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Making the most of your houseparty
A weekend away can be a vital strategic time for the Christian Union. Taken in the autumn term it is likely to be a major factor in helping first years to feel part of the CU and it can set the tone and priorities for the whole year. How can you make the most of this opportunity? These notes give tips on the planning, advertising and execution of a houseparty.
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View Some other points on the programme Some other points on the programme
Do be realistic about your arrival time on the Friday evening and don’t schedule sessions and/or meals in a way that means you are running late before the weekend has even started; it...
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View Aim Aim
The purpose of the weekend is the first question that the committee should ask themselves.
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View Venue Venue
Good houseparty venues are hard to come by, particularly because Christian Union groups from across the country are all looking for weekend accommodation in November...
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View Speaker Speaker
Alongside the venue, early booking of an appropriate speaker is the other major priority in preparation for your weekend.
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View Theme Theme
It is important to have a clear goal for the weekend (and t communicate it to the CU members). Some of the shorter Epistles can be studied in their entirety over a weekend. Possible...
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View Seminars Seminars
There are several benefits to be drawn from offering seminars alongside the main teaching sessions. Not only do seminars involve a different dynamic and learning style, they also allow...
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View Quiet Times Quiet Times
The houseparty is a great opportunity to emphasise the importance of a regular time for personal prayer and Bible study. A half hour slot after breakfast each day is probably best (longer...
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View Bookstall Bookstall
A houseparty weekend offers plenty of time for CU members to browse through a bookstall, and it is strongly recommended that you try and take such a facility with you. If the CU has a...
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View Catering Catering
As was mentioned above, the cost of running a houseparty at a catered centre is making it increasingly likely that you will wish to have a self-catering weekend. If this is the case,...
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View Budgetting Budgetting
The price that you charge for the weekend has got to cover accommodation for the CU members, transport costs and food. It has also got to include the accommodation and travel costs of...
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View Transport Transport
As a rule the choice for transport to the weekend is going to be a coach or a convoy of cars and/or minibuses; the very fact that most houseparty venues are rural rules out the...
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View Advertising the weekend Advertising the weekend
The words ‘now so-and-so has some notices’ are a well-known sedative and given the importance of the houseparty it is vital that you make a special effort to ensure that the...
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View Delegation Delegation
By now it is probably obvious that there is an awful lot that goes into the running of a houseparty weekend and you are going to find it essential to delegate tasks out to other people,...
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View The Houseparty itself The Houseparty itself
No-one can ever guarantee that an event will go off well, but provided that you have prayed, and prepared and delegated you should probably survive the experience! You may well want to...
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