 4
different opportunities for volunteering
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Youth Servant Corps (for congregations in
the host synod. 4F)
With the Gathering comes a
unique opportunity for your congregation. All congregations
in the host synod have the opportunity to be part of the
Youth Servant Corps (YSC).
The Youth Servant Corps is
assigned to serve 2-4 hours each day during the Gathering.
The YSC assists program teams in a variety of ways. This is
a wonderful servant leadership opportunity, and you get to
see all the activity that goes on behind the scenes. YSC
groups will remain with their congregation while serving,
and will still have plenty of time to participate in other
aspects of the Gathering program. YSC volunteers receive a
reduction in their Gathering registration fee, and housing
(including breakfast) is provided at a downtown hotel.
If your congregation wants to
be part of the Youth Servant Corps, you can
register
on-line beginning May 15, 2008. The online registration
site will be open ONLY to congregations in the
Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod until September 15,
2008, when general registration opens. We can only guarantee
the YSC per-person registration fee of $200 until September
15 or until the YSC program is filled.
If accepted, you will be
notified by the Youth Servant Corps Manager, Erin Johnson,
no later than October 1, 2008.
For information or
questions:
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Community Life (formerly known as Hotel
Life)
Everyone begins and ends their day in
a hotel at the ELCA Youth Gathering. Morning programming
includes opportunities for worship, gatherings that help
youth get up and get going with music and community-building
activities. Some hotels even have exercise and yoga
sessions. Evening activities have often included dances,
live music clubs, game rooms, quiet spaces to hang out with
friends, and drop-in service experiences like preparing
school kits.
A Community Life Team staffs each
hotel and is responsible for providing hospitality, being a
conduit for communication with Gathering planners as well as
hotel staff, and troubleshooting situations that arise. A
Community Life Team consists of hotel pastors, adult
counselors, and young adult leaders who facilitate worship
and generally promote a healthy, fun, and faith-forming
experience for young people at the ELCA Youth Gathering.
Eligibility: Applicants
must be 19 years of age and at least out of high school
(successfully graduated) for one year at the time of the
Gathering. There is no upper age limit.
If accepted to serve on a
Community Life Team at the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering,
you will be responsible for the following:
- Transportation to and from
New Orleans, LA, and parking on-site, if applicable.
- Arrival in New Orleans by
1:00pm on Monday, July 20, 2009, and staying through
Sunday, July 26 until about 3:00pm.
The Gathering will provide the
following:
- Per diem or catered meals on
days of service at the Gathering.
- Complimentary hotel
accommodations, with check-in on Monday, July 20,
2009, and check out on Sunday, July 26, 2009. If
serving at MYLE and DAYLE you need to arrive on July
18 and check out on July 26. If you can serve on the
clean up crew, you need to arrive on July 20 and
check out on July 27. Housing will be provided
accordingly.
BEGIN the Gathering volunteer
application process. (The application process is
open until all the volunteer positions or programs are
filled. Applications and references are reviewed by the
ELCA Youth Gathering staff, and you will be notified if
you are selected to serve as a volunteer at the
Gathering.)
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Gathering Volunteer Corps (GVC)
The Gathering Volunteer Corps serves
in multiple capacities throughout the Gathering. This can
include, but is not limited to, ushering in the Superdome,
checking wristbands at Community Life activities, directing
foot traffic in the Interaction Center, helping with
registration, answering telephones, staffing an information
booth, or moving equipment in the Convention Center. The
Gathering Volunteer Corps also supports the Multicultural
Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the Definitely-Abled Youth
Leadership Event (DAYLE) which take place before the
Gathering, July 18-22, including training.
Eligibility: Applicants
must be 19 years of age and at least out of high school
(successfully graduated) for one year at the time of the
Gathering. There is no upper age limit.
If accepted to serve as a
member of the Gathering Volunteer Corps at the 2009 ELCA
Youth Gathering, you will be responsible for the
following:
- Transportation to and from
New Orleans, LA, and parking on-site, if applicable.
