LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 170

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170

RESOLUTIONS
pointing entity or agency is located or with which it is
otherwise identified shall be responsible for the rite of
consecration of candidates. The rite of consecration will
take place in the presence of the congregation or other
entity or agency to which the candidate has been appointed. The District President shall issue a diploma of
consecration.
3. Initial installation:
Acting under the authority provided in the Bylaws,
the District President shall be responsible for initial installations of consecrated lay workers appointed to positions with congregations which are members of his
District or with other eligible calling bodies subject to
his ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The rite of installation
shall always take place in the presence of the appointing congregation or other appointing body, except that
in the case of lay missionaries appointed by the Synod,
members of a faculty of a synodical institution, or institutional church workers, the rite shall take place in a
setting approved by the District President.
4. Forms and practices:
The rites of consecration and rites of installation
should be in accordance with forms and practices developed by the Synod for that purpose, and in all events
the consecrated lay worker shall be solemnly pledged
to the Scriptures as the inspired and inerrant Word of
God and the Symbolical Books of the Lutheran Church
as a true exposition of the Scriptures.
C. Ecclesiastical Supervision
7.41 Supervision
The consecrated lay worker shall be under the ecclesiastical supervision of the President of the District
in which he or she is serving.
7.43 Certified Church Workers, Lay, Listing
Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws, the District President shall be responsible for the
initial placement of the names of all consecrated lay
workers on the certified church workers, lay, listing of
the Synod and also for their removal. A consecrated lay
worker accepting an appointment to a congregation in a
sister District, shall immediately report such decision
to his or her District President and ask for a transfer.
The District President shall forward such transfer to
the President of the sister District. Upon receipt of the
transfer and of a request for installation from the consecrated lay worker, the District President of the sister
District shall install or authorize installation of such
consecrated lay worker. The District President shall be
responsible for maintaining records of transfers into
and out of his District.
7.45 Seeking Certified Church Workers, Lay, for
Appointment
1. Congregations shall seek the advice of the respective District President when appointing consecrated lay
workers.
2. If congregations which are members of the Synod
shall desire to appoint and be served by consecrated lay
workers, they shall appoint and be served only by consecrated lay workers who have been admitted to these
respective ministries in accordance with the rules and
regulations set forth in these Bylaws.
3. Congregations which violate this requirement and
persist in such violation shall, after due admonition,
forfeit their membership in the Synod.
4. Workers who violate the requirements for eligibility for listing as consecrated lay worker and persist
in such violation shall, after due admonition, be re-

200l Convention Proceedings

moved from the listing of consecrated lay workers and
shall no longer be eligible to serve in that capacity.
5. Notification of ineligibility for service shall be sent
to the Council of Presidents.

PROPOSED WORDING
7.01 General
Men and women who have completed courses of
study prescribed or approved by the Board for Higher
Education and offered by one of the Synod’s colleges or
universities and who have been certified for service by
their respective college or university are eligible for receiving appointments from congregations or other eligible entities or agencies as consecrated lay workers.
1. Congregations that are members of the Synod and
other eligible entities or agencies, in addition to calling
ordained and commissioned ministers of religion, may
also wish to appoint one or more certified church workers, lay (hereafter referred to as consecrated lay workers), with the knowledge that the Synod seeks to help
congregations and other entities and agencies as they
utilize these consecrated lay workers.
2. For purposes of these Bylaws, other eligible entities or agencies shall be Districts, seminaries, colleges,
and other agencies of the Synod, church-affiliated
social ministry organizations, recognized educational
institutions, auxiliaries, and other recognized service
organizations.
3. Congregations and other eligible entities or agencies seeking to employ consecrated lay workers are encouraged to contact the appropriate placement officers
of the colleges or universities where the programs are
housed.
7.03 Classification
The classification of consecrated lay workers applies
to the following positions or titles currently in use in
the Synod:
1. lay minister;
2. parish worker;
3. lay teacher (teachers opting not to join the Synod);
and
4. director of parish music; and
5. Lutheran social worker.
7.05 Qualifications
Consecrated lay workers are individuals who have
been declared qualified for service in the positions identified and who have received appointments in accordance with the following policy and procedure:
1. Graduates of authorized synodical institutions
must be declared qualified for a first appointment and
recommended by the faculty of the respective synodical
institution for their specific types of service before the
effective date of the first appointment to service in the
church. The faculties must be satisfied that these individuals will meet the personal, professional, and theological requirements of those who hold those positions
to which they aspire.
2. Candidates who may be declared qualified for
first appointments are those who
a. shall have satisfactorily completed a course of
study prescribed or approved by the Board for Higher
Education and shall have received an appropriate degree, diploma, or certificate from a synodical college or
university; and