LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Sheet 232

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220 CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS

occurs on a District Commission of Adjudication, the vacancy
should be filled by a member of a Commission of Adjudication
of another District (Bylaw 5.55). The commission also ruled
that it would be necessary for every District to have two
attorneys on its commission and that the previous ruling
should apply when a District is unable to find two qualified
attorneys.

It advised a District President regarding the proper way to
deal with unconstitutional resolutions which had been adopted
in the past.

The commission held that an individual who is a full-
fledged colloquy student at a seminary cannot sit on the Board
of Control of that institution.

At the request of the Board of Directors the commission
ruled on the participation of the Synod in the National Indian
Lutheran Board and the Indian Desk of LCUSA.

The commission reiterated its previous opinion that wed-
dings should be performed only by ordained clergymen and not
by licensed lay ministers of the Synod.

It approved the wording for the offical announcement in the
periodicals concerning nominations for President and First
Vice-President.

The commission continued to give guidance in many
instances to congregations with respect to woman suffrage
and women holding office.

It continued to receive inquiries regarding so-called un-
changeable articles in congregational constitutions.

Considerable time was devoted to the question of whethera
District Church Extension Fund could incorporate separately
for the protection of the fund’s assets.

The commission has begun work on issuing once again one
or more model constitutions for congregations.

It instructed one circuit in the Synod to hold delegate
elections once again since improper procedures had been
followed.

It ruled that a congregation which had merely applied for
membership and had not yet been received into membership
could not be party to the delegate-election process.

It held that the Concordia, Edmonton, faculty and Board of
Control could no longer send official representatives to the
convention, since it was no longer a synodical school in the
Bylaw sense of the term.

The commission was asked to delineate the relationship
between the Synod’s doctrinal review process and the re
sponsibilities of the Board of Directors of Concordia Publishing
House.

In answer to several requests it gave an official inter-
pretation of 1979 Res. 6-04A regarding the phasing out of the
Saskatoon seminary program.

The commission assisted the Council of Presidents in
formulating policies regarding teachers called to pan-Lutheran
school associations.

It held that the synodical convention itself had determined
that the question of dual membership was a constitutional
issue.

It held that service on a synodical high school faculty could
not be counted toward meeting the requirements for permanent
tenure for a professor at a college or seminary.

The commission again ruled that nominating committees
should be elected by the assembly and not simply appointed by
a Board of Directors of a District. Similarly, in congregations
the right of nominating persons for office should not be unduly
restricted.

III. Other Opinions and Interpretations

Opinions, rulings, or interpretations were also given on
many other questions, among them the following:

That teachers who are not members of the Synod may be guests
but not members of an official teachers conference

That removal from the roster and expulsion from the Synod are
not necessarily synonymous

That organizations which do not consist exclusively of member
congregations do not qualify under the roster Bylaws for
issuing calls

That a District President could be elected from among all
individuals on the clergy roster of the Synod, but that
Counselor elections had distinct restrictions

That every clergyman is a member of a congregation

That it is not proper for a Counselor to participate in the
ordination of an uncertified pastor.

On the lack of appeals procedures in cases of removal from the
roster

On the roster status of teachers serving pan-Lutheran asso-
ciations

On congregational constitutions having a paragraph on
disposition of property in case of dissolution

On determing the correctness of procedures in excommuni-
cation cases

On convention seating of uncertified Seminex graduates

On mandatory retirement provisions for college presidents

On applications for membership in a congregation

That a call does not necessarily imply full-time service

That uncertified Seminex graduates cannot serve a member
congregation in a pastoral capacity

That congregations served by a lay minister are entitled only
to a lay vote under present Bylaws

That all member congregations, pastors, and teachers have the
right of appeal

That the action of a synodical pastor ordaining an individual
into another church body is contrary to the Synod’s
Constitution

On access to the adjudication process

On speaking rights of emeriti at conventions

On eligibility to serve as an advisory pastoral delegate

On a District’s action in passing resolutions on church
fellowship

On the right of a District President to remove a CRM from the
roster

On the proper procedure for electing teacher advisory delegates
to synodical conventions

On the question of requiring a two-thirds vote in matters of
doctrine, conscience, and excommunication

That proposed revisions of District Bylaws should ordinarily
be submitted to the commission prior to their adoption by a
District convention

That congregations holding dual membership are not entitled
to voting privileges at District conventions

That under present provisions teachers cannot serve as lay
delegates

That campus congregations which wish to be and remain
members of the Synod must have their constitutions
approved

Thatit is not proper fora colloquy student to accept a call before
finishing his colloquy program

IV. Recommendations

Resolution 3.06A of the 1979 synodical convention directed
the Commission on Constitutional Matters to prepare in
consultation with Canadian legal counsel appropriate Bylaws
for the election of a Board of Control for St. Catharines
Seminary in Ontario. The recommendations form a separate
overture.

Herbert Mueller, Secretary

5-02

To Receive Faith, Deer Park, Wash.,
into Membership

Faith Lutheran Church of Deer Park, Wash., herewith
requests membership in The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod.

Our constitution has been approved by the Committee on
Constitutions of the Northwest District. Pastor Jaech, North-
west District President, has recommended that application be
made to the synodical convention so that membership may be
accomplished in July 1981.

Faith Lutheran Church
Deer Park, Wash.
Donald R. Stevens, President