In an effort to improve communication in our VdC family, we’ve decided to do what we’re calling “Thirsty Thursday”. We all thirst for deeper knowledge and if you’re thirsty for knowledge about VdC and your Council, this is the place. We are going to attempt to quench that thirst with posts here at least every other Thursday on a number of subjects such as: history of VdC, the NLS – National Lutheran Secretariat, council positions and details, our future plans, and much more!
We would love to hear questions you need answered. Please submit below your questions or comments. You can add your name, but you can always keep it anonymous if you wish.
What is NLS and what happened at this year’s gathering?
NLS stands for National Lutheran Secretariat. Secretariats from all over the country meet once a year in varying locations. There is a board to help guide and support each individual secretariat throughout the year. They also help facilitate planning for upcoming annual gatherings and direct the board meetings at the annual gatherings. The board would like to stress that they are readily available to anyone and would love to help in any way they can. In order for them to help us, we need to simply reach out to them. There are regional coordinators who can help as well. Our regional coordinator takes care of region 2 which is Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. All contact information is found on the NLS website if you ever need to reach out to them.
NLS gatherings include time for worship, fellowship, speakers, exchange of ideas (EOI) in workshops, and of course food. Each secretariat can have as many participants as would like to attend; all are welcome. There are no qualifications for attendees other than being a Via de Cristo 4th-day member, meaning you have attended a VdC weekend at some point in your life. Each secretariat gets one lay delegate, one SD (spiritual director) delegate plus one delegate for every 1000 members on their roster. The delegate positions only matter when it comes to voting at the business meeting. Attendees who are not delegates are welcome to attend these meetings, they just don’t vote.
The awesome thing about this gathering is that there is a wide variety of attendees. One 4th-day member in attendance just went through his weekend this spring and one attended in 1986. It’s great to exchange perspectives and ideas with such a variety of people. You leave invigorated and spirit filled, ready to bring information and ideas back to your home secretariat.
This year’s gathering was held at the University of Indianapolis and it did not disappoint. The Holy Spirit guided us along throughout the weekend. Relationships were made and friends from past gatherings reconnected. Two-hundred and ten 4th-dayers from thirty-two secretariats were in attendance, plus a large number of host team helpers. There were 22 Minnesotans, 9 of which are from Southern Minnesota. There are more details in the Conexiones Newsletter published every day of the event that you can read here: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. If you would like to get a more personal take-away on the event, we will have one of the attendees reach out to you if you fill out the form below.
Next year, Minnesota has the privilege of hosting at Hamilne University in St. Paul on July 30 to August 2, 2020. We are already looking for volunteers to help on teams. These teams are different than our weekend teams and don’t necessarily require all-weekend participation. For instance, we need people to help with registration, shuttles to/from airport, prayer, and music, just to name a few. Keep an eye out for information as it develops. If you would like to volunteer in any way, please fill out the form below and your contact information will be sent directly to the coordinators of the event.
For more info in this years’s gathering or to volunteer for next year’s, please reach out to us…
ignitevdc.org 
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