LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — November 23, 2020, Page 4

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proper application of pre-convention timelines both at the Synod and at the district levels. These will have
to accommodate convention schedules that may be shifted after significant processes have already begun.
Likewise, processes may also need to be initiated while there is still great uncertainty about the potential
deferral of the related convention.
Specific provisions and circumstances may require various approaches to maintaining as equitable and
effective the mechanisms by which congregations effect the pre-convention phase of their governance of
districts and the Synod. Without examining specific language and circumstances, it is impossible to address
these situations. Responsible officers need to take care that the fundamental rights of congregations and
other members to participate in all aspects of pre-convention and in-convention governance of their districts
and their Synod are protected, and that the exercise of such rights is facilitated by especially clear and timely
communication.
With regard to the Synod convention, for example, the 18-month call for nominations is about to be issued
in January, with nominations due in the Office of the Secretary of the Synod no later than
“nine months prior to the convention of the Synod” (Bylaw 3.12.2.4 [b]). The opening of the process cannot
at this point reasonably be delayed, as nominators must be provided their 18 months to nominate, should
the convention of the Synod be held on schedule in 2022—a possibility that must be prepared for unless
and until the congregations finally vote to defer it. Should the convention be deferred, the close of
nominations cannot reasonably be terminated after the usual nine months’ duration but must be held open
until “nine months prior to the convention.”
Similar considerations will have to be made with much greater urgency in the districts of the Synod. Care
must be taken to preserve the integrity of each district pre-convention process. Furthermore, materials and
reports designed to support 2021 district conventions must—while acknowledging that further
developments may occur in an additional year of discussion—be available for the consideration of districts
that are able to convene without delay.
Postponing the convention would also impact elections and terms of office for elected and appointed offices
at the Synod and district levels. Bylaw 3.2.4 (f) provides that incumbents “shall serve until their successors
assume office.” In effect, were the convention to be deferred by a year, one year would be added to each
term of the 2019–23 “triennium” on the Synod level and, depending on the year in which each district
convention is held, either in the 2018–22 district “triennium” or the 2021–25 district “triennium.”
The proposed mechanism would impact the length of the current triennium but not that of any future
triennium. Subsequent regular district conventions would, in any case, occur in 2025, and the subsequent
Synod convention, in 2026, according to the normal triennial cycle.
It is incumbent upon the President to communicate clearly in the “full and complete information regarding
the matter” not only the question itself but especially the consequences of adoption and rejection, providing
the congregations with the requisite information to make an informed decision.
70. Adjournment and Upcoming Meetings
Having concluded its single-item agenda the commission adjourned with closing prayer. The commission
remains tentatively scheduled to meet in person January 15–16, 2021, and April 9–10, 2021, in St. Louis.
John W. Sias, Secretary

CCM Minutes – November 23, 2020 – Page 56