Northern Illinois Annual Conference

"Kids Above All" Vice President of Resource Development Zulma Colon (left) poses with the late Rev. Doug Williams in 2017. The Rev. Doug Williams, who died in 2019, brought the idea of making and distributing toy wooden cars to his congregation at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Rockford, Ill., in 2011 as a new ministry to children. Photo courtesy of the Northern Illinois Conference.

Toy car ministry rolls on

Two churches are continuing a unique ministry created by the late Rev. Doug Williams to make brightly colored wooden toy cars to give to children in foster care and those enrolled in the church's early childhood program. Between them, the two churches have distributed more than 17,000 toy cars.

Young People

Members of the young adult group of First Korean United Methodist Church in Wheeling, Ill., gather together after a worship service on June 13. Photo by the Rev. Thomas Kim, UM News.

Laity leadership revitalizes church’s young adult ministry

Instead of relying on a pastor to oversee its young adult ministry, First Korean United Methodist Church in Wheeling, Illinois, entrusted it to a devoted and committed volunteer layperson with a calling and vision.

Violence

After a mass shooting claimed seven lives and injured dozens of others at a Fourth of July parade, Bishop John Hopkins is urging United Methodists to act. “This mass shooting calls us to mourn, pray, remember innocent lives lost, and strengthen our resolve to find ways to address the growing epidemic of gun violence in the United States,” wrote the interim bishop of the Northern Illinois Conference in a statement. Candle image courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by UM News.

Bishop responds to Independence Day shooting

After a mass shooting claimed seven lives and injured dozens of others at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., Bishop John Hopkins is urging United Methodists to act.

Local Church

Josephine Kwamboka, 12, fetches water from a tap installed by First United Methodist Church of Moheto, Kenya. Prior to the installation of the well, children traveled great distances each day to find water in streams and ponds. Waterborne illnesses have decreased significantly since the well was drilled. Photo by Gad Maiga, UM News.

Kenyan church provides clean, safe water

Today, some 2,000 community members, including 500 pupils at Moheto Primary School, benefit from a borehole project in rural Kenya.

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