LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — September 26 – 27, 2014, Page 1

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MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD
Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, St. Louis
September 26 – 27, 2014

53. Call to Order and Opening Devotion
Chairman George Gude called the meeting to order with all members present. John Sias, who served as
devotional leader for the meeting, provided the opening devotion.
54. Concordia Plan Services Revised Bylaws Final Review (13-2691A)
With a September 5, 2014 letter, Concordia Plans Services submitted its Revised Bylaws for final review
by the commission. Noting that the recommendations previously made by the commission were honored,
the commission granted its approval to the final document, expressing its appreciation to Concordia Plans
Services for its cooperation throughout the review process and for its provision of a final clean copy for
the commission’s records.
55. North Wisconsin District Restated Articles of Incorporation and Amended Bylaws Review (142705A)
With a May 23, 2014 memorandum, the president of the North Wisconsin District submitted his district’s
articles of incorporation and bylaws documents for review by the commission. During its review, the
commission noted the following concerns and offers the following recommendations:
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In Article III of the Articles of Incorporation, the commission again noted that congregations are
members of the Synod through its districts and not the other way around. Better wording would
be: “The corporation consists of Lutheran congregations of the LCMS in North Wisconsin and
Upper Michigan….”
The commission again encouraged that the North Wisconsin District and all districts consider
using the template for district articles of incorporation that has been provided.
Paragraph “a” of Bylaw 1.03 must also require the approval of a congregation’s bylaws along
with its constitution by the district board of directors.
Paragraph “d” of Bylaw 4.01 does not make clear the expectation of Synod Bylaw 3.1.8 (b),
which instructs that printed copies of convention workbooks are to be mailed to each delegate and
alternate, officers, and members of boards, commissions, and councils (see Synod Bylaw 4.2.1
[a]).
Paragraph “a” of Bylaw 5.04, which speaks of nominations of candidates for regional vicepresidents, should be changed to read “from the clergy roster of the district” as stated in Synod
Bylaw 4.3.1.
In paragraph “a” of Bylaw 6.04, the first sentence should read: “…Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of the Synod, presented in writing….” The final sentence should include mention of
commission approval of amendments prior to submission to the district convention and also have
its Synod bylaw reference corrected to read (change in italics): “All amendments to the Bylaws
are required to be reviewed by the Synod’s Commission on Constitutional Matters prior to
their submission to the convention to ascertain that proposed amendments are in harmony
with the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod (Synod Bylaw 3.9.2.2.3).