LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 213

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STRUCTURE AND CONSTITUTION 213

6.51 Appeals

The normal appeals procedure set forth in chapter
VIII of the Bylaws shall apply, with the provision
that if the case has been handled by the Board of
Regents (Bylaw 6.47), and not by the ecclesiastical
authorities (Bylaw 6.49), the Commission on Adjudi-
cation shall be bypassed, notwithstanding the provi-
sions of chapter VIII of the Bylaws, and the case
shall go directly to the Commission on Appeals.
Either the accused or the complainant may resort to
such an appeal, but the appeal must be made within
90 days after the action has been communicated. If
the complainant makes no appeal, the accused shall
have the right to request a public announcement that
the charge has been dismissed.

6.51 Appeals

The normal appeals procedure set forth in chapter
VIII of the Bylaws shall apply with respect to cases
under Bylaws 6.43, 6.45, 6.47, and 6.49, with the
provision that if the case has been handled by the
Board of Regents (Bylaw 6.47) and not by the ecclesi-
astical authorities (Bylaw 6.49), the Commission on
Adjudication shall be bypassed, notwithstanding the
provisions of chapter VIII of the Bylaws, and the case
shall go directly to the Commission on Appeals.
Either the accused or the complainant may resort to
such an appeal within the designated period (cf.
Bylaw 8.51 g). If the complainant makes no appeal,
the accused shall have the right to request a public
announcement that the charge has been dismissed.

5-05

Report of Ad Hoc Committee
to Study 1981 Convention
Resolutions 2-14 and 2-15 (Franchise)

Action on Resolution 2-14 of the 1981 convention (“To
Broaden the Franchise,” Proceedings, p. 141) and on Resolu-
tion 2-15 of the same convention (“To Amend Article V and
Article XII of the Constitution,” Proceedings, pp. 141 f.) was
deferred until the 1983 convention, and the President of the
Synod was instructed to appoint a committee consisting of one
pastor, two teachers, and three laypersons to report to the 1983
convention. The text of the two resolutions and the action
taken by the convention follows:

To Broaden the Franchise
RESOLUTION 2-14

Report 2-01, IV, I, 1-6 (CW, p. 49); Overtures 2-08A—2-13
(CW, pp. 132—133)

Resolved, That the following Task Force I] recommendations,
Section 1, be adopted, as amended:

1. That, as a general rule every congregation shall be entitled to
two votes at a District convention;

2, That, since it is the congregation which basically decides who
is to cast its two votes, a congregation should be free to choose
anyone it wishes from its communicant membership to cast its
nonpastoral vote, so that the congregation may choose a layperson,
a parochial school teacher, or any communicant member of that
congregation who is on the clergy or teacher roster of the Synod in
some other capacity;

3. That when the pastoral office is vacant in the congregation at
the moment, the congregation shall still be entitled to two votes, to be
cast by members chosen by the congregation:

4. That in a dual parish or multiple parish the pastor shall be
entitled to one vote; the parish shall be entitled to at least one
additional vote, and shall have a third vote if at least two congrega-
tions in that parish have at least one hundred communicant

PRESENT WORDING

Article V Membership

Membership in the Synod is held and may be
acquired by congregations, ministers of the Gospel,
and teachers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
who confess and accept the confessional basis of
Article I.

A. Voting Members

All organized congregations that have joined the
Synod hold voting membership. At the meetings of
the Districts of the Synod every congregation or
parish is entitled to two votes; one of which is to be
cast by the pastor and the other by the lav delegate.
At the meetings of the Synod a number of congrega-
tions shall form a group, which shall be represented
by two voting delegates, one a pastor and one a lay
delegate.

members each (in this way, if two rather large congregations forma
dual parish, both would be entitled to a vote in addition to the
pastoral vote; however, if the parish consists of several small
congregations, the parish would have only one vote in addition to
the pastoral vote). Any necessary determination of procedure or
alternation shall be made by the District Board of Directors;

5. That thesame principles be applied basically also to synodical
conventions; that every congregation be free to nominate any person
from the total communicant membership of the congregations
within that Circuit as a candidate for the second delegate position
and its alternate. This person shall preferably be a layperson, but all
individuals holding communicant membership are eligible, includ-
ing clergymen who are not called as parish pastors, and teachers.

Action: Referred to special committee (14).

To Amend Article V and Article XII
of the Constitution
RESOLUTION 2-15
Report 2-01 (CW, pp. 51—52)

WHEREAS, Considerable dissatisfaction has been voiced by dual
and vacant parishes since, in their estimation, they are being
deprived of part of their voting rights; and

WHEREAS, Congregations with lay ministers have voiced con-
cerns that their lay ministers cannot serve as a pastoral delegate.
with the result that the congregation has only one vote; and

WHEREAS, Teachers have long been ineligible to serve in any
capacity as a voting delegate; and

WHEREAS, Many clergymen who are not called pastors cannot be
available to their congregations, which might wish to use them as
their second delegate; and

WHEREAS, The concept was firmly established that every
member congregation should be entitled to two votes; and

WHEREAS, Equity seems to require that the congregation should
be free to choose its second delegate from the entire communicant
membership (the pastor being chosen by the congregation as its
pastoral delegate at the time of issuing his call); therefore be it

Resolved, That in addition to required Bylaw changes, the
following constitutional amendments be adopted:

PROPOSED WORDING

Article V Membership
(No change)

A. Voting Members

All organized congregations that have joined the
Synod hold voting membership. At the conventions
of the Districts of the Synod every congregation is
entitled to two votes, one of which, when possible, is
to be cast by the called pastor. For the conventions of
the Synod a number of congregations shall form a
circuit, which shall be represented by two voting
delegates, one of whom shall be the called pastor of a
congregation in the circuit.