LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — June 30, 2005, Page 5

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Eligibility to receive a solemn call requires the completion of graduation or colloquy
requirements at a synodical teachers college and approval for ministry by its faculty. Men
and women educators who are eligible to receive calls should not be otherwise engaged.
Congregations enjoy the right of self-government, which includes the right to call church workers of their
own choosing. However, by their voluntary membership in the Synod, congregations agree to limit their
right of self-government and to order their rights and responsibilities (including their right to call)
according to the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod.
Bylaw 2.5.3 of the 2004 Handbook provides the following limitation on a congregation’s right to call:
“Congregations that are members of the Synod shall call only commissioned ministers who have been
admitted to their ministries in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in these Bylaws and
have thereby become members of the Synod.” Therefore it is a teacher’s membership in the Synod (and
not only training and certification by the Synod) that is specifically required for the receipt of a call from
a congregation. While it might be contended that a call to a properly trained and certified but non-rostered
worker is merely using the word “call” in a manner other than the solemn call defined above by 1981 Res.
6-14, Bylaw 2.5.3 makes clear that congregations that contract for services with a non-rostered worker
cannot refer to such a contract as a call. Similarly, when a properly trained and certified church worker
chooses not to be rostered, the worker also has chosen not to be available to receive a call.
The Synod places a premium upon the staffing of the classrooms of its member congregations’ schools
with Synod-trained and Synod-certified teachers (cf. 2004 Res. 2-07; 5-03A). The Synod also places a
premium upon the call and membership of those teachers in the Synod (Bylaw 2.5.3), such membership
providing opportunity for ecclesiastical supervision (Bylaw sections 2.12; 4.4) and the carrying out of the
objectives of the Synod (Constitution, Art. III). The Synod therefore has encouraged its congregations “to
introduce a salary adjustment that recognizes the additional and vital education received by the Synodcertified teacher” (2004 Res. 5-03A), thereby to make roster membership more desirable or, as may be
necessary in some cases, more feasible (in light of related financial considerations).
Therefore, in response to the question above, member congregations of our Synod have agreed not to
extend solemn calls to nonrostered individuals regardless of their training. The congregation in question is
well advised to do everything possible to enable its Synod-trained and Synod-certified teachers to apply
for membership and roster status in the Synod, thereby making it proper to extend a solemn call as
defined by the Synod in 1981 Res. 6-14 and according to the expectations established by Bylaw 2.5.3.
Question 2:

Are these bylaws to be interpreted to mean that a congregation that extends what in its
language amounts to a call with tenure to a qualified but non-rostered teacher is subject to
forfeiture of its membership in the Synod under Bylaw 2.5.4?

Opinion: Persistent non-compliance with any bylaw of the Synod may jeopardize a congregation’s
membership in the Synod. This is particularly true of Bylaws 2.5.1–2.5.3, given the specific mention of
forfeiture of membership in Bylaw 2.5.4.
68. Other Business
Secretary Raymond Hartwig reported that the Board of Directors has completed its appointment process
for the Commission on Structure for the 2004–2007 triennium. He called attention to Bylaw 3.9.5.1
requiring that a voting member of the Commission on Constitutional Matters serve as an advisory
member of the Commission on Structure. After brief discussion, Wilbert Sohns was appointed to serve in
that capacity.

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