Transportation

Have you ever wondering what was involved in serving on a Transportation & Luggage Team for an Upcoming CCE Walks? My name is John Weaver and I am the current CCE Transportation and Luggage Committee Chairperson on the CCE Board of Directors.  Transportation/Luggage is a fairly easy way of serving during any of our typical yearly Walk to Emmaus weekends.

Here is the range of tasks for any given Walk:

1. Have a valid and appropriate driver’s license and obtain permission from your church to utilize your church’s 12 or 15 or greater capacity van, plus willingness to drive it to the North Topsail Beach Salt and Light Center on Saturday night of the Walk, so as to transport pilgrims and Conference Room Staff to and from Candlelight. You are able to attend the Candlelight event too once you arrive with the pilgrims.  After returning with the pilgrims to the Salt and Light Center, you could then return home with the van, or leave it at the Salt & Light Center if you had the ability to volunteer to drive it again on Sunday, assuming that there was another way for you to get back home and return on Sunday.  If you are CCL-licensed for driving buses with capacity greater than 15 passengers, there is also a possibility that we could use you, even if you don’t have access to such a vehicle.

2. On Sunday afternoon, there is a need to transport the pilgrims’ luggage from the Salt and Light Center to the Closing location, using the CCE 6’x10’ enclosed trailer, including loading and unloading. A 2” ball hitch is necessary, and we have a converter to accommodate the wire hookups for the vehicle lights, if necessary, in order to match your vehicle’s wiring ports.  Although it is possible to do all of the luggage tasks by one’s self (I have tested this possibility), 2 or 3 people would be better to get the job done somewhat faster.  From time of pick-up of the trailer at its permanent location at Faith Harbor UMC in Surf City, to collecting, then delivering and dropping off the luggage, to returning the trailer, the task takes about 2 hours.  It is also possible to perform both Tasks 2 and 3 (below) on a given Sunday.

3. Later on Sunday (after potentially also doing the luggage transfer), there is again a need to use vans to transport pilgrims and a much more limited number of Conference Room Team members from the Salt and Light Center to Closing. Once the pilgrims are dropped off at Closing, you may attend Closing, or return with your van to your church should that not fit your schedule.  Tasks 2 and 3 take about 3.5 hours, combined, depending on how early you commence Task 2, plus the time to attend Closing, should you so decide.

4. I can give you a better idea of the times required on both days, for any or all of the tasks, should you have interest in volunteering.

5. Approximated van gasoline cost for the computed distance of the trips can be reimbursed upon request.

6. One easy way to be a driver is if you also happen to be a volunteer serving on the Conference Room Team, whereby the van would be your transportation vehicle getting you from home to the Walk and then back home again at the conclusion of the weekend, although Conference Room Team members are unable to participate in luggage duties.

I really thank you for considering volunteering for the service opportunities listed above.  Reserving and driving vans is cumbersome and tends to fall to the same individuals from the churches that are situated closest to the Salt and Light Center and/or from churches which predominate in CCE participation.  If your church regularly provides van volunteers or if it is not located inordinately far from the event, perhaps you could volunteer for van and/or luggage duty in October, 2016, so please contact me, if you can so serve.