2015 VGEC Conference - "How goes it" report

Shug Goodlow, Head Verger, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis and Chair of the 2015 Annual Conference Committee escorting a Sunday procession, before going back to work, that afternoon, putting more polish on the details for our stellar 2015 VGEC Conference which begins October 1st. 

By Ken Holloway, VGEC News Manager

We are headed, full tilt, for one of the largest, most diverse, educational-opportunity-filled, VGEC conferences ever, beginning in 10 weeks in St. Louis.

Barry Norris, VGEC Guild Shop manager, reports, this morning, that we now have 128 registrations. Last year at this point, we had 104 registered. It is very likely that we will have over 160 participants at this year's conference if not more. This is a phenomenal number of vergers in one place.

It is not too late for you to register and join us! See the BIG RED BUTTON at the bottom of this message. In fact there is a drawing for a second gift certificate for the Guild Shop if you register by August 1. Tell all your fellow vergers because the registration fee increases on August 1st.

James Armstrong, Head Verger at Carlisle Cathedral in the United Kingdom and our keynote speaker has said that the setting at Christ Church Cathedral, with the generous educational session participation by its clergy and staff, "...is a model for how vergers should gather to increase in our ministries." He is definitely ready to launch.

All of the VGEC booth gear used at the 78th General Convention in Salt Lake, Utah is now in place at Christ Church Cathedral, ready for setup and use during the week of October 1st.

The conference agenda is available.  Have a look and see which sessions you'll be ear-marking. Every conference participant should have already chosen their conference preferences for the various educational sessions, but remember that you can make changes now online at membership.vergers.org. You will be able to make changes during on-site registration for the conference with no problems. There are also many options that will be specified and talked about during the event registration at the hotel on Thursday, October 1st.

My scan of this agenda reveals:

• 1 evensong followed by dinner
• 2 morning prayer services
• 1 Festival Eucharist service
• 1 concert 
• 3 sessions of the whole
• 10 verger education sessions
• 3 formal tours
• 1 spectacular light show
• 1 fantastic formal dinner

That adds up to TWENTY-THREE events packed into three days of conviviality. And that doesn't count the scheduled free time for your exploration of the many unique attractions in Saint Louis. (For you nerds, that's 6.571428571428571 events per conference day.)

OR

• 9 1/2 hours of VGEC Guild Shop
• 12 1/2 hours of educational sessions
• 3 1/4 hours of general membership events
• 5 3/4 hours of meals or refreshments
• 2 hours of committee meetings
• 3 3/4 hours of worship together
• 3 hours of organized tours
• 2 hours of entertainment

That adds up to FOURTY-TWO hours of really unique experience available to you over 3 days. (For you nerds that's 14 hours a day of churchy stuff.)

I'm already feeling uplifted, challenged and a little weary (the "warm satisfied weary" you feel while waiting at the gate for your airline trip home). Won't you Meet Us in St. Louis?

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FLASH - This just in from our VGEC Board correspondent and VGEC Shop manager, Barry Norris:

The VGEC Board has decided to sweeten the Guild Shop Gift Certificate Offer and add another award. We have extended the cutoff date from June 30th to August 1st. Gift certificate awards will be as listed below.

• $100 Gift Certificate to the Guild Shop for those who registered by June 1st
• $50 Gift Certificate to the Guild Shop for those who registered by August 1st

The winning names for the Gift Certificates will be drawn at the Friday night banquet (instead of the Saturday morning business meeting) and the certificates must be redeemed during the conference. That gives you just 8 more days to procrastinate.

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Click the big red button to register for the 2015 Annual Conference being held October 1-4, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri:

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Abstract: The 2015 VGEC Annual Conference begins on October 1st, hosted by Christ Church Cathedral vergers, clergy and staff. This year we have 42 hours of verger experiences scheduled in 23 sessions and events, packed into 3 conference days. We're going to see vergers sprinting to the next event every day. So start your training camp now and bring comfortable walking/running shoes. We'll meet you in St. Louis.