Illinois South Conference COVID-19 Response
UPDATE #13, June 15, 2020
ISC Spirit
If you know of stories that show people being the church, please send it to ISCspirit@iscucc.org. Share the stories that are warming your heart. #ISCspirit.
Ruthann Redmond has started a business that makes handmade masks. She also donates masks to healthcare workers. You can read about her efforts here. Ruthann is a member of Evangelical UCC in Highland, and she’s served on Conference Council.
On Saturday June 6, St. John UCC in Fairview Heights helped their community’s Food Pantry reopen by running a drive-thru food collection. The event was spearheaded by Nancy Eisenhauer and Jan Miller, members of the church. With help from the entire community, 510 items and $480 were collected in 2 hours. Pictured are the “crew” in their new church masks. Submitted by Rev. Rosemary Captain
St. Paul in Nashville is teaming up with Prairie Farms to provide free milk. Every Friday in June, Prairie Farms is providing St. Paul with half gallons of 2% milk that can be distributed free to people in the community as well as shared with our Region 7 food pantry. People can come to the church to pick it up themselves, or if unable to come - volunteers deliver to their doorsteps.
In April, St. Paul joined with Maschhoff Farms to provide local families with free 15 # boneless hams. All part of St. Paul's mission to change the world one life at a time. Submitted by Rev. Bev Kahle
Evangelical UCC in Highland sent a $5000 Hallelujah Grant to DuBois Center. The church started the Hallelujah Grants to help people or organizations with projects they wanted to do. Folks there knew DuBois could use some financial assistance right now, and their IMT team approved the grant. Several grants have been approved during the COVID-19 pandemic, including some to members in need. Thank you so much for the gift to DuBois, Evangelical UCC! Submitted by Rodney Knackstedt
Children at Salem UCC in Alhambra recently operated a lemonade stand, with half the proceeds benefiting the church Lunch Bunch program. From left to right are, Emma, Nolan and Maddy Luitjohan
Thank you to these churches for their OCWM donations received last week. These donations continue to support all the work of the Conference.
Centralia- St. Peter UCC
Darmstadt- Holy Ghost UCC
East St. Louis- Good Shepherd of Faith
Fairview Heights- St. John UCC
Godfrey- Evangelical UCC
Hecker – Friedens UCC
New Hanover– Zoar UCC
Pana– United in Faith Church
Troy– Friedens UCC
Waterloo – St. Paul UCC
And anonymous gifts from individuals
Helpful Information
- Take time to read this poignant essay by Rev. Starsky Wilson, President and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation, titled How do you handle Black Death? Wilson is also the former pastor of St. John’s UCC – The Beloved Community in St. Louis.
- Unsure where to start learning about system racism? Victoria Alexander, an anti-racism researcher, has created a very helpful Anti-Racism Resource Guide. You can get it here. In includes term definitions, books, movies, TV shows, podcasts, important organizations, and much more.
- Embrace Race has created a list of children’s books that support discussing race. You can find the book list here.
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture, a part of the Smithsonian Institution, has opened the Talking about Race web portal. The site helps people explore issues of race, racism and racial identity.
- For the first time, the United Church of Christ General Synod will gather virtually. The 33rd Synod scheduled for next year will be moving entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here for more details.
- Please note: Our last edition of the COVID-19 Update will be June 29 unless there is a situation which warrants us updating you with new, pertinent information. However, please keep those ISC Spirit stories coming, as we will continue to feature them in Weekly Connection.
Worship Resources
- The Conference Local Church Ministries Team is producing a worship service that will be shared before Sunday, June 28. Pastors in the Conference can plan now to use this video, and can take a Sunday off from preparing worship.
- We have more worship resources on the Conference website, with a link on the home page.
Together in Christ's ministry with you,