LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — September 18−19, 2015, Page 1

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MINUTES
COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, St. Louis
September 18−19, 2015

125. Call to Order and Opening Devotion
Chairman George Gude called the meeting to order with all members present. Neely Owen, devotion
leader for the meeting, provided an opening devotion (both days of the meeting).
126. Review of Correspondence
Chairman Gude reviewed the correspondence received by the commission since its July 10–11 meeting
and the responses that he provided.
127. Review of Kansas District Convention Bylaw Actions (14-2733B)
Via an August 24, 2015 email, the secretary of the Kansas District submitted changes adopted by his
district’s convention to the district’s bylaws that had not been reviewed and approved by the commission
prior to the convention. The commission provided the following responses.
• Bylaws Article II, section 5: The mention of a District Operations Manual prompted the
commission to request submission of the manual for review, as required by Synod Bylaw
3.9.2.2.3.
• Bylaws Article III, section 2, paragraph (a): The use of the term “presiding officer” is foreign to
the vocabulary of the Synod’s Handbook. The district should consider using the terminology used
by the Synod for its agencies, as in Bylaw 1.5.3.1.
• Also under paragraph (a) of section 2: When additional meetings are necessary, they are usually
called by the chairman of the board, not the district president. And when actions are taken using
electronic balloting, mention should be made and attention given to the Synod’s requirements for
such meetings and actions as provided by the Synod Board of Directors in its Policy Manual
(policies 1.5.3 and 2.4.6). See also Synod Bylaw 1.5.3.
• Bylaws Article IV, section 2, paragraph (b): The qualifying factor for regional nominations and
elections is the residence of the nominee, not the location of the nominee’s congregation (see
Synod Bylaw 4.3.1).
128. Review of Mid-South District Bylaw Changes (14-2735B)
The secretary of the Mid-South District provided for final review a copy of his district’s Bylaws adopted
by the district convention after incorporation of the changes recommended by the Commission on
Constitutional Matters. The commission noted that its recommendations had been followed by the district.
The secretary of the district also called attention to an additional change adopted by the convention but
not yet reviewed by the commission, i.e., district Bylaw 1.1.3. Upon review, the commission noted that
the bylaw’s subparagraph (a) appears to speak otherwise than its main paragraph, narrowing the bylaw’s
scope by referring only to bylaws adopted by a convention of the Synod. The district may want to look at
this bylaw again prior to its next convention. As it does so, it should also note that paragraph (b) will
require mention of CCM approval before adopted changes to district bylaws take effect. The paragraph
would better read: “(b) Such amendments shall be drafted by the secretary of the district, to be examined
and approved by the Synod’s Commission on Constitutional Matters before their adoption. No
amendment shall take effect until it has been approved by the commission.”