2017 General Council: Stewards Programme

A Lifelong and Global Experience for Reformed Youth!

The World Communion of Reformed Churches will hold its 26th General Council from 29 June to 7 July 2017. In this year that marks the common celebration of 500 years of the Reformation, the meeting will engage with the significance of the Reformation in our times. Some 1,100 participants are expected to come to Leipzig, Germany.

The Stewards Programme will take place in Leipzig from 22 June-9 July 2017. It will begin with the Global Youth Gathering followed by an orientation and finally the General Council itself.

The WCRC is seeking 70 stewards, 35 from Germany and 35 from the global membership of the WCRC. Applications are now invited for the Stewards Programme.

The work of the stewards is essential to the General Council. Without stewards making sure that rooms are set up, papers are distributed, mail is delivered, people are counted, etc., there would be no General Council at all! Therefore, being a steward means first of all a lot of hard work. Often this work is exhausting, intense and done under the pressure of time. The main tasks will be:

• Reception: receive participants as they arrive, make sure they know where they are staying, assist people with directions, etc.
• Administration: help to prepare, sort and deliver documents, etc.
• Communication: assist in the press room, sort mail, deliver messages, answer telephones, post messages, engage in social media, etc.
• Media: assist the media team (production of video clips, coverage of off-site events etc.)
• Plenary Sessions/Section Meetings: assist with distribution of documents, translation equipment, video screens, microphones, etc.
• Worship: assist worship leaders, distribute worship materials, etc.
• Trips: assist in the facilitation of the trips to Berlin and Wittenberg
• Cultural events: assist in the facilitation of the large Psalm Concert at the St. Nikolas Church and the social art projects all over Leipzig.

However, being a steward is not just work. Stewards will encounter the global family of Reformed churches at a time when they will be discussing important issues and making significant decisions. The time in Leipzig will be a time to learn, share, worship and celebrate. In a community of young people from different churches, countries, cultures and languages, stewards will form friendships and acquire enough memories to last a lifetime. You never know! Being a steward may change your life. It will surely change the way you look at the world and at your church.

Applicants must have the endorsement of their church denominations. The endorsement is a sign that the applicant’s church recognizes the applicant’s potential contribution to the Stewards Programme, will bring back skills that will help the youth movement of the church, and that the church is proud to send the applicant as a representative.

Stewards must be:

• Between the ages of 18-30;
• Willing to work long hours;
• Able to speak English and preferably one other supported language of the General Council (French, Spanish, Indonesian, Korean, German);
• Have some level of experience in administrative/logistical work, documentation and conference assistance;
• Willing to work as a team;
• Active members of a WCRC member church;
• Eager to contribute to, learn from, and share in international experiences;
• Endorsed by their church denomination’s officers.

Stewards will be volunteers. If the sending church denomination cannot support the steward’s travel, he or she may receive partial travel subsidy. As a minimal contribution a steward is expected to raise his/her local costs—for passports and local travel. Accommodation and meals for the duration of the General Council will be provided for by the General Council budget.

Application and endorsement process

1. Applicants should send the completed Stewards Programme Application Form to the office of their church domination by a date set by the church denomination.

2. The church denomination sends all applications with endorsements directly to the Stewards Programme coordinator:

Rev Werner Keil
World Communion of Reformed Churches
Knochenhauerstr. 42
30159 Hannover
Germany
Fax: +49 (511) 897 383-11
Email: werner.keil@wcrc.eu

3. Applications must be received in Hannover by 31 December 2016.

4. Successful applicants will be notified by 31 January 2017.

• Download the Stewards Programme application: PDF, Word Doc

For additional information, please email: werner.keil@wcrc.eu