# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_2010_S124
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

124

RESOLUTIONS

its general and special objectives and in such bylaws assign
responsibilities to those bodies .
Article VIII. Amendments
Amendments to these Articles of Incorporation may be
made at any time at a general or special meeting of this corporation by the affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of the
delegates present and voting or by a simple majority of all delegates, whichever is less, provided such amendments are not
inconsistent with the Constitution or Bylaws of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod or the Constitution and laws of the
United States or the State of Missouri .
Action: Adopted (12)
(Introduced in Session 10, discussion followed in Session 12,
when an amendment was introduced to replace the words “confess
and accept” with “abide by” in Article III . The committee agreed
instead to retain the wording “confess and accept” but restore the
original following wording “the confessional basis of .” The committee also agreed to restore the words “clergy and lay” in the same
Article III as a second friendly amendment . Res . 4-06 was adopted
as changed [Yes: 767; No: 315] .)

To Amend Bylaws re Convention Preparations
RESOLUTION 4-07
Overture L4-25 (TB, pp. 34–39)
Whereas, Changes in requirements for the preparation of
pre-convention materials and changes in the conditions under
which such materials are gathered have made existing bylaw
deadlines difficult to meet; and
Whereas, Reduced mail service performance has resulted
in delays in the delivery of convention materials; and
Whereas, Accommodating such reduced mail service performance has resulted in an increased cost of at least $70,000
for the 2010 convention; and
Whereas, Timely receipt of pre-convention materials is
essential for proper preparation for conventions of the Synod;
and
Whereas, In the interest of transparency, widespread
provision of information regarding convention business is
desirable; and
Whereas, Existing bylaws predate the availability of
electronic communication tools that allow for timely and economical distribution of materials; therefore be it
Resolved, That the bylaws governing the submission of
convention business and the distribution of pre-convention
publications be amended as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Reports and Overtures
3 .1 .6 The principal business of a convention of the Synod
shall be the consideration of reports and overtures . Reports and
overtures shall must be submitted in triplicate to the President of
the Synod not later than 20 18 weeks prior to the opening date
of the convention .
2010 Convention Proceedings

(a) No report or overture received subsequent to that date
shall be accepted for convention consideration unless a committee consisting of the President, the First Vice-President, and the
Secretary adjudge it to be a matter of overriding importance and
urgency which is not adequately covered by documents already
before the convention .
(b) Overtures and recommendations involving capital outlay
or current expenditures shall be accompanied, to the extent feasible, by cost projections and the basis thereof .

Reports
3 .1 .6 .1 Reports to a convention of the Synod may be submitted only by the President, a vice-president, the Secretary, the
Vice-President-Finance—Treasurer, the Board of Directors of
the Synod, a board or commission of the Synod as listed in Bylaws 3 .2 .2, 3 .2 .2 .1, 3 .2 .3, and 3 .2 .3 .1, and other individuals or
duly constituted groups who may be required or permitted to do
so by the Bylaws, by action of a prior convention of the Synod,
or by the President .
(a) Reports are statements of work performed or contemplated by those who are charged with conducting the business
of the Synod between conventions, communications to a convention with respect to studies that may have been made for the
Synod in order to further its work, or other types of communications to the Synod .
(b) A report shall not include an overture unless the report is
submitted by someone authorized to submit overtures .

Overtures
3 .1 .6 .2 Overtures to a convention of the Synod may be
submitted only by a member congregation of the Synod, a convention or board of directors of a district, an official district conference of ordained and/or commissioned ministers, the faculty
of an educational institution of the Synod, the Board of Directors of the Synod, a board or commission of the Synod listed
in Bylaws 3 .2 .2, 3 .2 .2 .1, 3 .2 .3, and 3 .2 .3 .1, a committee established by a prior convention, or a forum of a circuit .
(a) Overtures are recommendations in the form of proposed
resolutions requesting action on the part of the convention .
(b) Overtures with reference to a case in which a member
has been suspended and which is at present in the process of dispute resolution, as well as overtures which, upon advice of legal
counsel, may subject the Synod or the corporate officers of the
Synod to civil action for libel or slander or which contain libel
and slander, shall not be accepted for convention consideration .
(c) The President of the Synod shall determine if any overture contains information which is materially in error, or contains any apparent misrepresentation of truth or of character . He
shall not approve inclusion of any such overture in the Convention Workbook and shall refer any such overture to the district
president who has ecclesiastical supervision over the entity
submitting the overture for action . If any published overture or
resolution is found to be materially in error or contains a misrepresentation of truth or of character, it shall be withdrawn from
convention consideration and referred by the President of the
Synod to the appropriate district president for action .

Convention Committees
3 .1 .7 All reports and overtures accepted by the President
in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs shall be referred