LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — July 17–25, 2013, Page 1

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MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
2013 Convention Site, St. Louis
July 17–25, 2013
[Note: The initial three days of this meeting were held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown St. Louis, near the
site of the 65th convention of the Synod.]

212. Call to Order, Opening Devotion, and Preparation for Meeting
Chairman Wilbert Sohns called the meeting to order and called on Philip Esala (who served as chaplain
for the entire meeting) for the opening devotion. He then recalled the series of events that led to the
meeting with the President of the Synod to take place at this meeting and presented a proposed action by
the commission for discussion prior to and during that meeting.
The meeting with the President of the Synod took place during the forenoon of the first day of the
commission’s meeting. After amicable discussions and with the support of the President, the commission
released its special report recorded in item #219 below.
213. Review of Proposed Convention Resolutions
The commission spent a major portion of its meeting reviewing the resolutions being proposed by the
convention floor committees as published in the pre-convention issue of Today’s Business.
214. “Fellowship of Peers” (13-2665)
In a letter dated January 23, 2013, a member of the Synod submitted two questions regarding the meaning
of “fellowship of peers” in the dissent process of the Synod, given new developments in electronic media,
past practice, etc. The commission considered a draft provided by one of its members and will continue
its discussion at its August 9–11, 2013 meeting.
215. Status of Church and Ministry (13-2677)
In a letter dated June 13, 2013, a member of the Synod requested the commission’s opinion regarding the
“official status of Dr. Walther’s ‘Church and Ministry’ in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod” and
whether it is an official doctrinal statement of the Synod. After brief discussion, the commission
postponed further consideration and action until its August 9–11, 2013 meeting.
216. Review of Governing Documents for Legal Entity in Singapore (13-2678)
With an emailed letter dated June 27, 2013, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Synod forwarded for
review governing documents for a legal entity in Singapore designed to facilitate the needs of the Office
of International Ministry’s Asia Pacific and Oceania regional office. The commission offered the
following response regarding specific details in the documents.
•

Clause 3 on page 1 reflects the essence of 2001 Res. 4-11 but it does not repeat the resolution’s
provisions verbatim as required. There is also no reference to point 4 of the resolution. This will
require a specific resolution by the Board of Directors of the Synod approving the omission and
change in wording.