Time	Event	Location
9:15am	Meet and vest prior to Holy Eucharist	Conference Hall, 4th floor
9:40am	Official 2012 Conference Photo	Lake Mirror Promenade Steps
10:10am	Break
10:25am	Line up for procession	Sidewalk outside of church
10:50am	Choral Eucharist and Procession of Vergers (no virges and no hats)	Nave
12:15pm	End of 2012 Annual Conference of the Vergers' Guild of the Episcopal Church

The Verger 101 workshop is specifically designed to support the new verger as he or she embarks on this ministry. It is designed for those who have been vergers three years or less or first-time conference attendees. Topics will include:

• I thought being a Verger was all about wearing robes, holding virges, and processing through the nave...
• What is meant by "Ministry of Service?"
• Soldiering On: Dealing with mistakes so no one notices
• Hands-On - Carrying the virge, what to wear when, serving in the background, working with your Altar Guild, volunteer coordination, being the boss/servant at the same time
• Is the VGEC Training Course for me?

Many people believe that security does not belong in the church. Some might think that it unnecessarily heightens a perception of threat, and others believe that it means we are not trusting in the sovereignty of God to protect his church.

In 2008, thirty percent of all churches experienced a threat or other emergency. Seventy-five percent of churches have no security plan in place. Today’s churches simply must be prepared for a variety of threats and emergencies.

Topics covered:

• Prevention
• Recognition
• Interdiction
• Disruption
• Emergency response
• Plans
• Training
• Types of threats not normally considered
• What we can do

This session will be led by Sid Glynn, All Saints' Episcopal Church, Lakeland, Florida.

Developing a Worship Council/Liturgical Committee

This is a short seminar introducing a suggested plan for developing and initiating a Worship/Liturgical Council for your parish. Topics to be covered are:

• Ascertaining a need
• Discussion with your clergy
• Designing an agenda
• Refining leadership skills
• Understanding consistency with flexibility

After attending this seminar, you will be equipped with the tools to start your own Worship/Liturgical Council. You, your clergy and worship team will reap the benefits of your knowledge immediately! Ultimately, your congregation will have a more meaningful worship time.This session will be led by Suzanne Gaines, All Saints' Episcopal Church, Lakeland, Florida.

Making your own Eucharistic Bread

It is easier to believe in the real presence of Jesus in the bread than to believe that the wafer is really bread. Sound familiar? 

This year at the Vergers' Guild Annual Conference Duke DuTeil, head verger at the Washington National Cathedral, will lead a discussion about different breads for the Eucharist. Pros and Cons of several types both homemade and commercial. He will also talk about an easy economical way to offer gluten free wafers to your congregations.

The discussion will conclude with a live demonstration of an easy to make honey whole wheat Eucharistic bread that tastes great, breaks easily, and does not leave intinction crumbs in the chalice.

Order of Saint Luke (OSL) Healing Ministry

This session will be led by the Rev. Richard Hoover

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Conference Registration

Registrations on or before September 10, 2012 are $200.00 per person. Registrations after September 10th are $225.00 per person.

Conference registration is available online through the VGEC Guild Shoppe Online Store using Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. Online registration is the easiest method of registration for the conference. You can also click HERE to download and print a manual registration form. Please remember it saves us time and money for you to register online.

If you need help, please contact Sid Glynn, event co-chair and registration coordinator, at conference@vergers.org or call 863.644.5170.

After registering on-line you will receive a confirmation email and further instructions. When you register online, you will also be asked to complete an online conference information form to supply the conference chairs with additional information (workshops, etc.) that will help them plan the event.

Because of the many incidental expenses associated with the VGEC Conference, we cannot price individual parts of the conference. Our hope is that all guests would register as a guest of the conference and attend as many of the conference functions as they desire.

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Scholarships

The Guild will be providing scholarships to cover $150 of the registration expense for up to 15 attendees to this year's conference. The Mark Emory Graham Scholarship Fund of the VGEC will make these grants. They are intended to develop the ministry of the verger and will be considered for junior vergers, new vergers or first time attendees with a financial need.

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Transportation, Maps, and Directions

This information is still in development. Please check back for more information as it becomes available.

Air

Airport Shuttle Service

Automobile

Map from the Hotel and the Church

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Accommodations 

The conference hotel is:

The Terrace Hotel
329 East Main Street
Lakeland, FL  33801
863.688.0800

The Conference rate is $89 per night. (Editor's note: this is a fantastic rate for this hotel - it's a very nice property located just near the church)

Online reservations may be made by clicking HERE. The special group code for this event is: VG1

 

If you need help, please contact the hotel directly.

Alternate Hotel

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Useful Documents and Links

Lakeland Chamber of Commerce
Lakeland FaceBook page
Scholarship Application

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Prior Conference Information

Information from prior conferences is available HERE. We began documenting conference information as of 2009 at the San Diego Conference.

The VGEC photo album on Picasa has thousands of photos from past conferences dating back to the first conference held in Nashville, Tennessee in 1989.