Present:  Tracy Schmidlin, Rev. John Propst, Nanette (Nu) Helgager, Dave Erdman.Katie Sistar, Jerry Lemcke, Judy Laabs-Foss, Bob Northrup

            Tracy called the meeting to order at 8:00 EST on February 10, 2008.

            Rev. John Propst opened with prayer.

 Web Page Coordinator Report – Bob Northrup

            Everything on the web has been updated and is in good shape.  Tracy thanked him for the updates.  He will be stepping down from this position in July. After his report, he had to leave the meeting.

 Secretary Report– Katie Sistar

            The approved Teleconference Minutes from September 16. 2007 are on the web and in the Newsletter.  The Mid-Year Minutes from meeting in Arizona are also on the web and in the Newsletter.

            The updated 2008 NLS Survey has been sent to all the Lay Directors and Presidents of the secretariats with a requested response by March 15.  Thanks to Jan Long and Lucy Hightower for their assistance in getting this ready.

 Treasurer Report – Jerry Lemcke

            Letters will be sent to the treasurers of each secretariat requesting the National dues which need to be paid by May.  Jerry has served four years and will step down in July.

 VP Administration Report – Nu Helgager

            Bishop Steve Talmage is confirmed as Keynote Speaker for the National Meeting.  The host committee is meeting monthly now and will be sending out invitations to the secretariats with letters and registration and travel forms.

            Reviewed the contract with Florida for the 2009 National Meeting.

 VP Outreach Report- Dave Erdman

            Steve Gilda is working with Region 5 to develop a new secretariat in Pennsylvania.  Region to Region last summer helped with this process.  There is a request in Delaware for information on how to get started.  There is a request from Texas for Spanish materials. 

            Dave and Pastor John would like to assist Heart of Florida with VDC information before their retreat on February 22, 23 at which the secretariat will discuss their Via de Cristo plans.

            There are 2 day programs which are not Via de Cristo but which serve a similar purpose.  They are CHIRP and Discovery.

 Spiritual Director Report – Pastor John Propst

Everything is fine.  He will see if Arizona needs any help with the worship schedule.  John will be stepping down in July. 

Newsletter Editor Report – Judy Laabs-Foss

            The newsletter is posted and the next deadline for articles is April 15.  She wrote an article about insurance.  The National organization is not attached to the local secretariats, so it is important that each group obtains its own insurance for their weekends.

 Report from Fourth Day Movement – Tracy Schmidlin

            This was a meeting of groups similar to Via de Cristo in 10 or more states who gathered in Florida on Feb. 1 and 2 to discuss ways of strengthening all of us.  Different groups are trying to do the same thing in bringing the good news of Christ to people.  We are having similar struggles.  We need to recognize each other’s weekends and be willing  to share materials.  There is a need for more volunteers in Kairos.  That ministry needs to be promoted more.

 Old Business –

The National Coordinator position is on hold right now.  The committee has not met yet.  We discussed the process of getting a National Coordinator.  There is concern that not enough money was authorized at last summer’s National meeting to fund a major campaign to fund the position in perpetuity.  There was a discussion of who might be able to be in the position initially and how they would be paid.  We agreed that we want the National Coordinator position to work out, so Joe Nilsen and Bob Quam should move forward with the committee work.

 New Business –

Eduardo  Bonin, a founder of Cursillo, died recently at the age of 90.

Tracy is working on getting a nominating committee for the openings in July. 

Positions available: Treasurer, Spiritual Director, Web Page Coordinator

VP Administration - Nu Helgager is eligible and willing to run again for this office.

The next teleconference meeting is scheduled for 7:00 EDT on April 6.

Pastor John closed with prayer at 9:50 p.m. 

Respectfully submitted,

Katie Sistar