World Communion of Reformed Churches
Delegate Information
Invitation to Name Delegates
The dates of the 27th General Council are 14 to 23 October 2025. Participants are expected to arrive in Chiang Mai by the evening of 13 October and to depart from Chiang Mai any time after 3:00 pm on 23 October.
Member churches should name their delegates as soon as possible. We should receive the names of your delegations by 31 July 2024. As you name your delegates, please adhere to the constitutionally-mandated categories below. Please note by the name whether the person is male or female, for any young person indicate “born after 10 October 1995,” and feel free to use titles to denote whether the person is ordained or not.
Please send your delegate names to gc2025@wcrc.eu, by post to: World Communion of Reformed Churches, Knochenhauerstr. 42, 30159 Hannover, Germany, or by fax: +49 511 8973 8311.
Delegation Composition
According to the WCRC Constitution, the number of voting delegates is based on the size of a member denomination:
- Up to four voting delegates for churches with up to 300,000 members
- Up to six voting delegates for churches from 300,001 to 1,000,000 members
- Up to eight voting delegates for churches with 1,000,001 or more members
In addition, each delegation must be gender balanced, no more than half may be clergy, and one member must be thirty-years-old or younger when the Council is convened (for those delegations with multiple people).
Fees & Costs
There are two levels of registration fees:
- For a non-subsidized delegate: 500 euros
- For a subsidized delegate: 300 euros (see below for additional information)
Registration fees account for much of the cost of running the General Council, including room rentals, equipment, translation and interpretation, printing, additional staff support, etc. The registration fee does not cover costs for meals, accommodations, or travel.
Travel costs will be borne by each non-subsidized delegate. Travel costs for subsidized delegates will be fully covered. Note that this does not include costs for visa fees and home country ground transportation costs.
The costs of accommodation and breakfast are as follows:
- For non-subsidized delegates: Single room and breakfast is 480 euros for a person staying for 10 days and 528 euros per person for 11 days.
- For non-subsidized delegates: Double rooms (for persons willing to share room with another delegate), the room and breakfast will be 240 euros per person staying for 10 days and 264 euros for those staying for 11 days.
- For subsidized delegates: Single room and breakfast will have a surcharge of 240 euros for those staying for 10 days and 264 euros per person for 11 days.
- For subsidized delegates: Double rooms (for persons willing to share room with another delegate), the room and breakfast will be fully covered with no extra charge to the delegate.
The cost of other meals (lunch and dinner plus two coffee breaks):
- For non-subsidized delegates, the cost will be 320 euros per person for the duration of the Council. Extra meals taken with effect from the evening meal of 23 October will be the responsibility of the delegate.
- For a subsidized delegate, these costs will be covered by the subsidy package.
Subsidies
To ensure delegates can be present regardless of their financial circumstances, subsidies will be offered to cover travel, food, and housing costs. These subsidies will be prioritized to ensure that constitutional mandates on delegation balances are met.
A delegate who wishes to receive subsidies must pay both the 300 euro registration fee along with a 700 euro contribution fee, for a total of 1000 euros.
While the deadline for applying for subsidies is 31 December 2024, it will be prudent to make this application much earlier. Therefore, we encourage those churches which apply for subsidies to do so in this same period in which you are naming your delegates between now and 31 July 2024.
Subsidies to member church delegates are provided to ensure fair participation of delegations of WCRC member churches that are composed according to constitutional requirements. In view of the limited resources available, member churches should first ensure that all other avenues of support have been explored.
There is eligibility for subsidy where:
- it is understood that there would be difficulty in financing the full participation of the delegation;
- the membership contribution from 2017 to 2023 has been paid;
- a request for a reimbursement has been made to the General Secretary by the due date (initially by 31 July 2024, but at the very latest by 31 December 2024).
Priorities for the allocation of a subsidy will be in accordance with the following criteria:
- Churches whose delegations conform to the constitutional criteria regarding women, youth and lay persons;
- Churches which have paid membership contributions from 2017 to 2023;
- Churches which have committed to paying the 1,000 euros for each delegate (300 euros registration and 700 euros contribution towards participation);
- Paid travel, accommodation, and registration fees for at least one delegate.
If you think you meet these eligibility and priority criteria, then you may apply by downloading the submitting and subsidy application form.
Eligibility
To register a delegation for the General Council, a member church must be in good standing with the Communion, which includes being current on membership dues payments. To enquire about the status of your church’s payments, please send an email to Anna Krüger: anna.krueger@wcrc.eu.
Questions?
Questions about the 2025 General Council may be sent to gc2025@wcrc.eu.