LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — December 16,1999, Page 1

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Minutes of the Commission on Constitutional Matters - December 16,1999
81. Call to Order and Prayer
Chairman Walter Tesch called the meeting to order and called on Albert Marcis for an opening prayer.
Alan Barber was absent due to an illness in the family.
82. Approval of Minutes of October 20 Conference Call
After brief discussion, the minutes of the October 20 meeting were approved. Discussion followed
regarding the format of the minutes, the manner in which Constitution and Bylaw references are made,
and the manner in which the questions submitted to the Commission are worded. It was agreed that the
current practice of numbering individual questions and responses is acceptable, that the current method of
making reference to the Bylaws and Constitution is acceptable so long as we are consistent throughout,
that it will be important to coordinate reference systems with the Commission on Structure, and that at
times it will be necessary to rephrase questions in order to provide helpful responses.
83. Review of "GUIDELINES for the Constitution and Bylaws of a Lutheran Congregation" (982135)
Albert Marcis led the Commission in a paragraph by paragraph review of the document with proposed
changes. After lengthy discussion, the Commission tentatively agreed to the changes indicated in the
following draft document.
GUIDELINES
FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND
BYLAWS
OF A LUTHERAN CONGREGATION
PREFACE
This fourth and revised edition of Guidelines has been prepared because the supply of the previous edition
has been exhausted and more than a decade has passed since the last revision. There are also additional
issues that required attention.
I.
We call attention to the fact that congregations cannot become members of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod until their constitutions and bylaws have been approved by a properly appointed
constitution committee of a District of the Synod.
Furthermore, any additional amendments to Constitution and Bylaws must also have that approval
before becoming operative.
The Commission on Constitutional Matters has ruled that included in this process are also bylaws
which congregations adopt.
Since a high degree of uniformity is desirable, the Commission on Constitutional Matters has from
time to time issued guidelines for the proper construction of congregational constitutions and bylaws. It
should be noted, however, as will become apparent also in the text of this document, that there are wide
divergences among the congregations of the Synod, and that it is impossible not advisable to formulate
one constitution and bylaws which would fit all congregations.
Therefore, what is included in this document should properly be regarded as guidelines. District
Committees in evaluating constitutions and bylaws submitted, will judge them in the light of the
principles underlying the suggestions contained in this document.
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