Translator church services (English to Dutch)

Summary

For this voluntary task we are looking for someone who is willing to translate church services from English to Dutch, on average once every four weeks (by exception also the other way around). You do this at the front of the church, next to the pastor. We expect from a translator that: you are Christian (and a member of our church), you are representative, you speak Dutch fluently and understand English very well, you can translate smoothly, you speak with good volume and articulation, and you can convey the message well. If you are interested, please contact Luca at lucakappinga@gmail.com.

What will be asked of you as translator?

The Sunday meetings at ICF-Noord are translated from Dutch to English or vice versa (depending on the language the pastor speaks). In this way we ensure that everyone present is able to understand the service and is blessed by the words that are spoken. Different aspects of the translation are: the welcome and announcements, the greeting (blessing), the introduction to the worship songs, the sermon, the prayer, the closing and the blessing. You do all of this at the front of the church, next to the pastor.

The pastor often provides his notes on the whole sermon before the church service. Sometimes this is not the case and, for example, you only know the theme and the Bible passage. As translators, we ensure that we read the Bible passage and (if possible) the pastor's preparation in advance. To ensure good occupancy, we enter our availability in the schedule and arrange replacement ourselves if we are not available. For this voluntary task we are looking for someone who is willing to translate church services from English to Dutch on average once every four weeks (by exception also the other way around). You will join our fun translation team, together with Elise Boyle, Anton de Zeeuw and Luca Kappinga.

What should you strive for as a volunteer translator?

As a translator you have a crucial role. Good quality of translation is important to achieve our goal and to prevent the translation from becoming a nuisance for visitors to the church. However, we do human work and as volunteers we are not trained as interpreters. That's why it doesn't have to be perfect and it's okay to make mistakes (people from the audience are happy to help you if you don't know a specific word). Below are a number of expectations we have of the translators. We strive for this together, but recognise that it is an ongoing process in which we can grow:

1. You are a Christian: you have a living faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ and a desire to serve Him. You are also a member of ICF-Noord and a (almost) weekly visitor to the Sunday meetings.
2. You are presentable: you look neat while translating, so that your appearance does not distract from the words we speak. In addition, you strive for a calm attitude and the use of non-verbal communication.
3. You speak Dutch fluently and understand English very well: this means a good general vocabulary, a good 'Christian' vocabulary (like Biblical names and places and religious terms), a good use of grammar, a pronunciation that is easy to follow for the recipients, the ability to paraphrase reliably and translate the context when you do not know a specific word.
4. You are able to translate fluently/smoothly: the pace of the translation is pleasant for the recipients, there is a good rhythm between the pastor and translator and the translator does not hesitate too often.
5. You speak at a clear volume and articulate well.
6. You pay attention to the substantive translation: the message we translate is clear and corresponds to what the pastor says. You are limited to deleting or adding phrases/words.

 Interested?

If you would like to know more about this role, please contact Luca at lucakappinga@gmail.com (or her phone number if you have it). If you want to participate, a process will be started to see whether there is a good match between you and the role of translator.