LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — April 3–4, 2009, Page 4

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a copy of the district Bylaws after its bylaw committee has done its work, presumably well in advance
of the next district convention, also providing at that time a copy of the Policy-Based Governance
Document mentioned in the Bylaws.
(G) Southeastern District Bylaws (09-2555)
With an e-mailed March 17, 2009 letter, the President of the Southeastern District provided a copy of
two overtures submitted to the district convention proposing bylaw changes. The commission noted
with appreciation the efforts of the district to honor the commission’s earlier recommendations. The
commission did note the following concern in the second overture:


Regarding the proposed change to Article V, Section 2 a, to read: “All nominees for all offices
shall be members in good standing of an SED congregation,” Synod Bylaws 4.3.1 and 4.3.3 only
require that candidates be “from the clergy roster of the Synod” and “members of member
congregations of the district upon assuming office and during the course of their tenure.” To
require that all “nominees” be members of district congregations is in conflict with the referenced
bylaws of the Synod. Instead, the district bylaw should more accurately reflect Synod Bylaw
4.3.3.

(H) North Dakota District Bylaws (09-2549)
The commission recalled the e-mail correspondence that it had received from the President of the
Synod while the North Dakota District convention was in session, indicating that the district was
considering one or more resolutions intended to amend the district’s Bylaws. The commission
instructed its secretary to write a letter to the district president reminding the district of the
requirement of Bylaw 3.9.2.2.4 that the commission examine in advance all proposed bylaw
amendments and requesting copies of all such 2009 convention actions for review.
88. Agency Policy Manuals Review
The commission continued its review of the policy manuals and other official documents of the boards of
the Synod, as follows:
(A) Board for Pastoral Education Policy Manual and Campus Policy Manual (06-2471)
Upon review of the most recent version of the Board for Pastoral Education Policy Manual, the
commission noted with appreciation the board’s efforts to incorporate the commission’s earlier
recommendations for changes to the manual. The commission reiterated its request that the board
consider one additional change:


Paragraph 1 under section 0.2: According to Bylaw 1.2.1 (a) (1), “agency” is the more
appropriate term to be used in reference to the Board for Pastoral Education, since “agency”
includes the boards of the Synod.

Upon review of the most recent version of the Board for Pastoral Education Campus Policy Manual,
the commission again noted with appreciation the board’s efforts to incorporate the commission’s
earlier recommendations for changes to the manual. The commission requested consideration of these
additional changes:


Page 1: The LCMS Mission Statement as adopted by the Synod does not include the article “the”
prior to “world” in the last line;
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