LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 206

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9. STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION
(h) For the election of the alternate lay delegate: All lay
nominees except those who have been disqualified by
other delegate elections shall be eligible for election as
the alternate lay delegate.
(1) Each voter shall vote for only one candidate.
Candidates receiving zero votes and the candidate
receiving the least number of votes shall be removed
from each succeeding ballot until one candidate shall
have received a simple majority of all votes cast,
whereupon he/she shall be declared the alternate lay
delegate.
(2) The congregation or multi-congregation parish
from which the alternate lay delegate has been elected
shall then be removed from consideration for
supplying candidates for the other delegate elections
for that particular convention.
(i) For the election of the alternate pastoral delegate: All
other eligible pastors, except those who were
disqualified through other delegate elections, shall be
eligible for election as the alternate.
(1) Each voter shall vote for only one candidate.
Candidates receiving zero votes and the candidate
receiving the least number of votes shall be removed
from each succeeding ballot until one pastor shall
have received a simple majority of all votes cast
whereupon he shall be declared the alternate pastoral
delegate.
(2) The congregation or multi-congregation parish
from which the alternate pastoral delegate has been
elected shall then be removed from consideration for
supplying candidates for the other delegate elections
for that particular convention.
(ij) The visitor(s) shall report the results of the election
to the secretary of the district in writing immediately
after said election.
(k) If the circuit fails to elect a delegate or alternate, the
circuit is permitted to meet again prior to the deadline
(Bylaw 3.1.2.1 [a]) to elect the delegate or alternate in
accordance with this election procedure.
(jl) If after the election deadline neither the delegate nor
the alternate (pastoral or lay) can serve, the district
president, in consultation with the respective circuit
visitor(s), shall appoint a delegate to fill the vacancy
shall be filled by the district president in consultation
with the respective circuit visitor(s).
Action: Adopted (3)

After discussion, upon closure of debate, as suggested by the
chair, the resolution was adopted by voice vote.

To Appoint Task Force to Evaluate
Current Electoral Circuit Parameters
RESOLUTION 9-06A
Overtures 9-11–17 (CW, 375–80)
Rationale: The Principle of Franchise in the Synod
The basic principle of franchise in the Synod at the time of its
formation in 1847 involved two essential components. The
first essential component was that the Synod consisted of
equal (Pfarrgemeinde) (pastor-congregation), no matter their
numerical size, and it was these Pfarrgemeinde (pastorcongregations) that held the franchise. The second essential
component was the maintaining of a “balance of power” in the
conventions of the Synod between the clergy and the laity. To
accomplish this principle of franchise, the 1847 Constitution
of the Synod assigned the franchise to each member
Pfarrgemeinde of the Synod, with each Pfarrgemeinde to receive
two votes, one to be cast by its pastor and the other, by the lay
delegate accredited by the congregation.
The German term used was Pfarrgemeinde, and it
was defined in a footnote to the 1847
Constitution as “either one single congregation
or the sum of the individual congregations
which the pastor serves (bedient), as, in
Germany, the territory in which he serves is
called Kirchspiel or Kirchensprengel. The pastor
may serve 3 or 4 or more congregations, locally
separated; they are in relation to him essentially
only one congregation.”
In 1924, when the Constitution was translated into English
from German, the term “parish” was used in reference to
situations in which a pastor served more than one individual
congregation and the term “congregation” was used to
reference situations in which a pastor served only one
congregation. Thus, each congregation or parish (in this
specific limited sense) was entitled to two votes, one by its
pastor, and the other by its accredited lay delegate. Today the
term “parish” has been replaced with “multi-congregation
parish” (Constitution Article XII 10 a).
A. The Historic Practice of Franchise at the Conventions
of the Synod
At the time of its inception every congregation or parish was
entitled to send its pastor and a lay delegate to the
conventions of the Synod. When the Synod divided into
districts this did not change. Each congregation or parish sent
two delegates to both the conventions of the Synod and the
district. The entire Synod would meet in convention every
three years and the districts would meet in convention
annually.
Originally conventions were held in one of the congregations
of the Synod. As a result of the growth of the Synod, it was
becoming difficult to find host congregations large enough to
provide the necessary housing for all the delegates. Therefore,
it was proposed to the 1864 convention to begin to hold
delegate conventions. However, the congregations in Fort

206 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION

Resolutions