Lay and Clergy Members of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference,
Out of abundance of caution, I am announcing new dates and rescheduling our Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference Session to be held on August 14-15, 2020 at the Peoria Convention Center.
In order to help us further limit potential exposure, this will be a shortened, two-day Annual Conference Session beginning on Friday morning and concluding with our Ordination Service on Saturday morning. We are still planning times of worship, decision-making, information, and celebration. We are also planning times of prayer for healing and opportunities for proclaiming our hope in God’s power over illness and disease. We will be making changes to our standard agenda, and we will likely have to temporarily set aside some of our regular activities and traditions.
I know that many of you will have questions about the details of Annual Conference Session. I’ve asked our leaders to compile a Frequently Asked Questions sheet,which is attached to this letter. We hope that this will address many of your questions, but feel free to reach out with any additional questions to the people listed as contacts at the end of the FAQ sheet.
This is an unexpected and unusual circumstance, but we know that we serve a God whose specialty is bringing victory out of difficult circumstances. Even if we have never experienced something like this before, we know that we serve a God who has seen everything and prevailed. I am looking forward to this opportunity to gather to celebrate our connection and offer our shared worship to our glorious God.
God bless,
Bishop Frank J. Beard