LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 8−9, 1974, Page 6

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

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1.

Neither the Council of Presidents, individual District presidents, District conventions,
synodical boards or staff, or any other entity in the Synod, except the Board of Control itself,
can declare "a roll-back of actions" by the duly elected and legal Board of Control.

2.

As far as the Board of Control itself is concerned, the CCM rules that if "a roll-back of
actions" is contemplated by the Board of Control, it can only be done under proper
parliamentary procedures.

29. Special Session, Atlantic District Convention (Ag. 522): Finally President J.A.O. Preus had forwarded
to the Commission a copy of a notice which President Rudolph Ressmeyer of the Atlantic District had
sent to all voting congregations and voting pastors of the District asking for their consent to the calling of
a special session of the District under Article XII, Section 1 5, of the Synod's Constitution. He quoted
extensively from that document which included the four reasons given by President Ressmeyer for calling
this special session. President Preus asked: "9. In the light of Bylaw 3.07e, I ask the Commission on
Constitutional Matters to rule whether the calling of a special District convention for the reasons listed is
constitutional?" The Commission drafted and adopted the following reply:
Article XII, 15 states in part: "In cases of urgent necessity the District President is empowered to
convene special sessions of his District . . ."
The CCM defines "cases of urgent necessity" as cases that fall within the jurisdiction of the
District, upon which the District can take action, and on which action must be taken before the
next regular District convention.
The same Article in the Constitution also states that "the purposes of the intended special session"
must be communicated to the voting members of the District and to the President of the Synod.
It is not clear to the CCM whether the document submitted to it is the official communication of
the District President to the voting members of the District. The purposes are not plainly stated as
"purposes" in that document. If one assumes that the purposes are those which are stated as
follows:
"We need to become better informed of the events and issues which currently threaten the
very existence of our church body. We need to counsel together and make such statements
and take such actions as we together in convention might determine," i
and that this paragraph refers to the four reasons listed previously for calling the special session,
then the CCM calls attention to the fact that Bylaw 3.07, which has the heading "Relationship
Between the Synod and Districts," states:
"e. Jurisdiction with respect to everything which is administered by or for the entire Synod
resides in the Synod itself, including but not limited to general supervision of doctrine and
practice; foreign missions; synodical institutions; qualification, ordination, and installation
of clergymen and teachers who apply for membership in the Synod; publication of official
religious periodicals; conduct of negotiations and affiliations with other church bodies; and
the like."
Once the purposes are clearly defined the President of the Synod should be able to determine
whether the calling of the special session of the District is proper in the light of Article XII, 15 and
Bylaw 3.07e.