# LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters Minutes_St. Louis Missouri_November 28 29 2005_S1
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
November 28−29, 2005
St. Louis, Missouri
100. Call to Order
Chairman Albert Marcis called the meeting to order and called on Don Little for an opening devotion.
Several items were added to the agenda of the meeting by the members of the Commission.
101. Minutes of November 18 Conference Call Meeting
Secretary Raymond Hartwig presented the minutes of the November 18, 2005 conference call meeting. In
the discussion that preceded their adoption, it was noted that copies of an October 11, 2005 memorandum
from the Synod’s legal counsel to the Commission regarding agenda items 05-2432, 05-2438, 05-2439,
and 05-2441 mistakenly had been provided to the Board of Directors at the time that copies of a
November 11, 2005 memorandum were provided. The chair was instructed to communicate to the Board
of Directors that the Commission had not intended for the October 11 memorandum from legal counsel to
be provided to the Board (copy of letter attached to protocol copy of these minutes).
102. Standard Operating Procedures Manuals (04-2404)
Secretary Hartwig reported that the Council of Presidents gave its final approval to the standard operating
procedures manuals for Bylaw sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, and 2.17 at its November 15−17 meeting. Copies
of each of the manuals were provided to the district presidents, who will produce copies as needed. The
Commission asked that it also receive printed and electronic copies of the manuals.
103. Review of “Guidelines for the Constitution and Bylaws of a Lutheran Congregation” (04-2412)
The Commission gave careful consideration to a latest draft of the “Guidelines for the Constitution and
Bylaws of a Lutheran Congregation.” It was agreed to include an index and that the text of all referenced
bylaws be provided in endnotes to the document. The Secretary will incorporate changes and revisions
into the document in preparation for review and discussion with the chairmen of district constitution
committees at a scheduled February 1−2, 2006 meeting in St. Louis.
104. New Handbook Changes to Bylaw 1.5.9 (05-2426; 05-2430)
The Secretary of the Synod in a May 23, 2005 memorandum forwarded to the Commission a concern
raised by the Synod’s Human Resources Executive Director regarding Bylaw 1.5.9 and the use of the
words “agency of the Synod” to replace the words “board, commission, and synodwide corporate entity”
of Bylaw 3.69 (e) of the 2001 Handbook.
In July 22 and August 15, 2005 letters to the Commission, the President of the Synod asked two series of
questions regarding the relationship of policies of the Board for Human Resources and policies of the
Board of Directors in light of the wording of Bylaw 1.5.9 when compared with corresponding Bylaw 3.69
(e) of the 2001 Handbook.
Given the involved nature of the issues related to these questions, the Commission agreed to allow itself
time for further study and to give priority time to this requested opinion at the time of its next regular
meeting.