LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 45

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MINUTES OF THE CONVENTION
Committee 8: Synod Structure and Governance

Before Committee 8 Chairman Larry Stoterau was able
to begin, a delegate introduced a substitute motion 8-30A for
consideration . The chair ruled that substitute 8-30A be held in
abeyance until the committee has had opportunity to study it .
A motion to thank Committee 8 and dismiss it for the remainder of the convention was ruled out of order . When the chair’s
ruling was challenged, the chair was supported [Yes: 703;
No: 377] .
Discussion of Res . 8-02A, “To Restore Circuits to Their
Primary Purpose” (TB, pp . 517f .), was resumed from Session
7, the assembly currently considering the proposed amendment printed on page 529 of Today’s Business, which would
insert a reference to Bylaw 5 .1 .2 into the resolution, amended
to read: “Districts shall establish circuits according to geographic, demographic, and mission criteria, or such other criteria as shall be determined by a district .” A motion to end
debate on the proposed amendment was carried (Yes: 874;
No: 197), and the amendment was adopted [Yes: 556; No:
541] . Discussion continued on the main motion as amended
until debate was ended [Yes: 817; No: 294] and Res . 8-02A
was adopted as amended [Yes: 699; No: 417] .
Res . 8-05B, “To Elect Delegates to the Synod Convention”
(TB, pp . 603ff .), was introduced and explanation provided
by the committee chairman, also deleting lines 19 and 20 (p .
603) . During discussion, a motion to refer the resolution to
the Commission on Handbook was introduced . After debate
was ended [Yes: 742; No: 361], the motion to refer was carried [Yes: 583; No: 551] .
Res . 8-03B, “To Elect Circuit Counselors” (TB, pp . 518f .),
was introduced by the committee . During discussion, a proposed amendment to replace “begin with” with “is primarily
the responsibility of” in line 29 and “nominate” with “suggest” in line 31 was accepted by the committee as a friendly
amendment . When a motion was introduced to amend line 8
on page 519 by inserting “either” after the word “submitted”
and line 9 by having the phrase “and by the district president”
instead read “or by the district president, the latter,” this was
ruled to require prior consultation with the Commission on
Constitutional Matters and therefore out of order . Discussion
continued on main motion until debate was terminated [Yes:
793; No: 314] and Res . 8-03B was adopted as changed [Yes:
619; No: 509] .
Res . 8-12A, “To Direct the Board of Directors to Amend
the Bylaws as Necessary” (TB, p . 427), was introduced and its
purpose explained by the committee . After brief discussion,
a motion to end debate was carried [Yes: 794; No: 322], and
Res . 8-12A was adopted as presented [Yes: 822; No: 286] .
Res . 8-30B, “To Study Article VI of Synod’s Constitution”
(TB, p . 606), was introduced by the committee . A proposal to
amend line 43 by replacing “clarifying and affirming amendment of” with “to clarify, and affirm, or amend” was accepted
by the committee as a friendly amendment . When an amendment was introduced to delete lines 41 to 43, debate was ended
[Yes 806; No: 248] and the motion to amend failed [Yes: 273;

45

No: 828] . The question was called on the main motion [Yes:
835; No: 273] and the resolution was adopted as changed
[Yes: 850; No: 286] .
Res . 8-32B, “To Study Article VII of Synod’s Constitution”
(TB, pp . 607f .), was introduced by the committee . An immediate motion to end debate failed [Yes: 574; No: 522] and
discussion began on the resolution . The committee agreed
to the same friendly resolution for line 50 as in line 43 of
Res . 8-30B . An amendment to include “colleges, universities” in line 46 after “circuits” was also received as a friendly
amendment . A substitute motion was introduced advocating
the withdrawal of all resolutions dealing with constitutional
changes was introduced but its consideration declined by the
assembly [Yes: 457; No: 640] . During continued discussion of
the main motion, an amendment to insert “and their pastors”
after “Synod” in line 46 was accepted by the committee as a
friendly resolution . When debate was ended [Yes: 903; No:
201], Res . 8-32B was adopted as changed [Yes: 858; No: 271] .
Session 12
Friday p.m.—July 16, 2010
Call to Order/Afternoon Devotion

President Kieschnick called the assembly to order and
asked convention chaplain Glen Thomas to introduce the
devotion leader, Dr . Leo Sanchez, Director of the Center of
Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary, St . Louis . His meditation, “Living by the Spirit,” was based on Galatians 5:16–26 .
He spoke of the two spirits at work in the world, opposed to
each other, evil spirits and the Spirit of God . They are not only
“out there,” in the world, but also “in here,” in the church . He
encouraged walking by the Spirit in the way of peace, possible only in Jesus, from whom the Spirit is poured out . He
concluded his meditation by singing a hymn of peace, “Make
Me an Instrument of Peace,” a canticle sung throughout the
Latino world .
Minutes

Minutes were adopted following several additions and
corrections by the Secretary . The Secretary also asked that
an additional sentence be added to the minutes for Tuesday,
with no objection from the assembly . The corrections will in
incorporated in the minutes when printed in the Convention
Proceedings .
The Commission on Constitutional Matters offered comment regarding Bylaw 7 .1 .1 and its application to business
already conducted by the convention . The commission noted
that no convention actions contradict the Constitution of the
Synod . By a vote of 973 to 60, the assembly agreed with the
commission’s conclusions .
Elections

The chair asked convention chaplain Glen Thomas for a
prayer before the elections were conducted . Committee 9
Chairman Russell Sommerfeld led the assembly through the
balloting process after updating the registration report, now
2010 Convention Proceedings