PEORIA, Ill. — The Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference gathered June 6-8 with “Our Time to Dance,” the final of four themes focusing on a quadrennial theme of “God Has Made Everything Beautiful in His Time,” based upon Ecclesiastes 3.
The theme figured prominently throughout the conference session. Liturgical dancers were a part of both the Laity Session and Service of Ordination. The Retiree Recognition Service included a prelude offered by the nationally-recognized drumline of the Peoria Manual High School band.
During the conference, two pieces of legislation related to the recently completed General Conference was approved. The Annual Conference, on a 457-144 vote, approved a resolution supporting the creation of several educational opportunities for conference members before the ratification vote at the 2025 Annual Conference.
In a second legislative item, the conference approved a resolution on LGBTQ inclusion, 433-177, that authorized the creation of a conference-level LGBTQ Ministry Team that will curate, create and share resources for churches that wish to expand its ministry to the LGBTQ community.
In anticipation of a special called session of General Conference in 2026, the Conference voted 365-235 to hold new elections in 2025 — the first since the current delegation was seated in 2019.
Special offerings during the Annual Conference included: $4,616.04 for the John Kofi Asmah School in Liberia; $6,377 for the Tom Brown Scholarship at Wiley College; $6,721 for the Joyce Helm Francis Endowed Scholarship at Africa University; and $5,338.74 for the Ordinands’ Trip for the classes of 2023 and 2024 to visit the missionary journeys of Paul in spring 2025. In addition, 1,857 pounds of various materials were collected for the Midwest Mission Distribution Center. A Thursday Hands-On Mission Experience resulted in 170 student kits, 170 personal dignity kits and 1,052 rice meal bags.
A total of 29 retirees with a combined more than 752 years of service were recognized. A memorial service remembering clergy, clergy spouses and lay members to Annual Conference that had passed away in the previous year and remembrance of 19 congregations with a combined 2,797 years of ministry that have completed their mission — Asbury (Altamont Circuit); Ashland; Beckemeyer; Brownstown; Cabery; Cowden; Decatur: Christ; Granite City: Dewey Avenue; Elkhart; Essex; Farmersville; Flora: Trinity; Galva: Grace; Hebron; Hume; Joppa; Monica; Olmsted and Zion Chapel (Boody).
Conference trustees also announced that a plan for exit for churches seeking to depart as the result of actions taken by the 2024 General Conference is being developed. The plan, which would close the church as a United Methodist congregation, would require the payment of two years’ worth of apportionments, the church’s pro-rata portion of the conference’s unfunded pension liability and a 10% surcharge for releasing the trust clause, allowing the conveyance of property.
The Annual Conference approved a 2025 budget of $8,013,000 — a reduction of 7.91% over 2024 and nearly 36% over the past five years. With apportionments being relatively flat over the past 10 years, the $8,013,000 total will be financed by $6.74 million apportioned to the churches and $1.273 million from conference reserve funds. The $8,013,000 total is the lowest in the history of the 27-year-old conference that merged in 1996. The conference’s financial health has remained strong as 2023 ended with a surplus of $131,404 and an apportionment collection rate of 93.49% collection rate.
The 2025 budget and its corresponding apportionment is roughly 11.5% of local church operational expenditures and the Conference Council on Finance and Administration is working to bring that total down to 10% in order to maintain a collection rate of 90% or greater.
A major part of the 2025 budget reduction comes from the reduction of general church apportionments which were approved at the 2024 General Conference. General church apportionments dropped 24.48% for the 2025-28 quadrennium for a reduction of $583,163 of the $688,500 in budget reductions.
Legislatively, the conference approved that the health insurance allowance paid to full-time pastors will be $18,000 for 2025 — the first raise since 2015 when the allowance was set at $17,500. The conference also approved a 3.3% increase to its minimum salaries. In 2025, the salaries will go to $52,100 for clergy in full connection, associate members and provisional elders; and $47,809 for full-time local pastors.
Retirees under the pre-1982 pension plan will see a 2% increase to $879 per active service year in 2025, funded by a gift from Preachers' Aid Society and Benefit Fund. The conference also approved updated eligibility rules for the IGRC Medicare supplement for retired clergy. Preachers’ Aid Society currently provides $1.25 million annually to finance this benefit.
The Clergy Session approved the election of five elders in full connection. They also approved the recognition of orders of one elder and celebrated with five local pastors on their completion of the Course of Study.
Membership stands at 87,642. Average worship attendance is 26,782 and online worship totals 17,855. Professions of faith were at 278 by confirmation and 495 by other than confirmation. Baptisms totaled 621.
The 2025 Annual Conference will be held June 5-7, 2025, at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria.
Paul Black, director of communication ministries, Illinois Great Rivers Conference