Work Trip 2009 Information Letter

Dear People Interested in the April Work Trip,

I am now able to give you more details about the 11th Annual Norwich Congregational Church Youth Work Trip:

The trip will begin on 17 April 2009 (Friday), when we board a bus in West Lebanon, NH early in the morning. We will travel all day and spend the night at Christ Congregational Church, UCC in Silver Spring, MD, just outside Washington, DC.

The next day, 18 April 2009 (Saturday) we will drive to an overnight stop at a motel outside Atlanta, GA. The following morning, we will drive to a temporary worship space just outside Phenix City, Alabama. We will worship with the congregation of Greater Bethelpore Baptist Church. Their church was completely destroyed by arson in January 2008. At this point, I am not sure what the exact stage of the construction will be in April, but there will probably be both interior and exterior work for us to do. As usual we will have some experienced workers with us who can teach and direct the work for the rest. We will be staying at the Auburn Heights Baptist Church in Phenix City, AL which has a large facility with showers, a large kitchen, etc.

Our work week will begin on 20 April 2009 (Monday). We will work four full days and maybe a half day on Friday. We will still have plenty of time for recreation, possibly visiting a local state park. We will be cooking our own meals for the most part, with teams rotating through the week. I expect that our host churches will also provide us with some meals.

We will leave the Phenix City area on the evening of 24 April 2009 (Friday) and will stay overnight in another church in Georgia. My hope is to get a head start on the trip home so that we can have a little time the end of the next day, 25 April 2009 (Saturday), to do some sightseeing in Washington, DC. Christ Congregational Church will host us again on 25 April, then we will head home on 26 April 2009 (Sunday), arriving by the end of the day.

Some of the participants have been on these work trips before. They know that we have fun, are challenged, and see a new part of the world. If you have no experience in building, you will learn new skills. We are warmly welcomed by our host churches and always make new friends there. The music is always great! We hope to include new fellow workers, both from the Norwich Congregational Church and others.

I am happy to answer questions from teenagers or parents. We have posted registration forms for those who are interested. With the registration forms and the code of conduct form, please include a check for $100 made out to the Norwich Congregational Church. This will hold your place on the trip! For those coming as part of the Norwich Congregational Church Youth Group, participation in fundraising is essential. For those coming from other churches, or those who are unaffiliated we hope that you can contribute $400 per person through fundraising. We do not turn anyone away who cannot afford the trip. Each participant also needs to bring money to purchase some of their own meals on the bus trip, about 7 meals worth.

There will be more planning meetings when we get closer to the trip. I will send more information to those who register.

Please get in touch if you have questions!