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National Youth Event 08 in Knoxville Tennessee!
Meet the Maine SYC Advisors!
Advisors are the people that come to all of our Executive Council meetings and State Youth Council events to watch over us, making sure everything we do is within the rules and guidelines.
Dan McGlincey lives in Sanford, and works for York County Shelter Programs in Alfred. He has a son Tom that's a Senior at Sanford High School. Dan has been involved with the SYC and Pilgrim Lodge since 1984. Growing up he attended the West Newfield UCC, and now belongs to the Alfred Parish Church.
We are pleased to announce that Kris Galasyn and Mary Angela Davis recently accepted advisor positions, and joined the SYC officially at Mid-Winter 08.
(Their profiles should be posted shortly)
We are currently looking to add one more male adviser to our ranks. If you are interested in helping the SYC in this capacity please click on the link to download an application packet.
Advisor Application Packet
The SYC Advisor team is comprised of three or four dedicated adults. It is preferred that at least one of the Advisors be a minister ordained in the United Church of Christ. We also strive for gender balance in the ranks of the Advisors. Being an advisor is a fun challenge that involves a lot of time and dedication, with huge personal rewards.
The SYC Executive Committee meets about every six weeks to discuss the status of current projects within the SYC, and to help plan for upcoming events. In addition to these meetings, the Advisors are expected to be at all three SYC events; Beach Day, Fall Convention, and Mid-Winter. We also accompany the EC to the Annual Meeting of the Maine Conference. The EC members are very active at the Annual Meeting, where they serve as Delegates to conduct the business of the Conference, lead worship on Saturday afternoon, and co-ordinate outreach and some fun activities for the other Youth Delegates in attendance.
SYC advisors are also members of the Youth Ministry Advisory Team. YMAT meets at the Hallowell Church once a month, excluding the summer months of July and August. It gives the representatives from all of the Conference-based youth organizations a chance to meet and discuss the current activities, and to be sure that all of their concerted efforts are on task.
The SYC by laws require that an advisor be 25 years old and a confirmed, active member of a UCC Church here in Maine. Potential advisors applications are screened through a background check by the Conference. Then the EC, with the assistance of Conference staff, schedules and conducts in person interviews with the advisor candidates. The members of the EC make the final selection of those adults with whom they would like to work. The term of an adult advisor is three (3) years with the possibility of an additional three (3) year term. The advisors are then approved by YMAT and the Commission for Community Life, which provides oversight of youth ministries in the Conference.
Being an advisor is a lot of work, and it requires a fair amount of time, but we genuinely have a lot of fun working with the wonderful young people in the conference.
If you are unsure about being able to make such a big commitment, we also have volunteer opportunities available for event chaperones. For chaperones, we favor folks that are at least 21 years old and are active members of a Maine UCC church.
While the EC members set up and carry out all of the nuts and bolts details of an event, chaperones come to an event and serve as an extra set of adult eyes and ears to help ensure the safety of the young people who are attending.
For all adult volunteers, we do require that they fill out an application form, and provide personal references. A background check is also required.
Currently Bill and Dan are serving as Advisors until 2008 and 2009 respectively. Kris and Mary Angela will be servinig until 2011.
If you are interested in helping the SYC as an adult volunteer, we would love to hear from you! Please email us at dan@mainesyc.org.
Also, please write to us if you have any questions about the SYC, or suggestions on how we may better carry out our mission of ministry to the young people of Maine. We are always looking for fresh ideas to help bring more youth, from more areas of the state, into a more active role within the SYC.