LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — March 7,1997, Page 7

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93. Review of District Bylaws (Ag. 2057, 2058, 2061, 2062, 2063, 2064, 2065, 2066): It was agreed that
members of the Commission would review district Bylaws assigned to them and report their conclusions to
the Commission for action at a future meeting. The following assignments were made:
Minnesota South - Bode
Texas - Schlecht
Pacific Southwest - Barber
Michigan - Tesch
Northern Illinois - Piehler
English - Rosin
Secretary Rosin was also assigned review of minor proposed bylaw changes in the South Dakota District
and Iowa District West. A request had also been received from the Wyoming District. (In the South Dakota
District proposed bylaw changes involved minor changes in the order of election of district officers,
expanding the designation of two laymen to "two laymen for Board of Directors," eliminating the
"Commission on Adjudication" and adding "District member of synodical Nominating Committee" as
required. It also eliminated a procedure regarding election of counselors and substituted a statement that the
process to be followed in election of counselors is that identified in the Handbook of the synod. A third
change was a change in the district bylaw regarding budget setting for the district. These proposed changes
had already been adopted by the district, which held its convention in early February.
In the Iowa District West, the changes proposed involved the identification of advisory members in
accordance with the Handbook of the Synod and the matter of informing congregations of fees and
assessments for the convention in sufficient time for congregations to include these amounts in their
budgets for the year of the convention.
Proposed changes in the Wyoming District Bylaws involved identifying the Second Vice-President as the
representative of the district at Synod's Conference of Congregational Services meetings, the appointment
of the district Treasurer by the Board of Directors, and the definition of the duties of the district Archivist.
Because of the minor nature of these changes which are obviously not in conflict with the Constitution and
Bylaws of the Synod, these districts have been informed that the proposed amendments have been approved
for adoption by district conventions.)
94. Article VI, 2, b, and Joint Services (Ag. 2068): A pastor had asked the Commission on Constitutional
Matters to respond to the following question:
Does Article VI, 2, b, of the Constitution forbid joint services with all congregations that are not in
church fellowship with our Synod? Specifically, would this article of the Constitution forbid a
congregation of the LCMS from having a joint service with a congregation of the ELCA?
In researching this matter, the Commission referred to Resolution 3-25 of the 1977 convention titled, "To
Speak Regarding Lutheran/Non-Lutheran Weddings." In it the following statements are found:
WHEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church Relations has stated that "the matter of
Lutheran ceremonies is not a question to which the right of the congregation to be the judge of the
expediency of the resolution as applied to its local condition (Bylaw 1.09 b) is applicable, but rather a
situation in which a congregation is called upon to make application of the conditions of membership to
which it has agreed in Article VI of the Constitution" (1973 CW, p. 47); and