and willingness to support
the mission and ministry vision set before us, rather than propose
unrealistic numbers that we will not achieve.”
Burrows noted that the reduction means that the Conference will not
be able to fund as many ministry opportunities as in the past. But he
pointed out, “The good news is that we are now aware of the importance
of practicing and teaching wholistic stewardship as a way of life for
our Conference. To this end, we are in partnership with groups around
the Conference, and we are aggressively planning and implementing
activities that will help improve our financial outlook in the future.”
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