Secretary

Carolyn Witham
Secretary

secretary@viadecristo.org

Grace and peace to you dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

My name is Carolyn Witham. I made Western North Carolina Via de Cristo in the fall of 1990 where I sat at the table of Esther.

With my two children (one in high school and one graduated), I worship at Christ Lutheran Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. I have been a process and systems consultant for over 30 years, primarily providing human resources business process outsourcing services for clients in a variety of industries, and am currently a Senior Workday Configuration Manager employed by Alight Solutions.

Over the years, I have served my home congregations on church council, capital campaigns, a variety of committees (e.g., Stewardship, Youth, Finance, etc.), Sunday School/VBS teacher, 4th Day community coordinator, and spiritual gifts workshop leader. I have also served as a call committee trainer for the North Carolina Synod.

In addition to serving on my local secretariat for two terms (one as Pre-Via de Cristo chair and one as National Delegate), I helped plan and facilitate a regional secretariat retreat, was a leader on a 2021 retreat for 4th day community members, served on a Host Committee, and served on many weekends and helped lead multiple ultreyas. At the national level, I have served as the Vice President of Administration for four years, was part of an Executive Director selection committee, serviced on a by-laws special committee and have participated in many national gatherings. It is now my honor and joy to serve this beloved Via de Cristo community as the secretary.

Role Description

The Secretary is a responsible servant of Jesus Christ who wishes to glorify God by documenting the activities of NLS and the EC. The Secretary will maintain and share essential data with local secretariats.

  • Elected by the delegates at a National Lutheran Secretariat (NLS) meeting to serve a two-year term. Renewable by election for a second two-year term
  • Serves without compensation
  • Accountable to NLS President and the Executive Committee (EC)

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

  1. Prays regularly for the leaders of the affiliated Secretariats and the members of the NLS Executive Board (EB).
  2. Participates as an active member of a Renewal Group
  3. Takes minutes for all meetings and, within 1 week, sends a draft copy to all Board members that attended the meeting – asking for corrections or omissions. Members will review the draft copy and annotate their changes within a week. Secretary will make necessary corrections and resend a modified draft to all Board members. Minutes will be approved as the first agenda item at the next monthly Board teleconference. Once approved, the minutes will be sent to the Web Master for posting to the NLS website and maintained on the NLS external hard drive.
  4. Researches and becomes the Board’s point-of-contact for all questions regarding music copy write laws.
  5. Dispatch the Annual Activities Survey by January 15 each year. Secure response from each and every secretariat, in coordination with VPO and Regional Coordinators, for the determination of annual dues and number of eligible voting delegates at the Annual Gathering. Final document will be published in the Annual Gathering binder.
  6. Assists the President and Non-Profit Compliance Coordinator with staying current of changes in statutes regarding non-profits by reviewing email materials sent from the Minnesota Council of Non-Profits.
  7. Based on the information provided by the VPO, VPA and Regional Coordinators, prepares the list of delegates and seats them as the first action of the business meeting portion of the Annual Gathering.
  8. Maintain a record copy of all documents created by the previous Secretary. All previous documents will also be given to the Archivist/Historian.
  9. In coordination with the President, set up the monthly Board
    meetings/teleconferences and record the minutes for distribution and filing.
  10. Maintains an accurate and timely manual for this position including a timeline of responsibilities.
  11. Provides an annual report of activities to the Vice President of Administration for inclusion in the Annual Gathering binder no later than June 15 of each year.

Other Duties

As assigned by the President

Knowledge, Skills, and Related Gifts

  • Computer skills including word document skills, internet and e-mail
  • Good communication skills
  • Good time management skills
  • Organizational skills
  • Good use of grammar/spelling skills

Fiscal Responsibility

Appropriate expenditures/expense reports or receipts are to be filed with the NLS Treasurer that relate to the position, travel and needs for meetings.

Extent of Public Contact: Low

The Secretary will have frequent contact with Board members but less contact with community members. May need to answer occasional questions from the floor during the business meeting portion of the Annual Gathering. Most duties are done
from home and use the Internet (e-mail) for completion

Physical Demands

Travel and time commitment for Mid-Year Meeting and the National VdC Annual Gathering. Potential long meeting hours, followed by transcribing, typing, distributing, and correcting minutes.