LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 23, 2015, Page 1

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MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
Telephone Conference Call Meeting
February 23, 2015

89. Call to Order
Chairman George Gude called the meeting to order and provided an opening prayer. All members of the
commission participated in the telephone conference call meeting.
90. Review of Southern District Church Extension Fund Constitution and Bylaws; Policies (142740; 15-2745)
With an October 15, 2014 letter, the executive director of the Southern District Church Extension Fund
submitted his organization’s Constitution and Bylaws for review by the commission. The commission
offered the following recommendations for the church extension fund’s constitution.
• Under 2.0 Purpose, this section mirrors the content of Synod Bylaw 3.6.4.4.1, which is important.
It should also mirror the provisions articulated in Synod Bylaw 3.6.4.4.2 (Handbook, p. 134).
• Under 8.0 Board of Directors, paragraph 8.1 would benefit from the deletion of the word
“managed” at the beginning of its second line and a colon (“:”) following “members” in the
second line.
• Under 11.0 Dissolution, paragraph 11.1 is acceptable for now but may require revisiting after the
2016 convention of the Synod, which is likely to give reconsideration to the entire matter of
dissolution requirements of the agencies of the Synod.
• Under 12.0 Amendments, the words “and approval” will need to be added after the word
“review” in the third line of the first paragraph. The second paragraph of this section must also
include mention of the required Commission on Constitutional Matters review and approval for
convention amendments to articles of incorporation and bylaws.
With another letter dated January 12, 2014, the executive director of the Southern District Church
Extension Fund also provided a collection of his organization’s policies for review. The commission
offered the following recommendations.
•
•
•
•

In the Loan Policy and Procedures document, in the paragraph under Organized Borrowers, the
reference to recognized service “agencies” in the fourth line will better read: “recognized service
organizations” as in Synod Bylaw section 6.2.
In the Self-Governance Goals document, fifth paragraph, while agencies may have their own
conflict of interest statements, they must also pay attention to the Synod’s conflict of interest
policy, which should at least be referenced in this paragraph (Synod Bylaw 1.5.2).
In the Fund Administration Policy document, under Intermeeting Business, this policy must be
consistent with Synod Bylaw 1.5.3 and Synod Board of Directors policies and their expectations
for the proper conduct of meetings.
Also in the Fund Administration Policy document, the final sentence of the final paragraph under
the “Other” section requires the reference to the “CTCR” to be changed to “CCM.”

91. Southern District Bylaws Review (15-2746)