Greetings Celebrate Participants!

The countdown has begun! Not only is Christmas right around the corner, but so is Celebrate! At the River. With a week remaining until Celebrate! kicks off, we on the Design Team wanted to make sure you had all the tools necessary to make your conference experience a success. Inside this email you will find travel tips, ideas on what to wear and bring with you for the events, descriptions of some of the special events and projects, as well as a special prayer to prepare for the spirit of the conference.

We hope the information provided in this email will answer any remaining questions you may have. If there are any we have not addressed, please feel free to contact Kathleen Stopyra (stopyrak@gmail.com, 386-871-1415) or Kelley Streeter (kelleym7@aol.com), and they will be happy to assist in any way they can.

We are excited you will be joining us for Celebrate, and we wish all of you and your families a joyful and blessed Christmas. Let's get ready to Celebrate!

In the Peace of Christ,
The Celebrate! Design Team

Airport Shuttle is the official ground transportation provider for the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. We recommend that you use its services for traveling to and from the airport. For departure reservations, please call 504-522-3500 or visit http://www.airportshuttleneworleans.com no later than 24 hours prior to your flight. Your advance reservation will ensure your timely departure from the airport. You may also reserve in groups if you are traveling with friends. The average fare is approximately $13.

Taxis are available from the rank on the lower level outside the baggage claim area. Journey time to downtown New Orleans is around 30 minutes and the average fare is approximately $28.

If you wish to rent a car there are 6 rental agencies with offices on the lower level of the airport. Check with one of the following companies for individual rates: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, National CarRental, Thrifty, Jet

An entire day of the conference will be devoted to service trips around New Orleans. Those coordinating these trips have made the following recommendations on how you should dress, both for your comfort as well as your safety.

Wear old clothes, and closed shoes, no sandals or flip flops. Work shoes are not necessary, but sturdy is good. We will supply goggles, masks and gloves. Tyvek suits will be supplied where needed. Not everyone will be in areas where protective clothing is necessary. We will have bottled water on the busses. A bag breakfast and box lunch are also provided.

Another event requiring special attire is the New Year's Eve banquet and dance. This celebration is a formal/semi-formal affair. Many of the ladies choose to wear prom style dresses, and some of the young men go as far as suits. For those who may not be able or choose not to dress up quite that much, we recommend wedding or special occasion church attire.

The Worship Committee is also requesting that each participant bring a small 3 oz. vial of water. We will be incorporating this in one of the group worship experiences.

The collaborative effort of providing the variety of service projects was organized by the Greater New Orleans Disaster Response Partnership www.gnodrpvc.net. Many of the projects will include restoration and clean-up efforts, coordinated by the following New Orleans organizations:

• Uptown - Disaster Recovery Ministry www.laumcstormrelief.com
• Volunteers of America, Greater New Orleans www.voagno.org
• ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) www.acorn.org/volunteer
• Lutheran Disaster Response www.ldr.org
• Episcopal Relief and Development www.edola.org/odr
• Samaritan's Purse www.samaritanspurse.org
• American Red Cross www.redcross.org

• St. Mark's Community Center
• Oak Island Sub-Division
• Gentilly Vascoville
• Home of Jazz Musician Stephanie Jordan
• Garden of Hope Ministry Project
• Oak Street Neighborhood
• Environmental Justice Project
• 9th Ward Neighborhood
• Treme Church

Are you ready for some fun? The Regional Olympics, hosted by the National Catholic Student Coalition, is a friendly competition among the four regions- Midwest, Northeast, South, West. All are invited to participate and cheer on their respective regions during this evening of fun and fellowship. If you do choose to participate, please bring clothing you can be active in, including tennis shoes as some of the events are relays. Also, each region has a color, so use the list below to find out what region you are in and what color to wear to support your region.

