For the first time, youth groups in the host presbyteries and around the country are being invited to participate as volunteers for 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), according to the Rev. Paula Sanders, executive coordinator of the Assembly’s Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA).

General Assembly runs July 3-10 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

A work group appointed by the COLA has worked to set a policy that both protects youth and allows for a broad variety of youth volunteer participation, Sanders pointed out.

Opportunities for youth volunteers will include airport and hotel welcoming, convention center greeting, packet preparation, worship usher, departure assistance and many others.

Interested youth groups should submit a Youth Volunteer Form, downloadable from the COLA Web site at www.cola2010.com or by contacting the COLA office at 612-871-2617. Volunteers must be at least 14 years old and entering ninth grade. Adult leadership is needed for every five youth volunteers and must be 21 years old with at least one adult over 25.

Youth leaders must submit proof of current background checks, and as youth groups arrive at volunteer check-in at General Assembly, they are required to submit signed copies of the Participant Covenant, Authorization for Medical Treatment and Permission Authorization for each youth participant.

Individual youth can also volunteer with a parent or guardian.

All expectations are specified in the Youth Volunteer Policy, which is also available on the COLA Web site along with all necessary forms. Anyone with questions can call the COLA office.

Involving youth volunteers has been a dream of the Committee on Local Arrangements since plans for hosting General Assembly began more than four years ago, according to Sanders. COLA believes that by accepting youth volunteers the church demonstrates the vital role youth have in the church and that volunteering serves as a way to teach youth what it means to be part of the Presbyterian denomination as we all, young and old alike, strive to be disciples in the world today, Sanders wrote.

No responses to this article yet