# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1965_S107
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Workbook (pp. 44—47) does not include a

made by the Inter-Lutheran Consultation;

be it

Ived, That the Synod direct its Secretary to in-

in the Proceedings of this convention the constitu-
‘the Lutheran Council in the United States of

‘oa as printed in the Convention Workbook, Re-
01, Appendix E (pp. 4447) except for Article

which is to read:
: ARTICLE XII

Financial Matters

tion 1. The regular financial support of the council
Seon derived mainly from appropriations made by the
articipating bodies in proportion to their baptized mem-
ip.
“Section 2. Special or emergency work shall be financed
of funds available to the council or by such means as
participating bodies may determine in each case.

Section 3. No borrowing in excess of one hundred
“thousand dollars ($100,000) shall be undertaken in behalf
of the council without approval by the participating

bodies.
Action: This resolution was adopted.

Constitution of the Lutheran Council
in the United States of America

Preamble

Wuereas, In their respective constitutions, the par-
‘{icipating Lutheran church bodies acknowledge the Holy
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the only
“gource and the infallible norm of all church doctrine
‘and practice, and see in the three Ecumenical Creeds
and in the Confessions of the Lutheran Church, espe-
cially in the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and Lu-
ther’s Small Catechism, a pure exposition of the Word
~ of God; and

Wuereas, The participating bodies are of the convic-
tion that they should and can more effectively carry on
their work and further a Lutheran witness by cooper-
ating in matters of common interest and responsibility,
cooperation in which is not at variance with their doc-
trine and practice;

Therefore the participating bodies do hereby estab-
lish and will maintain a common council to be governed
by the following constitution.

ARTICLE I
Name and Incorporation

Section 1. The name of this agency shall be the Lu-
theran Council in the United States of America, here-
inafter referred to as council.

Section 2. This council shall be incorporated.

ARTICLE I
Participating Bodies

Section 1. The participating bodies shall be the Lu-
theran church bodies in the United States of America
which shall have approved the coristitution prior to the

CHURCH RELATIONS 107

establishment of the council or are subsequently ad-
mitted to participation in the council as provided in
Section 2 of this Article.

Section 2. A Lutheran church body in the United
States of America may be admitted to participation in
the council by a majority vote of the representatives
present and voting at a meeting of the council followed
by a two-thirds vote of the delegation of the partici-
pating bodies, each delegation casting a single vote ap-
proving such admission.

Prior to such action the applicant church body shall
certify to the officers of the council its approval of the
constitution of the council and its desire and purpose
to participate.

Section 3. All the participating bodies shall take
part in the Division of Theological Studies. In all other
work of the council each participating body may deter-
mine whether to participate in a division, department,
commission, and office. The representatives of a par-
ticipating body shall not be entitled in meetings of the
council or its Executive Committee to vote on any mat-
ter specifically related to a phase of the council’s work
in which such body is not participating.

Section 4. Participation in the council may be ter-
minated by withdrawal upon action by the church body
concerned. Such termination shall become effective
three months after written notice thereof. A partici-
pating body which withdraws from the council shall be
expected to fulfill the obligation which it had assumed
for specific projects of the council and its assigned share
of the budget’s support of the council for the year in
which its withdrawal becomes effective.

Section 5. All assets acquired by the council shall
belong solely to the council during its continued exis-
tence. A participating body, upon its withdrawal, shall
have no right or claim to any of the assets of the
council.

ARTICLE WI
Representation

Section 1. Each participating body shall be entitled
to one representative for every two hundred thousand
baptized members in the United States of America, or
remaining major fraction thereof; provided, however,
that each participating body shall be entitled to at least
one representative.

Section 2. The basis for calculating representation
for each year shall be the baptized membership of each
participating body as of January 1 of the preceding
year. ;

Section 3. Each participating body shall certify to
the secretary of the council its list of representatives
at least thirty (30) days prior to each annual meeting.

Section 4. In case a representative is prevented from
attending any meeting of the council, his place at such
meeting may be filled by an alternate selected by his
participating body. . ; :