Midwest (Blue)- Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Northeast (Red)- Connecticut, District of Columbia , Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

South (Green)- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia

West (Yellow)- Alaska, Arizona , California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

We are pleased and excited to welcome a number of international students who will be joining us for Celebrate! The International Reception, hosted by the National Catholic Student Coalition in partnership with the CESCM International Committee, will be a special time to welcome these guests as well as discuss a number of important international issues and opportunities. We hope you will make time during your conference experience to attend this special event. The following is an outline of the reception's program:

Welcome
Introduction of international guests
Millenium Development Goals Introduction
   -Guest speaker from Zimbabwe
   -Guest speaker from New Zealand
Inter-religious relations for Justice and Peace
   -Introduction of the Religions for Peace and the World Youth Assembly
   -Guest speaker from Lebanon
Global Updates
   -World Student Christian Federation (WSCF)
   -International Movement Catholic of Students (IMCS)
Upcoming Events
   -United Nations Study Session
   -Good Friday Stations of the Cross in NYC
   -IMCS International Committee in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Closing Prayer

How can pennies bring peace? By bringing your pennies (or dollars!) to conference you will be supporting different projects throughout the year. You may not need the pennies or spare dollars you have in your pocket because to us they are worth very little, but those who are in need consider them a great blessing.

How can you help? Bring you pennies, coins, and extra dollars to conference and deposit them into your region's water jug (the same regions for the Regional Olympics). Your region will give one positive point for every penny you raise. The competition doesn't end there. Put all your silver coins (nickels, dimes, quarters), dollars, or checks into the other regions' jugs and lower their score by one point per 1 cent. Pennies for Peace is a competition among the regions, but the competitive nature aids in producing hundreds of dollars to be donated to this year's chosen charity.

We are pleased to have a number of Exhibitors joining us for conference this year. Among those participating are:

• Exhibitor Name
• Adrian Dominican Sisters
• Augsburg Fortress
• Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• Brothers of Christian Schools
• Catholic Relief Services
• Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes
• Columbia Theological Seminary
• ELCA Global Mission
• ELCA Seminaries
• The Fund for Theological Education(FTE)
• Glenmary Home Missioners
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
• Lutheran Volunteer Corps
• Lutherans Concerned/North Amercan
• Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
• National Network of Presbyterian College Women
• Resurrection House
• School Sisters of Notre Dame
• St. John's Abby
• Traces of the Trade
• United Theological Seminary
• World Student Christian Federation
• Yakama Christian Mission

Hours:

Thursday 1:00pm-6:00pm (Exhibitors arrive and set-up)
Friday 8 am - 2 pm.
Saturday 8 am -10:30 am; 5 pm - 8 pm
Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm

To prepare for the spirit of the conference, the Celebrate! Design Team would like to share this special prayer to ready our hearts to meet one another in the partnership Christ, united as followers of His love. Let it guide all of us to a greater love of Him and one another.

Call to Worship
May our lives be a hymn of praise, O God.
May your glory shine forth in us.
Strengthen us in love, root us in mercy,
That your people may know that your love is everlasting.

Glory to you, God of all peoples.
To Jesus, healer and friend.
To the Spirit dwelling within,
Praise be yours forever. Amen.

A Psalm of Partnership in Mercy
We are partners in the mystery of redemptions,
Partners in the mystery of reconciliation,
Partners in the misery of the world's population,
Partners in the way of the cross.

We are partners in the ministry of service,
Partners in the ministry of justice and peace,
Partners in the liturgy of the church and life,
Partners in healing and hope.

Together we reach out to touch the untouchables.
Together we move out to teach the taught.
Together we stand up to preach right practice.
Together we practice what we preach.

Ours is the gift of good company on days when there's nobody else there beside us. Ours is the gift of affirming the ways of the God who is working within us.

Blessed is the partnership rooted in love that spills over, spreads over, covers over everything negative and uninspiring. Blessed is the fellowship that partnership shares with its circle of friends and supporters.

God of Relationship, bless this relationship, strengthen this partnership, deepen this fellowship, let it be a symbol of Your mode of Being and a sign of Your own noncompetitive ways. God of Companionship, may we be supportive, may we be effective, bring to life all the best in each other so we may help others see good in themselves.

Thank you, O God, for the gift and the grace of partnership in the mystery of living. Glory to You, Source of Life, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

Closing Prayer
Jesus, you walked with your disciples on the way to Emmaus and revealed Your presence in the breaking of the bread. We thank you for walking with us on this journey this year. May we continue to recognize the revelation of your presence in the daily events of our own lives so that we, in turn, may be able to guide others to You. We as this, confident that You will hear and respond to our prayer. Amen.