Not every teenager is ready for group travel and an event the magnitude of EYE23. And for some teenagers, EYE23 will change their lives and their church engagement forever. We invite you into discernment to help identify the best possible delegation you can convene to travel together.
We highly recommend establishing a local application and discernment process to screen for candidates to become part of your delegation. We strongly encourage recruiting your most emotionally stable and spiritually mature teenagers who have demonstrated curiosity and commitment to living a life of faithfulness.
EYE23 programs focus on helping develop leadership skills, spiritual practices, and early stages of vocational discernment. Teenagers who are struggling with high anxiety and depression may find themselves under greater stress with travel and large scale interactions in unfamiliar places.
Please be sure to review all medical forms and have appropriate and compassionate conversations with parents/guardians about serious health conditions revealed in the application process.
It is essential that at least the lead chaperone (25 or older) be aware of medical concerns (physical, mental, and emotional), appropriate administration of medications, and expectations for treating an emergency or apparent crisis. EYE23 provides both a pastoral care and a medical response team, however their primary function is to administer first aid as needed, and to triage and refer to a higher level of care as determined by emergency assessment practices.
Criteria
- EYE23 participants must have turned at least 15 and be no older than 19 by July 4, 2023. Participants should be enrolled in 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade during the 2022-2023 school year, or equivalent, for students in non-traditional or non-US school settings. Current 9th graders who will be 14 on July 4, 2023, will have an opportunity to attend EYE26 as the Episcopal Youth Event is on a three-year cycle.
- A delegation with any 19 year-olds must have chaperones no younger than 22.
- All EYE23 participants must be vaccinated in accordance with Executive Council’s recently adopted Model Vaccination Policy, which incorporates CDC Guidelines. Exemptions from vaccinations is only permitted for those who provide a physician’s notice for exemptions due to health concerns.
- The Episcopal Church does not recognize nor does it provide religious exemptions from vaccinations.
- All participants, youth and adult, are required to sign the Community Covenant for Behavior. Parents/guardians must also sign youth covenants so they understand the requirements and potential consequences if their child breaches the covenant.