RECongress Emailing - Dec 2012 (REC #2013.7)

You can now register online for both Youth Day and the 2013 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. Don't delay — not only are the holidays quickly approaching, but so is the registration fee increase AND, remember, the first 5,000 registrants are "guaranteed" their first choices.

Pass along this emailing or our link — archive.recongress.org — to share with friends and encourage them to sign up for our Congress Emailing for updates. If you do not care to receive future updates, you can find removal information at the bottom of this message.

¡Para información en español, clic aquí!

WHAT IS CONGRESS?
The Religious Education Congress, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Religious Education, is the nation's largest annual gathering of Roman Catholics! Our last RECongress, held in March 2012, brought together nearly 40,000 people during the four-day weekend! We had registrants from across the country and as far away as Ireland and Australia.

See 2012 Congress Statistics

DATES
The 2013 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress dates are:
• February 21, 2013 (Youth Day)
• February 22-24, 2013

Location
Congress is held at the Anaheim Convention Center, located at 800 West Katella Ave. in Anaheim, Calif. (just across from Disneyland and Disney California Adventure). See a Google Map

Fee
The registration fee for Congress is $65 per person. Youth Day has a separate registration and $25 per person fee.

Registration
Want to "guarantee" getting your first choices of Congress workshops? Register online now. Workshops are not actually assigned to a room location until we get the first 5,000 registrants. At that point, we run a projection of attendance and assign the most popular workshops to the Arena and the larger rooms. So, generally speaking, the first 5,000 registrants are "guaranteed" their first choices.

Register Online for Congress

3 WAYS TO BE PART OF YOUTH DAY
For Youth
MCs at Youth Day — We invite all high school students attending Youth Day to consider becoming an MC to introduce speakers before workshops. All interested youth are required to attending training on Saturday, January 19, 2013. (Submission deadline is Friday, January 11, 2013).

Youth Day Choir/Musician — Here's a way for young people to be part of the music for the Mass at Youth Day. Rehearsals are held during the months of January and February. Ed Archer, from St. Monica Parish, directs the Archdiocesan choir. Check out the flyer for more information. (Submission deadline is Tuesday, January 8, 2013).

For Adults
Adult Volunteers at Youth Day — If you or someone you know who is adult and is NOT chaperoning a group for Youth Day, but would like to volunteer for the great event, we have a place for you! Our adult volunteer team helps with crowd control, information sharing and much more during the day. We’re looking for youth-friendly people that can make the day more enjoyable for all. (Submission deadline is Friday, January 25, 2013).

Download all the forms from the Youth Day page.

Go to the 2013 Youth Day Page

REGISTER ONLINE
Online registration is now available for both Youth Day and Congress — with separate fees and separate registrations. If you haven't already done so, be sure to register this month as fees increase on January 4, 2013.

YOUTH DAY — Registration is $25 per person. Check the Youth Day home page for information and registration forms and links.

CONGRESS — Congress registration is $65 per person. Online registration will provide an email when your credit card is charged. Then, once your registration is processed (usually within two weeks), you will receive another email showing your RECongress Registration number. (This is a benefit of online registration; mailed-in registrations do not receive such confirmations).

Make sure you have all your workshops chosen BEFORE you start the online registration process.

Go to the Registration Page

SPEAKER FEATURE: DAVID WHYTE
Poet and lecturer, David Whyte, a native of Yorkshire, England, is author of six volumes of poetry and three books of prose, and most recently, a book entitled, “Pilgrim.” He is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with American and international companies offering lectures and workshops. Whyte has traveled extensively, speaking to large and small audiences for more than two decades. He now lives with his family in the Pacific Northwestern United States.
"The Pilgrim’s Way: Setting Direction for a Future Life"
Friday, February 22, 2013
10:00 - 11:30 am - Session 1-27
In this session, David Whyte will look at the great questions of human life through the eyes of the pilgrim: someone passing through relatively quickly, someone looking for the biggest context they can find or imagine, someone dependent upon hospitality from friends and strangers alike, someone who needs to ask for visible and invisible help as the destination changes, step by step, subject to the vagaries of wind and weather along the way. The theme of internal resilience – the necessity for following a certain star not seen or perceived by anyone else – and the way an internal migration can keep our outward journey in the world relevant and true will be explored.

