# LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters Minutes_St. Louis Missouri_September 2 2004_S1
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
Teleconference Meeting
September 2, 2004

1. Call to Order and Prayer
Chairman Albert Marcis called the conference call meeting to order and asked Wilbert Sohns to provide
an opening prayer. The chair noted the purpose of the meeting, to address questions regarding the
organization of the new Board for University Education.
During the course of the meeting it was noted that the minutes should also include Opinion 04-2410, a
requested reconsideration of Opinion 04-2390 accomplished by the Commission via exchange of E-mail
communications.
2. Reconsideration of CCM Opinion 04-2390 (04-2410)
Pursuant to Bylaw 8.21 i, a complainant through a Review Panel requested a reconsideration of CCM
Opinion 04-2390.
The Commission on Constitutional Matters reviewed its Opinion 04-2390 and concluded that it provided
an appropriate answer to the questions that were asked.
3. Board for University Education Organization (04-2411, 04-2411A)
The President of Concordia University System (CUS), in response to Opinions 04-2408 and 04-2408A
and in contemplation of the scheduled election of a new president at Concordia University, River Forest
(CURF) asked in an August 25, 2004 letter:
Questions: 1. In what context in the synodical governing documents is the expression “fully constituted”
used to interpret synodical Bylaw 3.69 b?
2. In light of the scheduled election of a president for Concordia University, River Forest,
may the Board for University Education establish a valid elector by electing a chairman or
chairman pro tem subsequent to 1 September (Synod Bylaw 3.65) but prior to 15 September,
or may the former chairman of the BHE/CUS Board serve as the elector because he
participated in the establishment of the selection criteria and in the establishment of “the slate
of nominees to be interviewed in the election meeting” (Bylaw 6.11 g)?
The current Chairman of the Board of Regents of Concordia University, River Forest, in a letter received
August 27, 2004, also relayed a question asked by his board:
Question: By what means will it be possible for Concordia University, River Forest, to conduct its
presidential election on the scheduled date of 16 September?
Opinion: The situation presented in these questions arises because of a unique circumstance in which a
new board was created by action of the convention and because, due to an amendment from the floor, the
originally contemplated continuity from the old Board for Higher Education (BHE) to the new Board for
University Education (BUE) was not achieved. The term “fully constituted” is not used in the governing