CMA Spring Meeting
May 4 @ 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Chicago Metropolitan Association Spring Meeting
Saturday, May 4, 2024
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The Church of the Good Shepherd
5770 S Prairie, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Join your friends and colleagues from the Chicago Metropolitan Association on Saturday, May 4, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at The Church of the Good Shepherd, celebrating this year’s theme, ubuntu – “I am because we are.”
The cost is $15 with advanced registration and $20 at the door. The registration cost includes a hot breakfast provided by Nicole Jordan Catering and lunch from Yassa African Restaurant and Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen. Please note any dietary restrictions/needs during registration.
This is a hybrid event and you can participate in person or online. One workshop in each session will by hybrid. The full agenda and workshop information can be found below.
You can pay online directly when registering (choose “Pay Now”) OR you can pay by check (choose “Pay In-Person”). If paying by check:
- Please make checks payable to “Illinois Conference UCC” and include “CMA 2024 Spring Meeting” in the memo line.
- Mail the check along with a copy of your registration confirmation to: Illinois Conference UCC, 1840 Westchester Blvd Suite 200, Westchester, IL 60154.
- OR you can pay at the door on May 4th.
The deadline to register is Monday, April 29th. You can register at the door, but the price will be increased to $20. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
Register online here. If you need assistance registering, please contact the Conference Office (708-344-4470) and talk to Sarah or Naomi.
Meeting Agenda
9:00 – 10:00 – Breakfast and registration
10:00 – 10:30 – Worship
10:45 – 12:00 – Main Session (in sanctuary)
12:00 – 12:45 – Lunch
1:00 – 1:50 – Workshops Round 1
2:00 – 2:50 – Workshops Round 2
3:00 – Closing Song and Benediction
Workshops Round 1:
1. Governance Presentation
2. Love in Action: Intersectionality of Faith, Restorative Justice, Human Rights and the Rights of the Child
Building community cohorts to address human and civil rights issues. A case study: Addressing disproportionate infant and mother mortality.
3. Theopoetics, Theology, & the Arts: Connection through Creation
Experience theological process beyond perfected sentences and words by embarking on the active and embodied journey of making something. Let go of judging your art as “good” or “bad”, and begin to grasp new questions such as where your heart is sensing God within the act of creating as a spiritual discipline and divine invitation. This workshop is for ALL artistic experience levels. Come play!
Workshops Round 2:
1. Stewardship
Flushing out the Stronger Together presentation that was presented for the the first time at the Fall Meeting, this workshop will allow participants to go through the passages in our sacred text to see how as churches we can be in better relationship with one another and the Conference as to support our churches in becoming more effective stewards of our respective ministries.
2. Preventing and Addressing Church Hurt: Understanding Trauma and Promoting Resilience.
Explores the cycle of “hurt people hurting people” in congregations and communities and how to end the cycle through Biblical, restorative and practical ways of promoting resilience.
3. Church Beyond the Building: A Conversation Digital Community
As technology continues to change and become a bigger part of our lives, how are you reaching your members and communities on a regular basis? Are you setting up systems for supporting others and expanding your church’s impact? Taking a look at some strategies and options for strengthening your ministries potential impact through technology.