LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — NOVEMBER 2, 1960, Page 6

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Committee on Constitutional Matters (6)
November 2, 1960

EXHIBIT "A"

COPY OF ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION FROM w. H. MEYER TO PROF.
PAUL A. ZIMMERMANN, PH.D.,

Topeka, Kansas
September 9, 1960
Prof. Paul A. Zimmermann, Ph.D.
' 800 North Columbia Avenue
Seward, Nebraska

Dear President Zimmermann:

Your letter came today with a question about member of your Board of
Control. You state this is a teacher Board member who has recently
resigned from the teaching in a school but intends to return to the teaching
work, presumably within a year. I take it, then, that he has not resigned
from the "office" of teacher, but only from the service as teacher in con-
gregation at Norfolk, Nebraska. I also take it that he will retain his
membership in this voting congregation of Synod, Norfolk, Nebraska, or
remove to some other voting congregation and continue to have his mem-
bership there. Now you ask whether this teacher now is disqualified from
serving on the Board of Control because he has resigned from the position
of teacher,

Iam sending copies of this letter to other members of our Committee -
they will be meeting in Valpo tomorrow. However, I feel that there will
be no dissention to what I submit as the reply.

You very correctly referred to Handbook re members of Boards of
Control quoting 6.25 b "Teachers elected to Boards of Control shall be
advisory members of Synod and hold membership in a voting congregation
of Synod."' I want to stress the point "Advisory members of Synod,'"' If
we then refer to the Constitution Article V, B we have a listing of "Advisory
Members.'' There I would especially call attention to points 5 and 6 which
read respectively: "5. Teachers of parochial schools; 6. Candidates for
the office of the ministry or for that of a teacher in the parochial schools."

Point 6 evidently is limited to what we would term "Graduates from our
terminal school be this for office of minister or office of teacher." While
Some may interpret this as referring to what we call among ministers as
"c.r.m." or as teachers as “candidate, '' I would rather think of these
here meant to be persons in the graduation class, though it would not
necessarily be thus restricted.

Teachers who are temporarily out of office are under the jurisdiction
of their respective District Presidents and are listed in the official "roster"
as ''candidates.'t Check with "Annual" page 156; "John E. Bartels, cand.
2739 Minnesota, Topeka, Kansas.'' While he has been inactive as teacher,
he is nevertheless listed as "teacher cand. "' and is thus not a layman, but
a teacher and stands recognized as "Advisory Member of Synod," who
holds membership in a voting congregation. He cannot be used as a "lay
delegate" to any Convention or serve as such on any committee or board,
for he still is recognized in Synod as "teacher cand." and thus is an