Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook
email addresses for nearly 17,000, meaning our reach will increase three to four-fold. However, we also realize that some rely on the print version and we are presently exploring if a subscription-based print option is feasible to produce for $25 to $30 per year per subscriber. More information will be shared in late spring. These changes are necessary in order to operate on less money and higher costs with both printing and postal expenses. We thank Devoria Barner, our former database manager, for her three years of service to the Conference as we move into the development of new integrations to our conference database. The Conference Dashboard was used by churches these past two years as a gateway for information from the Conference. The interactivity provides a way to have information quicker and more accurately by enabling churches to submit those corrections throughout the year. A clergy portal will be launched in the summer that will enable clergy to maintain the information on themselves. Conversations have already begun to include providing similar dashboards for lay servants, certified lay ministers and local church leaders. Michele Willson, our Assistant to the Director as well as our Communications Specialist, keeps things running in an efficient manner. Her variety of skills and sense of collaboration has been a major asset to our team. She has handled with grace and great proficiency her expanded portfolio that includes working with event planning for Annual Conference and Covenant Keepers and taking on some of the responsibilities with the database brought on by Devoria’s departure. Our Director of Communications Paul Black, has consulted with churches regarding their communications needs. During the past year, he has had more than 20 consultations on audio-visual and streaming questions, website development and other communication issues. Finally, we are indebted to the faithful generosity of the IGRC congregations, who through their payment of apportionments, have continued to enable our ministry. Susan Schultz, Chair IGRC Commission on Communications Commission on Equitable Compensation The responsibilities of the Commission on Equitable Compensation are outlined in The Book of Discipline 2020/2024, ¶624. Our primary work is to assist local churches that are having difficulty providing the pastor’s salary. The commission is the last step in a review process that includes the local pastor, the SPRC, the District Superintendent, and the Cabinet. Requests then come to the commission to make a final decision on funding. In our conference, the maximum a church can receive for such supplementation is 20% of the minimum salary set by the conference. In addition, no church can receive funds for more than three years. Many churches receive funds for less than this three-year maximum. In 2024, funds distributed to churches across the conference totaled $31,415. A second task of the commission is to bring legislation to the annual conference each year setting the minimum salary for full-time clergy in full connection, associate members, provisional elders, provisional deacons, and local pastors. The commission
230 Ministry Reports
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