LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 199

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

199

signing appropriate call documents, to responsible administration,
as its concern in this regard is simply that rostered members of the
Synod filling the positions as indicated receive calls as appropriate.

Question 3:

Question 3:

Opinion: No. The first sentence of Bylaw 3.1.3, present in this location for historical reasons (see further below), deals only with
advisory delegates at conventions of districts (cf. Bylaw 4.2.3 and
Const. Art. XII 10 b). It has no bearing whatsoever on what commences with the second sentence of Bylaw 3.1.3 and proceeds, following the colon, into Bylaw 3.1.3.1, namely, advisory delegations
to the Synod convention (cf. Const. Art. IX 2).

Under Synod Bylaw 2.5.1, must a university or
seminary seek the counsel of the appropriate district
president when calling ordained or commissioned
ministers for nonfaculty staff positions?

Opinion: Bylaw 2.5.1 requires every agency of the Synod, including each university and seminary, when calling any ordained or
commissioned minister, to consult with the district president designated by subparagraphs (b) and (c).

Synod Convention Advisory Delegate Process (222999)
Minutes of November 4–5, 2022
By an email of Aug. 29, 2022, a district secretary of the Synod requested an opinion on the following questions, regarding the scope
of participation and eligibility in the process for selection of Synod
convention advisory delegates. The questions, all of which regard
selection of advisory delegates to the Synod convention, have been
edited by the commission:
Question 1:

Does the second sentence of Bylaw 3.1.3 limit
which ordained ministers are eligible to be selected
as an ordained advisory delegate or to participate
in the vote selecting ordained advisory delegates to
“those ordained ministers not eligible for election as
a voting delegate under Bylaw 3.1.2.1 (d)”?

Opinion: Yes, the second sentence of Bylaw 3.1.3, in constraining
which ordained ministers are to be represented by advisory delegates at the Synod convention, specifically excludes any ordained
ministers eligible to be elected as voting delegates [to the Synod
convention] under Bylaw 3.1.2.1 (d) from those ordained ministers
eligible (i) to be counted for the ratio computation described in Bylaw 3.1.3.1, (ii) to be advisory delegates to the Synod convention,
and (iii) to vote for the ordained advisory delegates to the Synod
convention. It reiterates in part what is stated in Const. Art. IX 2,
the remainder of which (that also excluded are those eligible to be
selected in some respect as advisory representatives) is stated in
Bylaw 3.1.3.1 (c).
Question 2:

Who is to be counted in the computation of the “one
advisory delegate for every 60” ratios of Bylaw
3.1.3.1?

Opinion: One uniform standard determines who is to be represented and therefore, naturally, who is counted in the ratio computation, who is eligible to be selected, and who is eligible to vote for
advisory delegates: that standard set forth in Const. Art. IX 2: “such
individual members [ordained and commissioned minsters, in their
respective groups] as are [i] ineligible to represent congregations
as voting members and [ii] ineligible to represent other entities or
offices in the Synod as advisory representatives.”
In keeping with this constitutional specification, the second sentence of Bylaw 3.1.3.1 sets the general pool of those to be represented, which is further constrained by Bylaw 3.1.3.1 (c). Only
those ordained and commissioned ministers are to be counted (and
to be eligible to be selected or to vote in such selection) who are
“not eligible for election as a voting delegate [to the Synod convention] under Bylaw 3.1.2.1 (d)” (Bylaw 3.1.3) and not “eligible for
selection in any category under Bylaw 3.1.4” (Bylaw 3.1.3.1 [c]).

Does the first sentence of Bylaw 3.1.3 and its definition of “advisory delegate” have any bearing on
advisory representation at the Synod convention?

A word about the juxtaposition of these two sentences in this bylaw
paragraph is in order. The first sentence of Bylaw 3.1.3 formerly
existed as its own bylaw paragraph (2016 Bylaw 3.1.3). The 2019
convention of the Synod, by Res. 9-05, amended the Constitution
of the Synod to no longer speak of “advisory members,” language
that had proven confusing, and instead to speak explicitly of the
representation of certain individual members who did not have opportunity to participate in district or Synod conventions (in manners particular to each) in other ways (Const. Art. IX 2; Const. Art.
XII 10 b). As part of 2019 Res. 9-05, the existing sentence of 2016
Bylaw 3.1.3, “Advisory members of the Synod shall attend district
conventions, but they shall not be elected by any congregation or
by any group of congregations as lay delegates to a national convention of the Synod,” was replaced with the present first sentence
of 2019 Bylaw 3.1.3, “The advisory delegates of a district convention shall consist, unless they present a valid excuse, [see 2019
Res. 9-02 (D)] of all individual members of the Synod within the
district, except those pastors representing member congregations
as voting delegates.” The 2016 language had a clear reason for being included in Bylaw section 3.1, dealing with conventions of the
Synod. Just as clearly, the changes of 2019 Res. 9-05 required the
old language to be replaced; the replacement language, however,
while accurate, has no relation to the conventions of the Synod and
would more properly reside elsewhere.
Question 4:

What is the sense of advisory in Bylaw 3.1.3.1: “for
every 60 advisory ordained ministers and specific
ministry pastors”?

Opinion: This language is carried over from pre-2019 language
and would best be revised to reflect amendments made to the Constitution of the Synod and Bylaws 3.1.3 and 3.1.3.1 (a). Individual
members are no longer described as “advisory members” as before,
but are treated in relation to their participation as or representation
by advisory delegates at district or Synod conventions, depending
on their particular circumstances at the time. Here, based on the
historical interpretation of this phrase in context, “advisory ordained ministers” means “those not eligible to be elected as voting delegates [to the Synod convention].” Here the addition, “and
specific ministry pastors” is redundant, as these are ineligible to be
elected as voting delegates to the Synod convention (Bylaw 2.13.1
[b][1]), but their explicit inclusion here is a valuable reminder, lest
this fact be forgotten.
It is important to note that the more specific Bylaw 3.1.3.1 (c) further limits these pools, specifying that any individuals eligible for
selection under any category of Bylaw 3.1.4 to be an advisory representative is to be excluded from the count.
Question 5:

If a district secretary is eligible to be elected as a
voting delegate or to be selected as an advisory representative under any category of Bylaw 3.1.4, does
Bylaw 3.1.3.1 (c) preclude his calling the meetings
2023 Convention Workbook