LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 128

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128

SYNOD REPORTS

in addition to “ecclesiastical supervision” over the seminaries, universities, districts, district presidents, boards, officers, etc.?
2010–2013 Triennium Membership and Organization
MEMBERS

The commission consists of five voting members. Three are
ordained ministers, and two are lawyers. The Secretary of the Synod
serves as a nonvoting member and its secretary. The voting members
are appointed by the President of the Synod from nominees provided by district boards of directors and selected as candidates by
the Council of Presidents. The President’s appointees are ratified by
a majority vote of the Council of Presidents.
The current members of the commission are Wilbert J. Sohns
(Chairman); Philip J. Esala (Vice-Chairman); Daniel C. Lorenz
(Secretary pro tem); George J. Gude; R. Neely Owen; and Raymond
L. Hartwig (Secretary).The five voting members serve six-year terms,
renewable once. The two six-year terms of Daniel Lorenz and Wilbert
Sohns come to a conclusion with this convention, and they cannot
be appointed to another term. The first six-year term of Philip Esala
comes to an end at this convention, but he is eligible to be appointed
for another six-year term.
Dr. Sohns represents the Commission on Constitutional Matters
as an advisory member of the Commission on Handbook and represents the Commission on Constitutional Matters as a member of the
Res. 8-07 Task Force on Future District Function and Configuration.
MEETINGS

The commission meets at least four times a year, and more often
as necessary, to carry out its responsibilities.
Minutes

The commission publishes its minutes following each meeting.
These minutes contain the official opinions of the commission in
response to questions submitted in writing. Since opinions are binding upon the Synod and its members unless or until overruled by a
national convention, former minutes and selected prior opinions are
made available electronically on the Synod Web site for at least three
years, subject to the addition of other opinions relating to frequently
asked questions. In addition, some opinions older than three years
related to frequently asked questions may also be included. The date
on which an opinion was decided is now included at the bottom of
each opinion.
OTHER HELPFUL COMMISSION DOCUMENTS
The commission may publish on the Synod Web site other documents relating to the commission’s work that it determines may be
helpful to the Synod, including the following:
• Historical Background and Interpretation of Art. VI 2 of the
Constitution of The Lutheran—Church Missouri Synod, a Research
Study Document provided for and on behalf of the CCM by Gerhard
Bode, January 2012
• Response to “Request for CTCR Opinion Concerning Continued
Eligibility of an Inactive Emeritus Member under Art. VI of the
Constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod,” adopted
by the CTCR, Feb. 12, 2010
• Commission on Constitutional Matters Governing Policies
• Standard Operating Procedures Manuals
• Guidelines for the Constitution and Bylaws of a Lutheran
Congregation
• Frequently Noted Concerns and Aberrations
• The Synod Handbook
Wilbert J. Sohns, Chairman
2013 Convention Workbook

R7-01

Commission on Handbook
The Commission on Handbook (Bylaws 3.9.4–3.9.4.2) consists of
eight members, five voting and three nonvoting. Three of the voting
members are individual Synod members (ordained or commissioned
ministers) and two of the voting members are attorneys. The three
nonvoting members are as follows: the Secretary of the Synod, the
Chief Administrative Officer of the Synod, and a voting member of
the Commission on Constitutional Matters. The voting members are
appointed by the President of the Synod for six-year, once-renewable terms from nominees provided by district boards of directors
and selected as candidates by the Counsel of Presidents. Current
voting members of the commission are Albert M. Marcis, Walter L.
Rosin, Richard T. Nuffer, Marvin L. Temme, and Gordon D. Tresch
(chairman). Nonvoting members are Raymond L. Hartwig, Ronald
P. Schultz, and Wilbert J. Sohns.
The primary responsibility of the Commission on Handbook
is to provide ongoing maintenance and management of the Synod
Handbook (Constitution, Bylaws, and Articles of Incorporation of
the Synod) (Bylaw 3.9.4). Specific responsibilities of the commission
are explicated in Bylaw 3.9.4.2, as follows: (1) assisting convention floor committees when developing amendment proposals to the
Constitution, Bylaws, and Articles of Incorporation of the Synod to
determine their agreement in language (terminology) with the existing
Handbook; (2) in consultation with the CCM, revising the Handbook
of the Synod immediately after each convention in order to bring it
into harmony with resolutions and changes adopted by the convention; (3) maintaining a complete file of succeeding handbooks so
comparison can be made between current and preceding provisions;
(4) carrying out assignments by Synod conventions relating to the
Handbook; and (5) responding to requests from Synod agencies to
propose new provisions to address specific handbook-related issues
that arise between conventions of the Synod.
At its organizational meeting on July 7, 2011, the commission
elected Gordon D. Tresch as chairman. Also elected were Rev. Marvin
Temme as vice-chairman, Rev. Raymond Hartwig as secretary, and
Rev. Walter Rosin as secretary pro tem. The commission further
determined that commission leadership will be elected at the initial
meeting of the commission following each Synod convention. The
commission at this meeting, in order to insure all business would be
handled in good order, determined the following: (1) all minutes are
to be posted in a timely fashion on Synod’s Web site under the link
to the Commission on Handbook, with meeting dates to be posted in
advance on Synod’s Web site under the link to the Commission on
Handbook; (2) the chairman, with the assistance of the Secretary’s
Office, is to provide an agenda to the commission in advance of each
meeting, with items of business assigned numbers for easy reference;
(3) writing assignments given by the chairman are to be indicated on
the agenda; and (4) devotional responsibilities are to be assigned by
the chairman on a rotating basis.
Pursuant to 2010 convention Res. 8-30B “To Study Article VI
of Synod’s Constitution” and Res. 8-32B “To Study Article VII of
Synod’s Constitution,” the commission, at its initial meeting (7/7/11–
7/8/11), instructed its chairman to write a letter to the Synod President
expressing the commission’s willingness to assist, however appropriate, in meeting the convention resolutions’ expectations relating
to the convention’s direction that a proposal(s) to clarify, affirm, or
amend the articles in question be submitted to the next Synod convention after appropriate study.
The 2010 convention Res. 8-05B “To Elect Delegates to the Synod
Convention,” dealing with national convention delegate selection
(number and process), was referred to the Commission on Handbook.