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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 184

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

184

I. OPINIONS OF COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS

by a convention of the Synod, and is referred to the attention of
the Commission on Handbook.
Question 3: Considering the posed situation and Bylaws
2.12.1.2 and 2.12.1.3, of which district would the
missionary/pastor be a member, and which district
president would have ecclesiastical supervision?
Opinion: A member of the Synod may have membership in
only one district at any given time (Ag. 1511, Sept. 11–12,
1981). For active members, a change in district membership is
generally occasioned when a call in one district is concluded
and one in a new district is taken up (Bylaws 2.12.1.2, 3, and
6). (Only certain active members can transfer voluntarily between districts, as provided in Bylaws 2.12.1.4 and 5).
The normal expectation of Bylaw 2.12.1.3 is that a member
called by a district will hold membership in that district—the
situation now pertaining to the member in question. If that call
were to be relinquished in the taking up of a call to a congregation in another district, Bylaw section 2.12 would provide a clear
rationale for a change of district membership. In this case, however, the first call to District A is not being relinquished; a call
to a congregation in District B is being added to the first. That
being the case, Bylaw section 2.12 as a whole does not provide
a clear rationale for a change of district membership; Bylaws
2.12.1.2 and 2.12.1.3 conflict, and no indication of precedence is
given. The commission therefore can give no guidance on this issue until clearer bylaws have been implemented to provide such
guidance. Neither does Bylaw 4.4.7 seem to account for the situation at hand.3
Given that ecclesiastical supervision of the congregation
clearly remains with District B, while the district membership
of the missionary-pastor may remain with District A (given that
Bylaw section 2.12, taken as a whole, provides no clear rationale for a change in district membership), there is also a degree
of unclarity as to who has the ecclesiastical supervision of the
member. Bylaw 2.12.1 implies that ecclesiastical supervision of
a member shall normally be exercised by only one district president (Const. Art. XII 7). However, circumstances have arisen
which raise questions about this assumption, especially where a
called worker may serve across more than one, and even, many
districts. The matter of ecclesiastical supervision of called workers whose duties cross district lines is also referred to the attention by the Commission on Handbook. Until a clarification
should be made in the bylaws, the district presidents are expected to formulate a formal (written) understanding of ecclesiastical supervision of such a member (Ag. 1959, above). It seems a
reasonable principle that each district president has ecclesiastical supervision over what goes on within his district (Const. Art.
XII 7, Bylaw 4.4.5). Should such a designation be necessary, it
should be by the agreement of the involved district presidents,
under the supervision of the President of the Synod.
Question 4: If a called worker has two or more calls simultaneously, may one be designated as primary (i.e.,
determinative of district membership, supervision,
etc.)?
Opinion: The Constitution and Bylaws never speak of a
primary or secondary call and make no provision for assigning
one as primary or others as secondary.
Question 5: Considering the posed situation, in which
district(s) would he be advisory to the district
convention?
2019 Convention Workbook

Opinion: The Bylaws make no provision for membership in
more than one district. Since the missionary-pastor might
presumably retain membership in District A, which he serves
as missionary (Bylaw section 2.12 providing no clear rationale
for a change in membership as a result of his acceptance of the
second call to District B), he would in that case be an advisory
delegate to that district convention (Bylaw 4.2.3).
Question 6: Since he would be the congregation’s sole pastor,
could the congregation send him as its (voting)
pastoral delegate to the District B convention?
Opinion: Once the missionary pastor accepts the call to the
congregation, he no longer fits under the definition of an
“advisory member only” under Const. Art. V B. Const. Art. V
A defines the voting members of the Synod as being “all organized congregations that have joined the Synod.” “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 lay delegate. At the meetings of the Synod
a number of congregations shall form a group which shall be
represented by two voting delegates, one a pastor and one a lay
delegate.” Const. Art. XII A and B designate the same status
within the Districts of Synod (with the exception of the word
only with regard to advisory members).
Prior CCM opinions dealing with multi-congregation parishes crossing district boundaries have set a precedent for the
pastor not voting outside the district in which he holds membership, but the situation at hand is not a multi-congregation
parish and the precedent has not heretofore denied to a congregation or parish the pastoral vote granted it by the Synod
Constitution. This vote, while exercised by the pastor of the
congregation or parish, belongs natively to the congregation or
parish and not the pastor. The CCM dealt with a related matter
in its meeting of Oct. 14–15, 1971 (Ag. 282):
President Herman Scherer of the Missouri District had asked whether synodical staff men and
others in similar positions could serve as voting
pastoral delegates from those smaller congregations which they serve in a pastoral capacity on
the side. After considerable discussion the Commission ruled:
According to Article V of the Constitution every
member congregation or parish is entitled to two
votes, a pastoral vote and a lay vote.
The Commission rules that voting pastoral privileges shall be extended to any clergyman who is
called by a congregation and properly installed
as its pastor according to the regulations of the
Synod set forth especially in Article XII, 9, c and
Bylaws 4.15 to 4.19.
Therefore the missionary of District A who accepts the
additional call to become pastor of a District B congregation
may cast the pastoral vote of the congregation in District B even
though he is not a member of that district.
All this raises further questions (presuming the minister remains a member of District A):
••

Would he be counted in District A’s advisory member
pool or be eligible to serve as an advisory delegate
to the Synod convention from District A (Bylaw
3.1.3.1)? The commission, finding that the minister