The Los Angeles Religious Education Congress is committed to live our faith by protecting God's creation and advocating on behalf of people in poverty who face the hardest impact of global climate change. Affirming our desire to care for the earth, we encourage you (if possible) to choose the option of online registration for Congress 2010. This simple initiative will help reduce paper waste and ultimately help protect the environment. Remember: Fees are scheduled to increase on February 5th. See Congress Registration Information Though Congress lasts for just a few days, some of our name badges last for years. This year in an effort to be more eco-friendly, Congress 2010 is going green with compostable name badge holders. The name badge holders you will receive on site are made from plants -- not plastic -- and are fully compostable. Just one of a number of ways we're keeping green. WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHT "What Does a Healthy Spirituality Look Like and Feel Like?" Speaker: Melannie Svoboda, SND Session 3-27 - Friday, March 19, 3:00-4:30 pm We will explore some signs of a healthy spirituality, such as friendship, service, love for creation, the balancing of work and leisure, and the ability to live graciously with a certain amount of adversity and ambiguity. Through Scripture, stories and humor, Sr. Melannie Svoboda will lead us to appraise the health of our own spirituality and that of the communities to which we belong – family, parish and school.

The 2010 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress dates are:
 • March 18, 2010 (Youth Day)
 • March 19-21, 2010 (Congress days)

AN EVENING WITH DAVID WHYTE
Friday, March 19, 8:00 pm
Convention Center 207
Poet and author David Whyte will take us on a journey through the poetic tradition, looking at the thresholds human beings have always had to cross to live a larger, richer, more courageous and more generous life, no matter the outward circumstances.

NOTE: Free for registered Congress attendees; $20 (cash) at the door for those not registered. Parking available at the Convention Center ($10 per day) and at nearby hotels (rates vary).

CONGRESS TICKETS
A registration reminder: Those who register for Congress online will immediately receive email confirmation when their credit card has been charged. Then, usually a week later, there will be email confirmation when the registration is processed. Note: There is no email confirmation of which workshops you receive. We do not offer a way to check which workshops you have been assigned before you receive your tickets. Your mailed tickets will show your assignments. (Tickets will be mailed -- by registration number order -- beginning February 10th.)

Actually, we do not assign workshops until we have about 7,000 registrations. At that point we run a projection to determine the most popular workshops, which are then assigned to the largest rooms. Once speakers have been assigned to rooms, it is only then that we we assign our registrants.

YOUTH DAY VOLUNTEERS
We always need young people that are willing to be MCs -- those that introduce speakers, lead the prayer at the opening sessions and help guide the closing rallies. MC training day will be on Saturday, February 13, from 9am-12noon at Holy Family Parish in South Pasadena. Youth planning to be an emcee MUST attend this day. We’d love to have as many young people involved as possible!

Also, adults that are NOT chaperoning a group at Youth Day and would like to participate can volunteer to be part of our team that leads the day. We are always looking for youth friendly adults that can come help lead the crowds, take tickets, maintain order and much more.

See our Youth Day page for more information and downloadable forms.

CONGRESS VOLUNTEERS
Congress could not function without the hundreds of volunteers who give of their time. If you have attended Congress in the past and would like to find out more about becoming a volunteer for our next Religious Education Congress, please consider this your "personal invitation."

We have a need for:
  — Workshop Volunteers (English, Spanish and Vietnamese),
  — Eucharistic Ministers for the two Closing Liturgies in the Arena, and
  — Musicians for the Congress Choir.

We have a need this year for three volunteers to help the florists on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 (the day before Youth Day). Activities include unloading supplies, preparation of flowers, delivery of arrangements and other jobs as needed. Some activities require lifting. Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Parking fee will be provided.

You can find more information and contact names on our Volunteers page.

REGISTRATION DROP-OFF/BOOK PICK-UP
If you intend to either drop off your Congress registration or pick up Registration Guidebooks at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, please note that there is a fee for parking in the parking structure. We suggest that for very short term, temporary parking, you park in front of the building on Mariposa St. in the loading zone. Again, this for short term temporary parking!!

ADVERTISERS
We have a new addition now -- the new graphic ads appearing in our Congress Emailings. A number of our Congress 2010 exhibitors have taken out advertisements in our Program Book, and as a thank you, Congress has posted some of these advertisers' web graphics on our RECongress.org Home Page as well as in our monthly Emailings.

See the Congress Home Page