LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 10–12, 2012, Page 15

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Bylaw 3.3.4: The commission questions whether this is the best location for this bylaw
governing circuit counselor nominations, since this section of the bylaws deals with the
nomination and election of president and vice-presidents.
Bylaws 3.3.11 and 3.3.12: Another look at these bylaws prior to submission to the district
convention will be necessary as there appear to be two bylaws with the same number and crossreferencing that is incorrect.
Bylaw 4.2.6: The commission questions the authority of the board to make bylaw revisions
subject to ratification by the convention (see also district Bylaw 2.3.4). In addition, there is no
mention of the requirement of prior approval of bylaw changes by the Commission on
Constitutional Matters (Synod Bylaw 3.9.2.2.3 [a]).
Bylaw 4.5.1: In addition to vacancies in the office of the president, the board also does not fill
vacant circuit counselor positions (Synod Bylaw 5.2.2.1).
Bylaw 5.1: The list of district officers should also include the treasurer of the district (Synod
Constitution Art. XII 3; Bylaw 4.3.2).
Bylaw 6.2: The list provided should no longer include “Adjudication,” and its terminology
should be updated to reflect changes in the Synod’s structure.

100. Florida-Georgia District Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws Review (12-2628)
With a January 26, 2012 email, the president of the Florida-Georgia District submitted his district’s
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and proposed bylaw changes to the commission for approval. Upon
careful review, the commission noted several concerns other than those already addressed after a previous
review, recommending the following changes to the Articles of Incorporation.
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Article III: To make clear that membership in the corporation (district) includes only members of
the Synod who have been properly and intentionally added to its roster, this paragraph should end
with the words, “and who have been received into the district at the time of joining the Synod,
who have been transferred from another district, or who have been assigned to the district by the
Synod.”
Article V, Section 2: The commission advises that the terminology of paragraphs b and c be
changed to mirror that which the Synod uses for circuit counselor elections (Bylaw 5.2.2), where
candidates are “selected” on the regional level and “elected” by ratification by the district
convention.
Article IX: The use of the term “clerical” is foreign to the Handbook of the Synod and should be
replaced with “clergy” or, preferably, “ordained ministers.”
Article IX: The final sentence which speaks of parishes of two or more congregations “united
under one pastor” should be changed to speak of two or more congregations “served by the same
pastor.”
Article XI: This article will need to be returned to its present wording to properly reflect the
requirements of Synod Constitution Art. XII 15 for the calling of a special convention of a
district.
Article XII: The end of the first lengthy sentence of this article should also be amended to add
the words “and approval” after the words “for their review” in keeping with Synod Bylaw 4.1.1.2
(b).

The commission also recommended the following additional changes to the district’s Bylaws.
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Bylaw D1.04: The commission notes what appears to be a typographical error that should read
“district” rather than “distinct.”
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