# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1986_S168
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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168

RESOLUTIONS

until a decision is reached by the Commission on Ad-
judication, provided that in the event the decision of the
Commission on Adjudication is duly appealed, the sus-
pension shall remain in effect until a final decision is
reached by the Commission on Appeals. During the pe-
riod of suspension a member shall not be relieved of any
rights under the Constitution and Bylaws, but an in-
dividual member shall be relieved (1) of his duties as a
member of the Synod (e.g., to serve as a delegate to a
district or synodical convention, membership on district
or synodical boards and commissions) and (2) of the du-
ties and responsibilities of any position he or she holds
with the Synod or with a district or other agency of the
Synod, and shall be ineligible for accepting a call to any
other position of service in the Synod. Suspension, how-
ever, shall not, of itself, act to relieve an individual mem-
ber of duties and responsibilities of any other position
held by the member, including a position with a con-
gregation which is a member of the Synod, but the dis-
trict president shall notify the congregation or other
entity being served of the suspension so that the con-
gregation or other entity may take action as it deems
appropriate.

b. The Commission on Adjudication shall keep all
parties to the case and the district president informed
as to the procedural progress it is making in the case
and shall endeavor to bring the case to a conclusion
within three months from the effective date of suspen-
sion except (1) where a longer time is deemed necessary
to guarantee the rights of all parties, (2) as permitted
under Bylaw 2.27 c, or (3) for other good cause.

c. A complainant, the member whose membership is
subject to termination, and the appropriate district
president shall each have the right to appeal the deci-
sion of the Commission on Adjudication. Notice of intent
to appeal to the Commission on Appeals must be filed
within 30 days after receipt of the decision of the Com-
mission on Adjudication.

d. In any case in which a Commission on Adjudica-
tion or the Commission on Appeals shall decide that the
suspension of a pastor or teacher of the Synod should
be set aside, the commission shall, as part of its decision,
determine the extent to which and the manner in which
the individual shall be reimbursed for any loss of income
suffered during the period of suspension. This deter-
mination shall be binding on all parties. If the decision
is appealed, the Commission on Appeals shall also re-
view the decision concerning reimbursement for loss of
income.

E. REINSTATEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS
INTO MEMBERSHIP

2.31 Eligibility for Reinstatement

Any person who at any time has held individual
membership in the Synod but has resigned that mem-
bership, or whose membership in the Synod has been
terminated, is eligible to seek reinstatement into mem-
bership. However, there is no inherent right to mem-
bership in the Synod, and the decision as to whether to
accept or deny a request for reinstatement shall be at
the sole discretion of the Council of Presidents.

2.33 Procedure

All applications by individuals for reinstatement into
membership in the Synod shall be addressed to the
president of the district in which the applicant last held
membership. Procedures for investigating and process-
ing requests for reinstatement which are generally ap-
plicable to all situations shall be the responsibility of
the Council of Presidents. The president of the district
shall review the matter and shall ordinarily make a
recommendation to the Council of Presidents, but may
be excused by the council from making such a recom-
mendation where circumstances warrant. A decision to
reinstate shall require an affirmative vote of at least
15% of the district presidents present and voting, and
shall be by written ballot. If the applicant is reinstated,
the district president shall publish this fact in an official

periodical of the Synod. A decision not to reinstate shall
be unappealable, but the individual may reapply for
reinstatement three or more years after his or her last
preceding application has been denied.

F. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
WITH RESPECT TO MEMBERS

2.35 Duties of Members

Every member of the Synod shall diligently and ear-
neatly promote the purposes of the Synod by word and
eed.

2.37 Duties of Advisory Members

Advisory members of the Synod shall attend district
conventions, but they shall not be elected by any con-
gregation or by any group of congregations as lay del-
egates to a national convention of the Synod, nor shall
they be accredited as such.

2.39 Relation of the Synod to Its Members

a. The Constitution, Bylaws, and all other rules and
regulations of the Synod apply to all congregational and
individual members of the Synod. The Synod expects
congregations that have not been received into mem-
bership, but are served by the Synod, and whose min-
isters of religion, ordained and commissioned, hold
membership in the Synod, to honor its rules and reg-
ulations.

b. The Synod expects every member congregation to
respect its resolutions and to consider them of binding
force if they are in accordance with the Word of God
and if they appear applicable as far as the condition of
the congregation is concerned. The Synod, being an ad-
visory body, recognizes the right of the congregation to
be the judge of the applicability of the resolution as
applied to its local condition. However, in exercising
such judgment, a congregation must not act arbitrarily
but in accordance with the principles of Christian love
and charity.

c. While retaining the right of brotherly dissent,
members of the Synod are expected as part of the life
together within the synodical fellowship to honor and
to uphold the resolutions of the Synod. If such resolu-
tions are of a doctrinal nature, dissent is to be expressed
first within the fellowship of peers, then brought to the
attention of the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations before finding expression as an overture to
the convention calling for revision or recision. While the
conscience of the dissenter shall be respected, the con-
sciences of others, as well as the collective will of the
Synod, shall also be respected.

d. Membership of a congregation in the Synod gives
the Synod no equity in the property of the congregation.

2.41 District Through Which Membership Is
Held; Ecclesiastical Supervision

a. An individual member of the Synod who is serving
a congregation shall hold synodical membership
through the district of which the congregation is a mem-

r.

b. An individual member of the Synod who is serving
a district shall hold synodical membership through that
district.

c. A missionary or chaplain serving under a call by
the Synod shall hold synodical membership through the
district designated by the missionary or chaplain if ap-
proved by the president of that district after consulta-
tion with the Board for Mission Services and the
president of the district through which membership is
currently held.

d. An individual member of the Synod who is serving
an entity other than a congregation or district, and other
than a missionary or chaplain serving under call by the
Synod, shall hold membership through the district des-
ignated by that person if approved by both the president
of that district and the president of the district in whi
the entity is located, but shall be subject to the eccle-