Regional Taizé Meeting in Lviv / Pilgrimage of Trust in Ukraine

Dates

From Friday 27 April to Tuesday 1 May 2018

• Arrival: Friday between 10am and 7pm in the city centre.
• Departure: Tuesday from 11.30am onwards from the city centre.

Age

18-35 years old

• This meeting is not intended for adults over 35, unless they are leading a group of young people. Adults over 35 and families with children are warmly invited to come to Taizé instead. For information, please see these pages: meetings for adults and meetings for families.
• 17 years old may come if they are accompanied by someone 20 or older. They must bring with them a form giving written parental authorisation. The form names a leader (who should be over 20 years old) to be legally responsible for them during the meeting. Please check whether authorisation is needed for leaving your home country as well.
• 15-16 years old teenagers can join the “one-day programme” (see the information below).

Preparation before the meeting

• Preparing for the meeting is extremely important, for example by attending common prayers with songs from Taizé organized near where you live, or by taking part in a preparation meeting.

• Ideas to inspire these preparatory meetings are published regularly on these pages:
   Commented Bible Passages
   Prayer for Each Day

Organizing a group to participate in the meeting

• If you know someone who plans to organize a group for the meeting, or if you are ready to do so, please contact us as soon as possible by email.

• A contact list of people who are organizing groups may be published on the website. If you want to see your pilgrimage announced on this page, please contact us by email.

Provisional programme

The provisional programme is published online. It will include vespers and liturgies with the local communities, common prayers all together, reflection and silence, meeting in small groups with those from other places and backgrounds, workshops on themes related to faith, social commitment, culture and art.

Full commitment

We ask all participants in the meeting to take part fully in the programme of prayers and activities from arrival until departure. Coming to Lviv for the Taizé meeting is therefore a commitment. Others will be counting on you. Visiting the city or nearby sites can best be done before or after the meeting.

Passport and visa

Please check in advance about the formalities of entry to Ukraine. In order to check if you need a visa to enter Ukraine, or to get any information, check the following site

Basically, everyone will need a passport which is valid for at least six months. Please also bring a photocopy. For EU citizens: please remember that ID is not enough to cross the border, make sure you have a valid passport.

Journey

• The meeting begins in Lviv on Friday evening April 27 and ends on Tuesday May 1st before noon.

• You can get to Lviv by train, bus or plane. Plan your arrival in order to be in Lviv on Friday evening at the latest. On your registration, please note the time and place of your arrival in Lviv – please keep your Arrival details in the inscription up to date.

• The welcome team will try to meet all foreign participants in the pilgrimage upon arrival (Train station, Airport, Bus station...). Nevertheless, if you need to take a taxi, be aware that you can know the price in advance with the Uber application, working in Lviv.

• If you need to purchase a train ticket between Lviv and Kyiv or another city, you can check this website. It’s also possible to buy a ticket online on this official site for trains that connect Poland and Ukraine (Przemysl-Lviv-Kyiv).

Registration fee

• 25€

• Your contribution covers meals, local transport, the hire of the meeting places, equipment, and other costs of the meeting.

• It is easiest for us if you give your contribution online by credit card through your registration form, a few days before the meeting. But please note that we cannot make refunds.

• Groups must pay in advance by bank transfer. If you need a receipt for your records, it is essential to ask at the time when you give your contribution.

• Only for individuals, if necessary, your contribution can be given upon arrival by cash. If you intend doing this, each participant should prepare in advance the exact amount, in Euros or Hryvnia.

Money

• It’s always useful to take a few more euros or a credit card for unexpected expenses.
• You can change money into Ukrainian Hryvnia in Lviv exchange offices almost anywhere. There is no need to change money before coming to Ukraine, exchange rates are usually not very convenient abroad.

Help phone number

Few days before the meeting you will receive the detailed program and we will indicate a Help-Phone-Number during the pilgrimage. Do not start your journey without having received these details!

Accommodation

• In families, religious communities or schools.
• In any case, please bring your own sleeping bag and mat. Be prepared to sleep on a couch or the floor.
• Be ready to separate and if necessary to stay alone so that all the families who want to can receive a guest.
• You might want to bring a little present for your host family.
• Please do not return late to your host family.

Medical needs

Bring whatever medication you may need with you. Check with your doctor before leaving to be sure you are in good health and that you have the basic medication necessary for travel.

Clothing

• It can still be cold in Ukraine in April – please bring some warm clothes. It will be useful to check the forecasts few days before departure, but make sure you are prepared for colder weather.

• Bring a pair of slippers or sandals for wearing in the flat of your host family. People usually remove shoes on entering someone’s home.

• Out of consideration for the host communities, everybody will be attentive to respect the local traditions concerning clothing and worshipping. It’s important to ask yourself – or to ask others – before entering a church, to which Christian confession it belongs.

Insurance

Every participant should have travel health insurance.

Meals

• All participants should bring a spoon to use at mealtimes

• For the food, we will try to keep the cost down and minimise wastage. We shall not be able to provide separate meals for those with medical diets or allergies.

• For breakfast: those accommodated by local host neighbourhoods will be given breakfast by their hosts.

• Sunday lunch: this lunch will be shared in the host families. It may be nice to bring something from your country.

Volunteering (arrival one day early)

• If you want to help with various task (for example in welcoming participants, singing or playing an instrument during common prayers, organizing meal distribution, cleaning, preparing the places of prayer, translating), arrival is on Thursday 26 April between 9am and 4pm. Participation fee is the same as for those arriving the day after.

• If you wish to help with any practical work, put ‘26.04.2018’ as arrival date in registration form and choose one of these three options in the “HELP” box at the bottom of the page: 1. reception and information 2. music team 3. any work including meal distribution, cleaning, preparing the places of prayer, and so on

One-day programme

• In order to involve the 15-16 years old teenagers in the regional meeting, we will offer a special “one-day” programme. This programme is also open to families with children - under the responsibility of the parents - and to adults over 35 years old. Those who take part will be able to come in the morning, from 9am to 10am, have a meeting with a team member, and then take part in all the activities: prayers, workshops, meals.

• This option is possible on Saturday 28, Sunday 29 and Monday 30. It can’t include any accommodation provided by Taizé. The contribution fee will be given later.

• It’s important to register also these groups! You don’t need to send all the details of the participants, but you need to tell us as early as possible if you are planning to organise such a group.

Registration

• It’s possible to register online.

• Do not buy your tickets before receiving confirmation.

• Fill in the form as soon as possible and keep/bookmark the link that will be displayed in the end (“edit your response”) to be able to modify details of your registration later on, like arrival time etc.

• Please inform us immediately if you have to cancel your participation.

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Further news

• Further news and information about the preparation in Lviv will be posted on Facebook @taize.