"Child care IKEA style"

(27.12.2013) Mum wants to go to the panel discussion "Partnership in marriage", Dad wants to visit the workshop "Burnout prevention for ministers". And Max (3) and Emma (10)? Certainly not along with their parents. The editorial team of the ICC 2014 magazine spoke with the project group "Child care" to find out why the ICC is nevertheless a family event and how everyone can get their money's worth.

Editorial team: Will child care be available at the ICC 2014?
Yes, that is our job! In a project group we have developed a concept which reflects the IKEA style. During the ICC weekend, parents will have the opportunity to hand over their children to the child care facility on Friday between 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and on Saturday between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. The children can stay with us for 2½ hours. So parents can calmly visit an event – and the children will also have fun.

For what age groups is the child care envisaged?
We can accept children between 3 and 10. They should be dry, for there is no opportunity to change diapers. There will be no catering either, the parents should provide food and drink themselves.

Where will the child care be located?
At four different locations: in the SoccArena, in the BusinessArea of the Olympiahalle, the Event-Arena, and in the room "Montreal" in the VIP area of the Olympiastadion.

Is it irrelevant where the children are handed over?
Yes, parents can choose the room to which they wish to bring their children. Should a room be full at any time, we will communicate by radio with the supervisors in the other rooms and simply send the parents to the locations where space is still available. A total of 120 children can be cared for distributed between the four rooms.

What will be offered for the children?
Each room will have a colouring corner, a doll corner, and a building corner. In the SoccArena there will additionally be physical activities.

And if something happens – the child becomes anxious, is injured or similar?
We are of course prepared for such cases. The parents fill in a registration form when they hand over their children and give us a mobile phone number with which they can be reached in such cases.

Can the parents also stay with their children?
No, that is not envisaged. It should be an offer for children, not for adults.

Who are the supervisors?
We plan to have one trained supervisor per shift and room, and also carers who speak foreign languages. We need a total of 80 carers, who shall mainly join the team via the helpers web portal.

Can volunteer carers still register?
Yes, most certainly! Interested persons should make contact via the helpers web portal. We will then approach her or him and discuss everything else.

Thanks for answering our questions, and see you soon at the ICC 2014!
You're welcome, thank you.

Successful first phase of registration for the Church Convention – organizers are highly satisfied

(21.12.2013) 1,230 – this is the number of congregations which have already registered for the International Church Convention (ICC) during the first registration phase which terminated on November 30.

Not all congregations have been evaluated so far, but it can already be assumed that there will be a high participation at the first International Church Convention of the New Apostolic Church which will take place in Munich over the Pentecost weekend 2014: approximately 23,000 persons from all corners of the globe have already registered their participation by the deadline of November 30.

Registrations have been received so far primarily from France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Great Britain, and Turkey, as well as from all German District Churches. Numerous further registrations are arriving daily and have not yet been included in this number, and on top of this the numerous helpers who have registered via a separate portal have not yet been counted.

Apostle Hans-Jürgen Bauer, head of the planning group for the Church Convention, is satisfied: "The registration process is proceeding very well and we can establish that believers from all corners of the globe are greatly looking forward to the first internationally held Church Convention. Looking forward to seeing you in Munich on June 6!"

Besides that, the preparations for the ICC are running at full speed: hundreds of program items have already been organized, thousands of helpers are being coordinated. An attractive program will be offered for all age groups and interests at the ICC which will take place in the Olympic Park in Munich from June 6 to 8, 2014. Further information on the program items which are already fixed can be found here.

One of the highlights of this feast of faith will be the Pentecost service in the world-famous Olympiastadion, where it can already be estimated that this will be the largest divine service on European soil since the establishment of the church 150 years ago.

Registration for this exceptional event is still possible via the congregations up to January 31, 2014. This type of registration is also the cheapest possibility for registering for the Church Convention. Starting February 1, 2014, tickets for the Church Convention can be ordered online (under the heading Registration on the ICC website) and by telephone at +49 7940 549 397. There will also be a box office on site.

The ICC 2014 is getting closer – the first packets with articles have already reached their purchasers

(18.12.2013) The first packets with ordered merchandise have been delivered punctually for Christmas. Up to November 30, 2013, it was possible to reserve without obligation the desired articles from a wide range in the ICC shop. Starting at the beginning of December, these reservations could then be changed into binding orders.

The absolute bestsellers are currently the motto shirts and the polo shirts. It will be an impressive picture at the ICC 2014 in Munich when many visitors wear these shirts. Further orders are arriving daily from the German-speaking world (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). The shop has additionally been available in English for a few weeks, and orders can now also be submitted from overseas.

Special discounts are available until March 31, 2014: A discount of 10 percent is granted for a collective order with a total value of more than 500 euros if the delivery is made to one address. Highly suitable therefore for the orders from a complete congregation or a joint order for adjacent congregations. Being quick is certainly worthwhile! (m.m.)

Your congregation in a shoebox

(6.12.2013) The Church Convention has not started yet, but we already suspect what many will say at the end: „Which great atmosphere! Although I knew nobody at the beginning I go home with many new contacts.“ Or: „Too bad that there isn’t a Church Convention next year again.“ And certainly some will say: „With you I would like to stay in touch!“

This is exactly what an unusual action at the Church Convention wants to aim to achieve: to stay in touch – with a simple shoebox.

How is that possible? It is very simple: Each congregation from which somebody travels to the Church Convention may fill a shoebox with something which represents or symbolizes it in an appropriate way. All cartons are collected on the Church Convention and are provided to be astonished, rummaged and discovered like in a library. In figurative sense these cartons represent something like room or an apartment of the many brothers and sisters who already now let the kingdom of God become reality by their faith. The motto of the Church Convention „For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you“ gets noticeable and worthy to be experienced when looking on these cartons.

But that is not enough: All congregations which bring along a box to the Church Convention are allowed to choose another box before they return and to take it into their home congregation. After finding out the interesting contents the congregations can come into contact with each other. Small congregations can meet big ones, Italian brothers and sisters get in touch with French, northern people meet Alpine residents – no limits are set to the imagination at the possible constellations.

Perhaps also direct neighbor congregations discover themselves mutually completely new? Whether the brothers and sisters visit each other, write letters or e-mails, organize meetings for the youth or elderly people – that finally lies in the hands of those who hold a congregation carton in their hands. At the end there are hopefully a lot of new contacts, movement in the congregations and interesting meetings.

Do you feel like being there? Then choose a fitting shoebox, talk about the things that shall be in this carton in your congregation and inform yourselves about further details at www.schuhkarton-ikt2014.de.

You can apply for this action as of February 2014 and later even post a photo of your shoe carton. Of course you will see then, which congregation participates in this action and where your box will land perhaps later. Best, you get active already now! So the ICC provides not only you, but also your congregation with many unforgettable meetings and new impulses.