# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S266 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 266 STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION WHEREAS, A most severe imbalance exists within our church body between Circuits in the suburbs and those in the most thinly populated parts of our nation—in many cases, we have congrega- tions who, by numbers, could be Circuits by themselves; therefore be it Resolved, That the English District memorialize the 2004 LCMS convention to request the President of Synod to appoint a task force to review Bylaw 3.03 on the requirements for an elec- toral Circuit by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and bring any recommendation to the 2007 convention. English District 7-41 To Study and Devise Model for Fair Representation at Synod and District Conventions WHEREAS, There have been ongoing concerns over fair repre- sentation at District and Synod conventions between larger and smaller parishes, Circuits, laymen and clergy, other rostered work- ers, etc.; therefore be it Resolved, That the Pacific Southwest District in convention memorialize the 2004 Synod convention with the task of studying the issues of fair representation and their related implications, and devise a more suitable model for suitable representation; and be it further Resolved, That the Synod present its findings and recommen- dations for consideration at our next regularly scheduled District convention. Pacific Southwest District 7-42 To Change Synod’s Electoral Circuit Requirements and Delegate Representation WHEREAS, The current Synod bylaw presents the opportunity for widely disparate sizes of electoral Circuits such that one Cir- cuit could be 566 percent larger than another; and WHEREAS, The convention polity and method of determining voting delegates to Synod conventions was established at a time when most congregations were of similar size; and WHEREAS, By the latest figures available from the national of- fice, half of the communicant members of the LCMS (approxi- mately 960,000 of 1,919,940 communicant members) belong to a declining 17 percent (1,045 of 6,150) of our congregations; and WHEREAS, Today the largest 5 percent of the congregations (305 of 6,150) have 24 percent (453,191) of the communicant members of the LCMS, and the smallest 25 percent of congregations (1,538) have 4 percent (82,573) of the communicant members of the LCMS; and WHEREAS, A more fair representation is desired, seeking to avoid both the control of smaller Circuits and congregations by larger Circuits and congregations as well as larger Circuits and con- gregations by smaller ones; and WHEREAS, Congregations in visitation Circuits have developed working relationships in regional ministry that should not be dis- turbed by constant reorganization to achieve a more fair represen- tation; therefore be it Resolved, That the 54th convention of Northern Illinois District memorialize the 2004 convention of the LCMS to make the fol- lowing changes to Bylaw 3.03 and to change all related Bylaws ac- cordingly: PRESENF/PROPOSED WORDING “Voting delegates shall consist of at least one pastor and one layman from each electoral circuit. An electoral circuit shall consist either of one or two adjacent visitation Circuits, as shall be determined by each District, on the basis of the following re- quirements: each pair of delegates shall represent from 7 4 to 20 member congregations, involving an aggregate communicant membership ranging from 1,500 to +0;600 9,000. Electoral cir- uits may el ne pastor and one |: to represent their cir- cuit for every 1,500 communicant members. Delegates will be lected at_a Circuit Forum, where two votes, a pastor and a lay- man, will represent each congregation, While it is the intention of this bylaw that all congregations have the opportunity to send delegates to the Synodical Convention, there are no restrictions n_the number of delegates from an i egation it- cuit Forum may choose to represent an electoral Circuit, Excep- tions to these requirements and limitations can be made only by the President of the Synod upon request of a District Board of Directors.” Northern Illinois District; Trinity, Roselle, IL; Circuit 6, Northern Illinois District 7-43 To Study Synod’s Electoral Circuit Structure and Delegate Representation WHEREAS, The convention polity and method of determining voting delegates to Synod conventions was established at a time when most congregations were of similar size, and were staffed by a pastor and perhaps a called teacher to assist the pastor in the one- room school; and WHEREAS, Art. V of the LCMS Constitution includes as mem- bers of the Synod “congregations, ministers of religion—ordained, and ministers of religion—commissioned, such as teachers, direc- tors of Christian education, directors of Christian outreach direc- tors of parish music, deaconesses, parish assistants, and certified lay ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church who confess and accept the confessional basis of Article IT’; and WteREAS, Presently only sole, senior, or associate pastors and congregational lay representatives may vote in conventions of the Synod held at the District or national level; and WHEREAS, Groups of “members of Synod,” namely called teachers, lay ministers, and other categories of called church work- ers whose existence could not have even been imagined by our forefathers in the faith, have only token and advisory representa- tion at best; and WHEREAS, Our Synod in convention, if it is to speak the heart and mind of the people of the LCMS, should include a fair repre- sentation of the members and congregations of the Synod; there- fore be it Resolved, That the 54th convention of the Northern Illinois Dis- trict memorialize the 2004 LCMS convention to establish a com- mittee elected by the Districts to study our District and Synod polity and to make recommendations for a constitutional amend- ment to the Synod when it next gathers in convention to establish a process of election of delegates to the convention which will as- sure a more fair convention representation of all the members and congregations of the Synod at convention; and be it further Resolved, That this “more fair convention representation” will not preclude as voting representatives any “member of Synod” in- cluding all ordained pastors and ministers of religion—commis- sioned (such as teachers, directors of Christian education, directors of Christian outreach, directors of parish music, deaconesses, parish assistants, and certified lay ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church who confess and accept the confessional basis of Art. II). Northern [linois District; Trinity, Roselle, IL; Circuit 6, Northern Itlinois District