LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — March 15-16, 1973, Page 5

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

Presidents and others who asked what procedures they ought to follow in controversies, adjudication,
appeals, etc. The question was raised whether perhaps we need a staff officer or a clerk of the Board of
Appeals who would be able to advise officers and individuals in order to avoid endless confusion
resulting from following wrong procedures. The commission came to no conclusion as to what it could
suggest.
256. Selective Fellowship (Ag. 375A & B): The secretary called attention to the further correspondence
with Ralph Bohlmann of the CTCR.
257. Bylaw 3.51: At first it was felt that the commission should propose to the convention the addition of
the words "and teaching" to the bylaw governing reinstatement to the roster of the Synod. However, it
was pointed out that the bylaws regarding rosters which are being proposed by the commission has this
wording already incorporated.
258. Women Teachers as Members of the Synod (Agenda 393): As decided upon in the previous meeting,
the commission met for about an hour with legal counsel Phil Draheim to discuss the ramifications
involved in the proposal that women teachers who otherwise meet the requirements should be entitled to
be admitted as teacher members of the Synod together with pastors and male teachers. Among comments
made by Mr. Draheim were the following. The IRS has classified male teachers for quite some time with
pastors but has excluded all others such as female teachers, lay training graduates, etc. The selective
service question is now almost academic but the history of the status of male teachers is important in case
selective service is reinstated. Here, too, male teachers were equated with pastors. Income tax withholding
can now be done by voluntary agreement both for clergyman and for male teachers. Tax free housing
allowances maybe granted to pastors and called male teachers of the LCMS but not to teachers of the
LCA or ALC; this is a tax privilege which has been granted. The area of privilege should not be confused
with the area of rights. The question of equal rights is a burning issue today, and in this area we come
close to legal requirements, although the different status of women teachers by synodical regulation may
still be honored in the courts. Otherwise, this area of equal rights will have the force of law and not
simply be a benefit or a privilege as, for instance, in the case of tax free housing allowances. But
extending special status to other professional categories in the Synod may make us more vulnerable in the
benefits we now presently enjoy for a more limited number of people. Draheim sketched the difference
between male and female teachers as:
1.
2.
3.

The type of education required of male teachers
The act of installation itself
The functions of a called male teacher (his ability to perform certain restricted acts and
his status as the only one who can be a member of the Synod together with the pastor).

He admitted that some of these differences have been and are being eroded.
259. Report to Convention (Ag. 403): The commission went through the report to the convention
prepared by the secretary. It resolved to have him include as appendices any major opinions which the
convention might be asked to overrule through overtures now being received. The commission adopted
the report.
260. Next Meeting: The next meeting date was established as June 7 (1:30 p.m.) and 8, with the
possibility, if necessary, of meeting also on June 9.
261. Women Elders (Ag. 395): The commission approved the letter sent by the secretary to Rev. Roger
Pittelko of Elk Grove Village, Illinois stating that the CCM had ruled in its guidelines that women should
not be listed as being eligible for "the Board of Elders or the corresponding board directly involved in the