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Brothers and Sister in Christ,
What a wonderful time we had in
California. Loyola Marymount University was a beautiful setting for
us to experience this years meeting. From our dormitory that sat
high on a bluff overlooking the city of Los Angeles in one direction
and the Pacific Ocean in another, to the beautifully groomed and
well kept grounds of LMU, our 2006 Annual Meeting will be fondly
remembered.
The theme for the weekend, “Know,
Grow and Go” was woven throughout the three days. Each day we
witnessed and shared in wonderful worship services that exemplified
piety, study, and action. Outstanding pastors made each worship
service a special treat. Thanks be to God!
Our host’s, Via de Cristo of Southern
California and Central Valley could not have been more gracious.
They were truly there to serve and I believe that a great time was
had by all. Thank you all for your hospitality!
We elected and welcomed two new
officers to the Board, Nanette Helgager, VP of Administration and
Pastor John Propst, Spiritual Director. We also re-elected Jerry
Lemcke to another term as Treasurer. This of course meant we needed
to say thank you and goodbye to their retiring predecessors; VP of
Administration Tracy Schmidlin and Spiritual Director Pastor Joe
Nilsen. The entire assembly joined in a special tribute to both of
them for a job well done.
We introduced something new into our
meeting this year by having what we called a “Region to Region”
breakout session. This session provided an opportunity for each of
us to meet with attendees from other secretariats that are
geographically located near our homes. From the early reports I have
heard, this was well received and some states are already making
plans to have a regional Ultreya. I’m sure you will see more on this
in the future.
Another big step we took at this
year’s meeting was that the delegates in attendance voted to
establish the position of a National Coordinator to provide
day-to-day oversight of our movement. It was the opinion of the
Board that this could be done if we held a national fundraising
campaign with a goal of establishing an endowment fund to pay for
this position. The Board was empowered to seek, find, and have
trained some individuals that would like to work on this fund
raising campaign.
Here’s where we really need you help.
If you have some previous experience in non-profit capital campaigns
or fund drives, and/or have the ability and talents to help us make
this happen, we want to hear from you. If you have some experience
raising large sums of money in the corporate world or your business
and would like to be a part of this campaign, we want to hear from
you. Please contact any member of the Board. We are already in the
process of establishing an Ad- Hoc Committee to make this happen.
This is a project well worth our time and efforts that can make a
difference to Via de Cristo for many years to come. Please pray
about it and see if God is nudging you to step forward.
The Board will be meeting in
Indianapolis this November to plan next year’s annual meeting.
Please mark your calendars for July 26-29, 2007 and make your plans
to join us. Encourage other members of your secretariat to attend.
It promises to be another grace filled experience.
If you’ve never attended a NLS Annual
Meeting, you’re missing a treat. During the time we spend together,
we experience some very uplifting worship services, take care of
some business, share ideas from our different secretariats, and
enjoy fellowship with other Cursillistas from all over the country.
If you have attended in the past, you already know this.
Enjoy the rest of your summer. We
look forward to seeing you next July in Indianapolis!
Peace and joy,
Larry Witham, NLS President |