- Arrival in New Orleans by
5:00pm on Monday, July 20, 2009, and staying through
Sunday, July 26 until about 3:00pm.
The Gathering will provide the
following:
- Per diem or catered
meals on your days of service at the Gathering (and
MYLE/DAYLE, if applicable)
- Complimentary hotel
accommodations, with check-in on Monday, July 20,
2009, and check out on Sunday, July 26, 2009. If
serving at MYLE and DAYLE you need to arrive on July
18 and check out on July 26. If you can serve on the
clean up crew, you need to arrive on July 20 and
check out on July 27. Housing will be provided
accordingly.
BEGIN the Gathering volunteer
application process. (The application process is
open until all the volunteer positions or programs are
filled. Applications and references are reviewed by the
ELCA Youth Gathering staff, and you will be notified if
you are selected to serve as a volunteer at the
Gathering.)
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Servant Companion
We need 800 young adults,
ages 20 to 25, to be Servant Companions at the 2009 ELCA
Youth Gathering, July 20-26, 2009, in New Orleans.
Servant Companions will help lead 36,000 high school
youth and adult leaders through a variety of experiences
around the theme of Jesus Justice Jazz.
Each Servant Companion
will welcome, lead, facilitate, and care for groups of
45 youth and their adult leaders throughout the ELCA
Youth Gathering experiences in New Orleans. This will
include service projects, theological reflections, and
interactions with an area of justice.
If you are a person
who...
- Senses a calling for
youth ministry
- Is growing in your
theology and practices of faith
- Is excited by being
with high school youth
- Has an engaging and
confident voice that can command and energize a
group of 45
- Has a confident,
welcoming, life-affirming personality
- Listens carefully to
concerns and can help problem solve
- Can think on your
feet
- Learns names quickly
- Has experience with
small group facilitating skills
- Has an interest in
justice issues
- Can be okay with not
having all the answers
- Is able to listen
and wonder with youth about ambiguous ideas of
theology and sociological issues
- Is humble,
dependable and above all flexible -- The Gumby
Pledge!
Then we need you!
Apply today to join us as
a Servant Companion by going clicking on
BEGIN the Gathering volunteer
application. All applications must be completed and
submitted online, including a mandatory
background check and reference check.
Training and orientation
begins at 3:00pm on Monday, July 20, 2009. Servant
Companions complete their term of service on Sunday,
July 26, following closing worship. Housing and meals
will be provided throughout the time of service. Servant
Companions must secure their own transportation to and
from New Orleans. Materials will be provided to help
applicants who will be soliciting the funding for
transportation.
Servant Companions will
be led by a team of 27 Coaches trained and coordinated
by Lyle Griner, National Peer Ministry Director with The Youth &
Family Institute in Bloomington, MN. For more
information, send email to
gathering@elca.org
Eligibility: Applicants
must be between the ages of 20 and 25 by the time
of the Gathering.
If accepted to serve as a
Servant Companion at the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering, you
are responsible for the following:
- Transportation to and from
New Orleans, LA, and parking on-site, if applicable.
- Arrival before 3:00pm on
Monday, July 20, 2009.
- Departure after 3:00pm on
Sunday, July 26, 2009.
The 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering
will provide the following:
- Per diem or catered meals at
the training and on the days of service at the
Gathering.
- Complimentary triple
occupancy hotel accommodations, with check-in on
Monday, July 20, 2009, and check out on Sunday, July
26, 2009.
BEGIN the Gathering volunteer
application process. (The application process is
open until all the volunteer positions or programs are
filled. Applications and references are reviewed by the
ELCA Youth Gathering staff, and you will be notified if
you are selected to serve as a volunteer at the
Gathering.)
Learn more about
volunteering:
Gathering Home
Timeline
Talking Points (FAQs)
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