Illinois Conference of Churches

03/13/2026

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/scialabba-iran-war-trump-international-law-israel?utm_source=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_campaign=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_medium=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_term=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&check_logged_in=1

I, Father Kevin Laughery, strongly recommend this essay by George Scialabba and published in Commonweal.

The war on Iran is yet another reminder that the world will never be safe until the United States accepts and abides by international law.

12/06/2025

We are happy to feature here a report on a member of our Leadership Team and his most eloquent Nativity scene.

(RNS) — 'We know that Jesus was born into a Roman imperial occupation, and pretty much immediately becomes a refugee in Egypt, has to flee and faces political violence,' the Rev. Michael Woolf said.

11/13/2025

On November 12, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a "special message" regarding immigration and deportation:

The bishops issued a Special Message addressing their concern for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States. It marked the first time ...

10/09/2025

Pope Leo XIV has issued the first major teaching document of his papacy. It is addressed "to all Christians" and is on "love for the poor."

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION   DILEXI TE  OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV  TO ALL CHRISTIANS  ON LOVE FOR THE POOR [ Multimedia ] _____________________

10/02/2025

09/25/2025

The ICC Leadership Team greatly enjoyed the National Workshop on Christian Unity at the ELCA HQ in Chicago, September 8-10. Next year's National Workshop on Christian Unity will take place at the same location, Tuesday through Thursday, November 17-19, 2026. Information: nwcu.org

We also enjoyed being hosted at the ELCA the following day, Thursday, September 11, for a productive meeting -- actually, the Annual Assembly -- by which we are moving forward to engage our various publics.

08/24/2025

The Increasing Popularity of Church Hopping
August 24, 2025

More Christians are participating in the religious services within multiple denominations, both in person and online. Increasingly, Christians seek the variety of messages and worship styles they can get from "church hopping." This is shown in the exhibit at the bottom of this post, done by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research.

A member of the Illinois Conference of Churches leadership team, Rev. Michael Woolf, was featured in a story about this trend in the National Catholic Reporter. He is the senior minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, a congregation affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA.
He made the interesting point about the sophistication of modern worshipers, "People are better consumers than they used to be, as far as being able to understand keywords and how churches position themselves, what they talk about on the website, what they talk about in service."
He went on to characterize the position of some of his congregants: “This church does this well, that church does that well, and we're going to put them together to make the more fulsome religious experience we want.”
Rev. Woolf and his peer ministers recognize that competition for a Sunday audience is vigorous. Young people, in particular, seem to be happy to mix and match church devotions to piece together strands of Christian messages that fit their lives today. Thus, an evangelical Christian sermon with traditional values might be matched with more progressive and contemporary messaging.
For more on this story, see the August 24, 2025 issue of the National Catholic Reporter:
https://www.ncronline.org/news/church-membership-may-be-declining-many-churchgoers-are-double-dosing

07/29/2025

A Call for Compassionate Action in Gaza
July 27, 2025
From the Leadership Team of the Illinois Conference of Churches

The Illinois Conference of Churches urgently calls upon the United States government to exert its full influence on the government of Israel to ensure the immediate and unimpeded delivery of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential resources to the people of Gaza.
Daily reports from credible humanitarian organizations reveal staggering levels of suffering. People of goodwill across the globe are rightly outraged. It is indisputable that innocent civilians—unconnected to the political and military conflict between the Israeli government and Hamas—are enduring horrific pain. More than 100 non-profit organizations from over a dozen nations have issued a unified appeal for swift and effective humanitarian relief. See full list here.
The current aid delivery system is woefully inadequate, and its failure is exacerbated by the reckless use of force—including bombings and gunfire—by the Israeli Defense Forces. These actions further endanger relief efforts and deepen the humanitarian crisis.
As a faith-based organization committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ—whose compassion extended even to perceived enemies—we believe it is a moral imperative to speak out. Silence in the face of suffering is not an option. We therefore petition both the governments of Israel and the United States to immediately facilitate the orderly and secure delivery of humanitarian aid. The excuses offered for the breakdown in aid distribution are neither credible nor consistent with the values of humane governance.
We pray to God that food and medicine reach those in need. Yet we recognize that even the delivery of sustenance cannot undo the devastation of the past 21 months: homes destroyed, livelihoods lost, education interrupted, and families shattered. It is difficult to imagine a single Gazan household untouched by death or disability. We fear that the suffering of the Palestinian people will be dismissed in favor of lucrative redevelopment plans. But we urge all to remember the words popularized by Pope Paul VI, rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures: “If you want peace, work for justice.”
Let us be clear: this is not a partisan statement. We do not take sides in political negotiations, nor do we conflate the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the entirety of Israel or the Jewish faith. Judaism, like Christianity, is a tradition of profound moral depth. Jews and Christians alike are anguished by the terrorist attack that ignited this nightmare. Our shared hope is for peace grounded in justice—for all people.