# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S281 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION 281 Lutheran Church, have been required to attend District conven- tions; and WHEREAS, At District conventions of the Synod every congre- gation or parish is entitled to two votes, one of which is to be cast by the pastor and the other by the lay delegate; and WuereaS, Advisory members cannot be elected by any congre- gation to be accredited to cast the vote for the pastor; and WuerEAS, Advisory members cannot be elected by any congre- gation to be accredited to cast the vote for the lay delegate; and WHEREAS, This amounts to forcing these advisory members to attend conventions but does not permit them to vote either as pastor or lay delegate and therefore completely takes away their right to vote; and WHEREAS, Congregations that are located a long distance from the site of the District convention with a large staff of advisory members (teachers) must fund the expenses of these advisory mem- bers; and WHEREAS, This funding can get to be a very large sum; there- fore be it Resolved, That the Bylaws of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Chapter II, Membership, Section F, “Miscellaneous Provi- sions with Respect to Members,” Bylaw 2.37, “Duties of Advisory Members” be changed to read: “Advisory members of the Synod may attend District conventions, and they may be elected by any congregation or by any group of congregations as lay delegates to a national convention of the Synod, and they may be accredited as such”; and be it further Resolved, That if a pastor cannot attend a convention, the assis- tant pastor of the congregation may be elected to be accredited to cast the vote the pastor of the congregation would have been enti- tled to cast; and be it finally Resolved, That if any article of the Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod requires a congregation’s advisory mem- bers to attend a convention, the Synod must provide full funding for these advisory members. St. John Portage, WI 7-122 To Include Commissioned Ministers as Voting Delegates WHEREAS, The national synodical convention “shall afford an opportunity for worship, nurture, inspiration, fellowship, and the communication of vital information”; and WuerEAS, The national synodical convention “is the principal legislative assembly, which amends the Constitution and Bylaws, considers and takes action on reports and overtures, and handles appropriate appeals”; and Wuereas, The national synodical convention “establishes gen- eral synodical positions and policies, provides overall program di- rection and priorities, and evaluates all such positions, programs, policies, directions and priorities in order to provide responsible service for and on behalf of its members”; and WHEREAS, The Synod’s commissioned ministers are not directly represented among the voting delegates at District and Synod con- ventions; and WHEREAS, These members of the Synod should be allowed to provide both voice and vote at District and Synod conventions; therefore be it Resolved, That the LCMS revise Chapter III of the Synod’s By- laws to read that voting delegates to the synodical conventions shall consist of one pastor and one layperson from each electoral Circuit and one commissioned minister per every 60 commissioned minis- ters in the District; and be it further Resolved, That the LCMS revise Chapters TV and V of the Synod’s Bylaws so that commissioned ministers in the District will, during the officia] District conferences, elect from among them- selves one person for every 60 commissioned ministers in the Dis- trict to serve as a voting delegate at the District convention. Trinity Portland, OR 7-123 To Revise Bylaw 3.19 re Convention Floor Committees Wuereas, The Synod should desire and welcome participation from all geographical areas of the Synod and from a wide variety of ministries in the Synod in the deliberations and actions of the Synod in convention; and WHEREAS, The Synod has benefited from the participation of a more representative number of people on various committees, e.g., the expanded Committee for Convention Nominations; and WHEREAS, The Synod could benefit by allowing a more repre- sentative group of individuals to participate in the selection of na- tional Synod convention floor committees; and WHEREAS, The Presidents of the Districts of the Synod comprise such a representative group; and WHEREAS, The Presidents of the Districts of the Synod are aware of the qualifications and capabilities of the delegates trom the various Districts; and WHEREAS, That awareness is of benefit in selecting the mem- bers of the various floor committees; therefore be it Resolved, That the Northwest District submit an overture to the 2001 convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod that requests the Synod to revise Bylaw 3.19 f to read as follows (strike- out of present wording): All reports and overtures accepted by the President in ac- cordance with the foregoing paragraphs shall be referred by him to convention committees appointed by him in the name of the convention. The membership of these committees shall be drawn from a list of voting delegates (Bylaw 3.03), advisory delegates (Bylaw 3.09), and advisory representatives (Bylaw 3.13) submitted to the President by a committee appointed by the Council of Presidents. Committee chairpersons shall be ap- pointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Council of Presidents from a list of nominees provided to the President by the Council of Presidents. Ordained ministers commissioned ministers, and laypersons shall be represented on all floor commitiees. [The rest of the Bylaw continues as written in the current Handbook. | Northwest District 2001 Convention Workbook