Saturday

The meeting reconvened with a prayer by Pastor G. Karl Gaston. The election process was reviewed again.  Jerry Gray was elected by acclamation on Thursday as Treasurer and Pastor G. Karl Gaston was elected by acclamation on Thursday as Spiritual Director.  The election of the Vice President of Administration commenced.  The nominees were Carolyn Witham, Sue Bathe and Randy Poisel. The budget was also included on the delegates’ ballots.  While the votes were being counted...

What do a group of techies talk about when they meet? Amanda Hunter, led this discussion which entered into the areas of webpage usage, making parts accessible to team while limiting parts for the prospective pilgrims who are researching the VDC movement. We learned about licensing requirements when using songs in churches, weekends, and ultreyas, and using Spotify for team to learn songs for the weekend. She then talked about the advantages and disadvantages of...

Reverend G. Carl Gaston began with his story of seminary education leading to his becoming ordained. HIs jouney gave him insights into several denominations and an understanding of the definition of Ecumenical. Definitions of “Ecumenical” include: Reverend Gaston provided a handout which gives helpful information on the concept of VdC as an ecumenical movement. The Mission Statement of Via de Cristo (National) reads: “By grace, with the Holy Spirit, we challenge leaders to discover and...

Presenter Marty Harpster discussed the qualities that make an impactful sponsor, and how it is key to grow the VDC community. He explained the impact of good sponsorship, based on relationships. A “good” sponsor being someone who “adopts” their pilgrim for the entire process, before, during, and after their weekend. He stressed the importance of bringing clergy into VDC, not just having them recruit but also attend a weekend of their own. Submitted by Temple...

Pastor Katie of New Promise Lutheran in St. George, Utah opened us with prayer of gratitude asking for guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us forward in our understanding and connection with our youth. She outlined a framework of historic change in our own history that mirrors the changes and challenges we see today. Historically, it was the change from a church/state structure to a voluntary structure. That change brought insecurity, fear, and uncertainty...

Lead by-Father Steven Kalas Father Steven Kalas opened up the talk with a skit performed by two participants. The point of the skit was to introduce the meaning of reconciliation. To move towards reconciliation there must be confession, suffering, accountability and forgiveness. The process can breakdown at any point and steps might have to be repeated. A person can go through all of the steps and never reach reconciliation. In true reconciliation, the most potent...

Jeff began by summarizing points from prior forums/worship services. He emphasized that our human distinctions (race, color, etc.) do not matter to God, who sees us as a person. It is God, one and the same, that loves us all. Two “wolves” are “at war” within us -a good one and a bad one. The one who wins is the one we feed. Jeff pointed out that all U.S. currency contains the phrase, “In God...