Open Space is a time for people to gather in small groups around an interested topic. You pick the topic.

Open Space Guidelines:

• Whoever comes is the right person.
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could.
• Whenever it starts is the right time.
• When it’s over, it’s over.
• The Law of Mobility: if you are neither learning nor contributing, join another session where you will be inspired.
• Be prepared to be surprised.

Hi Folks!

Presbyterian Youth Triennium is quickly approaching (July 16-20th, 2013)! Thank you all for your interest and for coming to the Open Space at the last Presbytery Meeting. The Presbytery of San Francisco Triennium Team is still in its initial planning mode (registration doesn’t open until the end of January) but we will be using this email (sfpbytriennium@gmail.com) to be in communication with you. We hope to get a time line out to you this month about deadlines and what not.

In the meantime, please check out the Triennium 2013 website (http://presbyterianyouthtriennium.org/) for more information. I’ve also pasted some FAQs below.  Please forward this email on to folks who might be interested (and please add this email address to your contact list so it doesn’t go into the spam folder!)

Thanks,

Heather and the rest of the Triennium Planning Team

________
heather leanne grantham
918-520-3362
heatherlygrantham@gmail.com

____

F.A.Q.

Here are some of the most recent questions we’ve received!

General

Who can attend?

High school age youth who attends a Cumberland Presbyterian church or a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Youth = entering high school freshmen through graduated seniors. *Adult advisors (adult chaperones) must be 21 years and older and be active in youth ministry or be experienced in supervising youth excursions. * Adult advisors must be invited by the sponsoring delegation, and be able to provide a completed and approved background check.

How do you travel to Triennium? Or how do you register?

You can come as a part of a Triennium delegation (delegation = a group of youth and adult chaperones who come from either a presbytery in one of the two sponsoring denominations or from a church in one of the two sponsoring denominations). All youth and adult advisor (chaperones) participants must be registered as a group/delegation.

Who handles my registration?

Your REGISTRAR! A Triennium registrar is a volunteer who is appointed by a presbytery or a church to handle Triennium promotion, registration, financial administration, pre event plans, travel arrangements and other important details. Sometimes registrars work alone. Sometimes (often as a matter of fact) a delegation will appoint a registrar and the registrar will invite a small team to work alongside. We highly recommend the team approach! Registrars do not have to attend the Triennium. Registrars must be A) Appointed by the church or presbytery (as excited as you might be about being a registrar it’s important that you are invited to do so by either your presbytery or your church – depending on what type of delegation you are coordinating). For more information about being a registrar, registrar responsibilities, contact form, see the REGISTRAR pages on this site.

How does information about Triennium get out to the church?

You usually learn about Triennium from your presbytery (a presbytery is a cluster of Presbyterian churches from cities that are near or “regionally” near to each other. Both the Cumberland church and the PC(U.S.A) have presbyteries. If you have a question about which presbytery you belong to – you can ask your pastor, youth worker, church educator or contact us! Most presbyteries send a group to Triennium. If your presbytery does not opt to send a group to Triennium, don’t be sad. You could possibly come with another group (presbytery or church). A group can be as few as 3 or as many as … well … as many as your presbytery or church can send! Sponsoring denominations will also send promotional materials to every presbytery AND to every congregation who requests information. Information regarding the Triennium will also be available on the websites of both sponsoring denominations.

Registration Timeline/Deadline?

Triennium registration opens January 31, 2013. Triennium registration closes May 31, 2013. On May 31, 2013 at 5:00pm any registration that comes in after the 5pm deadline will be assessed a $40.00 per registration late fee. WATCH OUT FOR THE LATE FEE! It’s an automatic fee that is not negotiable. So, plan to … make your plans and get registered by 4:59pm May 31^st

How do I actually register?

Your REGISTRAR will actually complete your registration using an online registration link that is administered by Purdue University Conference Division. You will likely be asked to complete a personal information form that your registrar will then use to input your registration data. Aren’t registrars the BEST?

What else will I need in order to be … official?

Youth who are registered to attend the Triennium must have a Parental Permission and Medical Release transaction. This will most likely be a simple link to the Triennium website where your parent/guardian can give an electronic permission and medical insurance/release information to Purdue. This information is required for ALL PYT participants (youth and adults) but for youth we must have a parent signature or electronic signature. We will be in communication with the registrars later in the process about how this will work.

Becoming a part of the Triennium community!

Start now! Join the Presbyterian Youth Triennium Facebook group! Begin talking with your registrar about a delegation t-shirt and trading pin. Watch the Facebook page for pre-event announcements and fun challenges!

Costs

What are the costs for different participants?

• Youth: $469.00
• Adult Advisors: $469.00
• Small Group Leaders: No charge

*All volunteers are invited to donate a $100 “Volunteer Gift” to help covering their costs for housing and food.  But this is an option not a requirement.

• Work Crew: $439.00
• Observers/Guests: $649.00 (Includes single room and bath)

When do we make payments for our delegates?

Payments can be made all at once or in installments from the time registration opens on January 31, 2013 through the time registration closes, May 31, 2013.  After May 31, 2013, 5pm Eastern, a late fee of $40.00 per registration is added to the registration fee.

All registration fees must be paid in completion in order for a registration to be final and in order for a participant to be present at Triennium.

How do I plan to cover the registration and travel costs?

Many Triennium delegations operate using a “1/3” plan. 1/3 of the funding comes from the individual, 1/3 from the church and 1/3 from fundraising. It is up to each delegation to determine how they will manage the finances. Triennium delegations will generally travel together to Purdue, the site of the event.

Work Crew

Work Crew applications and a Work Crew position description are available as a PDF here.

What is the deadline for application?

Applications should be submitted between December 2012 and April 2013.  It is possible for the Work Crew spots to be filled before the April 2013 date.  We recommend sending in your application earlier rather than later.

