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National Youth Event is a once-in-a-lifetime
experience! Every four years, United Church of Christ youth gather
from across the country to engage in this incredibly fun and
faith-feeding experience. Until the last General Synod, no U.C.C.
gathering was larger than NYE! See below for answers to your NYE
questions and information on how to register.
Registration:
http://www.ucc.org/youth/pdfs/nye-preregistration-form.pdf
Travel:
Group Travel Registration Form
Conference age recommendations –
a
letter from the Youth and Young Adult Working Group
Q: NYE – What is it all about?
A: Check out the NYE info and video at
www.ucc.org/youth/nye
Q: NYE – Who is it for?
A: NYE is open to youth ages 13-18, although the national
website also uses the phrase, “high school youth.” Although the
decision for who to invite to NYE is up to the local churches, it
is the feeling of the Youth and Young Adult Working Group of our
conference (YAYA) that NYE is an event more appropriate to high
school youth. For our reasoning on this, please follow this link:
(link to age recommendations)
Q: Are we traveling as a group to Knoxville, Tennessee or
do I organize that?
A: Missouri Mid-South Conference participants will be
traveling on two buses to Knoxville, Tennessee. One bus will be
originating out of Wichita, Kansas on the evening of July 23rd and
making stops along I-70 (such as in K.C., Higginsville junction
and Columbia). The other bus will be originating out of St. Louis
at 5:00 AM on July 24th and picking up people in the Illinois
South Conference on the way to Knoxville. The cost for
transportation is $120 per person.
Q: $120 sounds like a lot of money on top of the $345 for
NYE registration. What are the negatives and complicating factors
of driving one’s own group?
A: The negatives are having to make the travel arrangements
yourself, no rest time for adult leaders who serve as drivers (the
youth will be ready to go when you get to TN and you might not
be…), you’ll miss out on bonding time with other church groups
from your conference and finally, unless you have a church bus,
volunteers donating gas and mileage or rental connections, you
won’t save much money. Complicating factors you also need to think
about and address are whether your church’s insurance will allow
for youth to be transported to the event in the manner you are
choosing and whether they have special requirements. For instance,
some church insurance policies will not allow youth to sit in the
backs of 15 passenger vans (or possibly in 15 passenger vans at
all). As well, many insurance companies require those that drive
youth to have a Class E chauffeur’s driver’s license and be age 25
or older.
Q: I want to travel on the conference bus, but live in the
southern part of the state, Little Rock, Memphis or another
location of the conference (not near the I-70 path of the second
bus) that makes it hard to get to St. Louis by 5:00 AM.
A: We’ve thought of two options that we hope will help.
First, the church where our 5:00 AM pick-up is taking place has
showers. You are welcome to come the night before if you let us
know in advance. As well, our buses should be traveling through
Paducah, KY on the way to Knoxville. If it would be easier for you
to get to Paducah, we could pick you up there.
Q: How do I register my group?
A: Follow these steps:
STEP ONE: Pre-registration
Follow this link and fill out the pre-registration form for
your entire group:
http://www.ucc.org/youth/pdfs/nye-preregistration-form.pdf
Return this form and one check that includes a $25/per person
event registration deposit to the University of Tennessee address
indicated on the form. DO NOT SEND THESE DEPOSITS TO THE
CONFERENCE OFFICE. We are not expecting them and they will be
greatly delayed in getting to the university (which means you will
not receive your full registration packets in a timely manner).
Make sure that on your pre-registration form, you checkmark “I am
a youth group leader bringing a group.”
STEP TWO: Full Event Registration
Once you complete and submit the pre-registration form to the
University of TN with a non-refundable deposit of $25 per person,
you will be mailed a full NYE registration packet (which will have
more detailed information regarding the event, workshops,
accommodation, etc.) Have participants fill these out. THEN MAKE
TWO COPIES of each person’s registration packets, and mail the
originals to the university as indicated on the packets and on the
national website. Include ONE CHECK for the remainder of your
registration costs, as instructed on the national website:
www.ucc.org/youth/nye
STEP THREE: Conference Pre-registration
Of the two registration packet copies you made for each NYE
participant, please keep one copy for your records. Then please do
the following:
1) Send the second copy of all NYE participants’ registration
packets to the Missouri Mid-South Conference office (for
conference records, housing purposes and further NYE activity
organizing).
2) Along with these copies, please fill out the NYE
Group Travel Registration Form
3) Please make out ONE CHECK that includes a non-refundable $25
deposit for each person riding to NYE on the conference bus.
Checks should be made payable to MMS-UCC.
4) Mail registration packet copies, the group travel registration
form and your church check for travel deposits to the conference
office, no later than April 30th:
Missouri Mid-South Conference – NYE 2008
411 E. Lockwood Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63119
STEP FOUR: Completing Travel Registration
Please submit one check for the remaining amount of travel
costs ($95 per person if the deposit was $25 per person), payable
to MMS-UCC and mailed to the same 411 E. Lockwood address. THESE
FINAL TRAVEL PAYMENTS ARE DUE BY JUNE 1ST.
Q: Will there be time for youth from our conference to bond
with one another?
A: We are trying to make sure that there is! This is part
of the reason conference travel plans and conference knowledge of
participation is helpful. Besides seeking to travel to the event
as a conference, we will be housed by floors as conferences. As
well, many conferences arrange end-of-the-evening vespers services
if volunteer leadership is willing. And even just walking around
on campus – youth tend to greet one another by what conference
they come from: “Hey Iowa!” “Hey Hawaii!” National Youth Event is
a great place for youth to not only realize their identity as a
member of the United Church of Christ, but to grasp their part in
the smaller covenantal group that is their conference.
Q: Who do I contact if I have questions about NYE
registration or travel details?
A: Please contact Youth and Young Adult Working Group
Associate, Karin Oelzen at Immanuel UCC in Ferguson: 314-521-7324
or by e-mail:
koelzen@immanuelucc.org
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