"Pure and Simple: The Art of Creating a Beautiful Mind"
Friday, February 22, 2013
1:00 - 2:30 pm - Session 2-29
The world exists independent of human thought, but it is seen through the lens of the mind. How much stress or unhappiness we undergo can depend on the qualities of perception that we cultivate. The way we treat and are treated by the world is partly determined by the state and depth of our critical and emotional intelligence. In this workshop, we will look closely at the role of the imagination as a faculty of perception that cultivates our ability to turn away from false abstracts, act courageously, and above all, have a life worth living at the center of our endeavors.

See all Congress 2013 Speakers

CONGRESS 2013 HIGHLIGHTS
SACRED SPACE
Friday through Sunday – Convention 304
Take a break from the busyness of Congress' many events and enter a space dedicated to facilitating a sense of spiritual rejuvenation. Our Sacred Space will offer Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel (pictured), the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a labyrinth, art and meditative music. Sacred Space returns once again to its home on the third level of the Convention Center, with extended hours on Saturday.

See other Congress Highlights

ENDOWMENT FUND: GOOD NEWS!
The Office of Religious Education has established an Endowment Fund to support the ongoing training and formation of religious education leaders, particularly by making scholarships available for catechetical leaders to pursue graduate studies. Fund contributions come through gift offerings at the Congress Saturday night liturgies along with registration contributions.

"I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who have generously contributed to our Religious Education Endowment Fund. You will be pleased to know that because of your commitment and thoughtful contributions year after year, we have passed the $1 million mark. This is Good News as we are currently enabled to offer financial assistance to 22 lay ministers involved in Parish Catechetical Ministry and related areas in Youth, Young Adult and Adult Formation. Again, I appreciate your support as we continue to ensure quality catechetical leadership to all involved in evangelization and faith formation."

— Sister Edith Prendergast, RSC

HOTELS
RECongress has contracted with local hotels to offer special rates for Congress attendees. Check online for our most current listing of hotels, and now we have an interactive viewable map of these hotels. We suggest making hotel reservations as soon as possible. When making reservations, be sure to ask for the Religious Education Congress rate. You can find information about contracted hotels on our web site.

RECongress Hotels

SPECIAL CONGRESS OFFER
Watch for the announcement of specially priced Disneyland Resort Tickets in our next RECongress Emailing (Dec. 15). There will be special pricing on evening passes and on single- and multi-day passes and park hoppers for both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

RECongress Emailings

GET YOUR FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD!
CSC Digital Media is the official recording company for Congress, providing selected sessions on Audio CDs and now, downloadable MP3s. For trying the service, they are offering one FREE MP3 download recording from the 2012 Religious Education Congress audio recordings. Simply visit www.cscrecording.com, select your sessions and redeem your free download using Coupon Code REC2012 when checking out. (Coupon is good for the download of one session per customer and expires February 28, 2013.)

See the RECongress Recording page

JUST FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIANS
Ralphs Grocery Company, a major supermarket chain in the Southern California area, supports schools, churches and other non-profit organizations with annual contributions. The Los Angeles Religious Education Congress is a member of Ralphs Community Contributions Program. Simply by using your Ralphs rewards Card a portion of eligible purchases are contributed to the RECongress. (Note: This is an annual program that must be renewed each year. The current term is September 1, 2012 through August 31, 2013.)

If you were part of the program last year, we thank you, but everyone needs to re-enroll each year. We encourage all Ralphs shoppers to sign up for the free Ralphs rewards Card and register their card with the Community Contributions Program. It’s easy! Every time you shop for groceries and scan your card at Ralphs, RECongress will automatically earn up to 5% of all eligible purchases per enrolled card. Sign up now! It’s never been easier to contribute to the RECongress.

Organization Name: Archdiocese of Los Angeles - Religious Education
Organization Number: 90658

Find step-by-step instructions and information online.

RECongress Ralphs Program

RECONGRESS.ORG
You can find all Congress information and updates online. Check our site for the latest updates and announcements.

archive.recongress.org

EMAILING
Be sure to Sign-up for this twice-a-month Emailing about Congress updates and events. You may opt out from the Congress Emailing at any time from the link below.

© 2012 RECongress.org