From February 3 to 4, the France South Federation opened its doors to host the Annual Meeting of Communicators (RAC), bringing together 44 members, active in communication and technology, from local churches. It was an impactful event because it is the first to see the light of day in our federation and within which we were able to create a space for exchange, spirituality, and connection between participants.

The RAC 2024 was marked by profound spiritual moments, notably thanks to the inspiring preaching of Daniel Monachini, president of the Federation of Churches of the South of France, as well as beautiful moments of liturgy animated by Quartet 4 Christ, talented musical artists from the Montpellier church who added an emotional and unifying dimension to the event. Here, participants had the chance to listen to the testimony of special guest: Darell Philips, teaching assistant, academic mentor, and award-winning journalist, who was accompanied by his mother, a writer and mental health nurse. Darell came to host the Lab Com Webinar on the theme “Journalistic writing: how to share your story”.

The main goal of this meeting was to forge links between communicators from different churches, in order to stimulate the desire to collaborate. With this in mind, moments were specifically organized to encourage connection between participants, allowing them to exchange ideas, experiences, and vision. Among other things, organizers proposed a game, designed to encourage participants to ask each other a variety of questions ranging from light to profound, which played a key role in the process of getting to know each other and establishing connections. Located in Clapiers, near Montpellier, the Federation benefits from a setting and a climate that attendees were able to take full advantage of for this event: a shared meal outdoors, but also a short digestive walk in the Clapier forest.

In addition, the event was an opportunity to prepare the ground for the next RAC, with sessions dedicated to collecting participants' expectations and suggestions regarding upcoming training workshops. It is in this participatory approach that the vision and projects of our communication department are part.

The impact of this event was assessed through a satisfaction questionnaire. Positive feedback, which resulted in the immediate implementation of quarterly zooms. These sessions aim to allow the com/technical teams of local churches to meet, encourage each other, discuss ideas for joint projects and get directly to concrete matters.

“RAC 2024 was, therefore, a weekend full of faith, learning and collaboration, promising great prospects for our ministry of communicators and technicians,” commented Vanessa Romano, Community Manager.

This article was published on the Inter-European Division's news site.