What does work crew do?

Work Crew serve as behind the scenes leadership for all aspects of Triennium production.  Set up, sorting, staffing, tear down and safety.  Work Crew word hard and long hours.  Work Crew members stay together in the deluxe residential housing, eat together and enjoy free time and worship together.  See the full description on the website.

What age are Work Crew members?

College age.  Post high school (out of high school for one year) through age 22.

Background Checks

Who needs to complete a background check?

ALL adults (anyone over the age of 18) must have a completed and approved background check.  So, this means most Work Crew members, volunteers and adult advisors.  Triennium staff, leadership and coordinators also complete background checks.

Who is responsible for doing a background check?

A background check is actually “done” by an accredited, legal organization.  The background check process is overseen by the registrar and the sponsoring church or presbytery supervising the registrar.  For Triennium volunteers and leader background checks are managed by the Triennium staff.

Do you recommend a particular company to do background checks?

Yes.  We do!

The Triennium office works with a national agency, Praesidium, Inc, to administer background screening.  Praesidium, Inc. is a highly regarded, well reputed organization that works with a number of national organizations and religious organizations to provide abuse prevention screening and training.

For registrars:

If you are in need of an organization to assist you with background checks for your adult advisors and adult work crew members we high recommend that you contact Praesidium, Inc.  http://www.praesidiuminc.com/

Praesidium is pleased to work with registrars to set up small and simple contracts.

Housing

Do presbytery delegations and church delegations from the same presbytery stay in the same residence halls (dorms)?

Yes.  We try very hard to place groups coming from the same regions, cities, states in the same residence halls.  Occasionally this cannot happen because a particular delegation has a special need and must be assigned to a special residence hall.  But, by and large, we try to house groups together so that they build community and friendships that will travel “back home” after the event.

Are residence halls (dorms) air conditioned?

Some are.  Some are not.  It’s about ½ and ½ for the allotted Triennium rooms.  We do not guarantee anyone (except Work Crew members) an air conditioned room.  However, we do keep a tight record of registration by date.  After we assign special needs housing (for those with youth or adult participants in need of wheelchair access, elevators, etc.) we then begin with registrations in order of their receipt at Purdue.  Your chances for receiving an air conditioned room are better if you FINALIZE (meaning your registrations and your complete payment) your registration earlier rather than later.  But, it’s important to hear us say, we do not guarantee anyone an air conditioned room.  Having said that, however, thousands and thousands of people have attended the Triennium and not had air conditioning.  And they enjoyed themselves J  We recommend everyone pack a small fan.  We will also have a program for pre purchasing fans (more to come in Winter 2013).

Adult Advisors

What is the ratio of adult advisors to youth participants?

1 adult for 10 youth of the same gender.  So, if you have five female youth participants and 1 boy youth participant you will need at least one male and one female adult advisor.

Can we send more than the required number of adult advisors?

Yes!  We’d rather your “extra” adults not take the space of youth who are interested in attending or who could attend.  But, if you’ve got the space, budget and interest, we think that’s great!

Is there child care at Triennium?

No.  We do not offer child care for adult advisor children at the Triennium.  Adults who attend Triennium should have their full attention focused on the youth they are accompanying.  The Triennium is a fun event! But, the days are long and the attention needed by the youth is a full time “job” for adult advisors.  Occasionally an adult advisor must bring their child or younger youth.  As long as you’ve got adult advisors who can attend small groups, manage late night emergencies without asking for child care help from delegates, and who can manage the cost of using the other ½ of a shared dorm room you can bring a child.  We do not recommend this simply because we have seen it be very tough on adults trying to care for their children AND manage the role of adult advisor.

Misc.

Is there a limit to the number of attendees per presbytery or congregation?

There is not a limit or quota for a delegation.  *A delegation is a group that comes from either a church or presbytery.  There is, however, a limit to the total number of Triennium participants.  Registration is first come, first registered.  So, it’s best to register early and register everyone.  But, because registrations can be added and most people do not register early, generally you can add registrations after your initial registration transaction.

 Is there scholarship available for Triennium?

We offer delegations who travel long distance (further than a 10 hour drive) a small travel scholarship.  Registrars should contact the national PYT registrar (January 2013) to inquire about travel pool amounts and availability.  A travel pool request form can be found on the website under the Registration tab.

Do you have to be a Presbyterian or member of a Presbyterian church to attend PYT?

Youth participants should be active at a Presbyterian church (active in youth ministry, youth group and/or worship).  Adult advisors should be members of a Presbyterian church.  There are exceptions for both youth and adult participants.  We leave it to the discretion of the registrar.

What about attendees with special needs?

Almost all special needs can be managed and are indeed, welcomed at Triennium.  It is critical to complete the Special Needs sections on both the Participant Information Form and the Medical / Event Release form.  If you have a participant with unique needs or you would simply like to discuss this with us, please contact us.  Our national Triennium registrar will be available in January 2013 via email and phone.  Before January 2013 you can email the Triennium administrator:  Gina Yeager

Gina.yeager@pcusa.org

We have attendees with allergies, mobility issues, caregiver needs, parental supervision needs, medical/prescription needs.  We have experience in working with all kinds of needs.

Is there transportation at Purdue?

There is not transportation at the event – except for very limited transportation for those who injure themselves onsite or who are in a motorized chair/scooter.  Purdue is a large campus.  Flat but expansive.  Participants will walk several miles a day generally getting to and from activities, meals and their dorm.

If you have challenges with mobility (such as joint issues, knee injuries, stamina) you will want to carefully consider your ability to navigate the campus.  If walking is a challenge for you – you can look at bringing a bike, scooter or making an arrangement to rent a car or golf cart (at your cost).