LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — December 6-7, 1974, Page 10

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3.

If the procedure outlined in #1 is not permissible and the elections are declared null and void,
how can the District President, who presumably is to fill vacancies, do so since he would be
representing the party which had issued a wrong directive to begin with? Would it not be more
in keeping with the fundamental principle of the Constitution and Bylaws to order that a new
circuit meeting be held even though the deadline for such meetings is already past, and that
such circuit meeting should be attended by the pastor and layman chosen by the congregation?

The Commission had received carbon copies of several letters of protest sent by members of the
congregation in Red Bud, Illinois. Secretary Mueller had asked President Herman Neunaber to inform
him exactly what instructions had been sent from the District to the congregations, the pastors, the circuit
counselors, or others concerning these circuit meetings and also a copy of any policy statements, District
Bylaws, etc. to which reference might have been made in such communications. In his reply President
Neunaber failed to supply the requested information and asked instead for the identity of the petitioner,
stating, "Perhaps I can take care of the matter in that way." Secretary Mueller had replied that the District
President would not be able to issue a constitutional ruling and that the Commission would need to go on
the basis of information which it did have on hand since he had failed to supply other documents. The
Commission did have in its possession a copy of the Articles of Incorporation and of the Regulations and
Guidelines of the Southern Illinois District supplied by Pastor Wittmaier.
After extensive discussion on both days the Commission adopted the following opinion:
Ruling re Election of Convention Delegates
The Commission on Constitutional Matters has been asked to rule on certain procedures followed
in constituting circuit meetings which elected delegates to the convention of the Synod.
Since voting delegates (pastoral and lay) do not represent Districts but represent member
congregations of the Synod, the Commission rules as follows:
1.

A District does not have the right to prescribe who is to represent a member congregation at a
circuit meeting which is to elect delegates to a synodical convention.

2.

A member congregation has the right to determine its own procedures as to how such
representatives are to be chosen.

3.

In the circuits where these principles have not been observed the election of delegates and
alternates is unconstitutional and therefore void. In such circuits vacancies exist in the
delegate and alternate positions. The District President is not authorized to fill such vacancies
since the bylaw giving the President authority to fill vacancies presupposes that the delegates
and alternates were originally elected in a proper manner. It will be necessary for the circuit
to hold another election meeting, this time with representatives chosen by the congregations
themselves, in spite of the deadline for circuit meetings, since the only alternative would be
for the congregations in such a circuit to lose their representation entirely at the synodical
convention.

4.

The Commission rules that counselors shall immediately inform congregations in this
situation of these rulings and arrange for proper circuit meetings to be held for the election of
pastoral and lay delegates and alternates before March 31, 1975.