Amendments to the Constitution of the West Virginia—Western Maryland Synod
Adopted en bloc by action ________.
- Italic indicates an insertion of text.
Strikethroughindicates a deletion of text.
†S3.01. The territory of this synod, as determined by the Churchwide Assembly, shall be: the state of West Virginia; the county of Garrett in the State of Maryland; the congregation Mount Calvary, Allegany County, and the congregations Holy Trinity Memorial and Salem in Washington County in the state of Maryland; and the congregation Fairview, Frederick County, in the state of Virginia.
S7.24. Ministers under call on the rosters of this synod shall remain as members of the Synod Assembly so long as they remain under call and so long as their names appear on the rosters of this synod. Lay voting members elected by their congregations shall continue to serve until their resignation from the Synod Assembly, replacement by their congregation, or disqualification by suspension or termination of voting membership in their congregation. Other lay voting members shall continue to serve until the opening of the next regular synod assembly. Lay members of the Synod Assembly representing congregations shall continue as such until replaced by the election of new members or until they have been disqualified by termination of membership. Normally, congregations will hold elections prior to each regular meeting of the Synod Assembly.
S7.30. This synod may establish processes through the Synod Council to grant an interim pastor not otherwise enfranchised the privilege of voice in the Synod Assembly during the period of that minister’s service as an interim pastor of a congregation of this synod.
S9.11. The Synod Council shall establish a process to elect or appoint representatives to the steering committee of its region.
S10.09. A majority of the members, excluding the youth member, of the Synod Council shall constitute a quorum.
Amendments to the Bylaws of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod.
Adopted en bloc by action ________.
- Italic indicates an insertion of text.
Strikethroughindicates a deletion of text.
B7.02. The synod assembly registrar shall prepare in advance of any assembly the roster of voting and advisory members, delivering copies thereof to the secretary and the Committee on Registration and Attendance. The secretary of the synod shall prepare in advance of any assembly the roster of the synod, delivering a copy thereof to the Committee on Registration and Attendance. The secretary shall list as voting members those persons whose credentials have been sent by the congregations.
B7.05. Every congregation shall have the right to memorialize the assembly of this synod on subjects affecting its own welfare and legitimate interests.
B7.08. All retired clergy ordained ministers on the roster of this synod in attendance at the Synod Assembly shall be voting members provided that the voting membership of the Assembly is still 60% laypersons.
B7.09. Each congregation of the synod shall be apportioned two (2) lay voting members in the Synod Assembly.
B7.16. A resolution of a general character which is not germane to the pending question or report shall be given by the sponsor proposer to a Committee of Reference and Counsel, which shall report thereon to the assembly with its recommendations. Other duties of the committee shall be (a) to recommend special orders for the hearing of representatives, (b) to grant or deny permission to distribute printed matter not issuing from the office of the secretary and © to give such assistance to the bishop as may be desired in the course of the assembly.
B7.18. Voting members shall not absent themselves from any meeting of the assembly without valid excuse.
Section VIII
Officers
B8.01. If the vice-president is unable to or unwilling or recuses his/her prerogative to serve as an ex officio voting member of the Churchwide Assembly, an alternate lay person of the same gender, meeting all other requirements, may be credentialed by the authority empowered to do so under the governing documents of the of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
B9.07. In all elections by the Synod Assembly, other than for the Bishop, additional nominations may be made from the floor. When a nomination is made from the floor, the nominator Nominators may provide copies of the completed nomination form (as defined by the nominating committee) to the secretary of the synod for distribution.
B9.08. In the election of a bishop, balloting may take place by electronic means (such as an online balloting platform) prior to the convening of the Synod Assembly and/or during adjournments of the Synod Assembly at the discretion of the Synod Council, the ballot being sent to those registered as members of the assembly as of midnight the day before the particular ballot; additional rules and protocols may be established by continuing resolution, special rule of order, or convention standing rule.
B10.01. The Synod Council shall consist of the four officers of the synod, four clergy pastors, six lay members, and one youth member, and one young adult: a) Four pastors shall be elected, one from each of the four conferences. b) Six lay members shall be elected, one from each of the four conferences and two members at large. c) The youth member shall be elected at large. The youth member shall not have reached the age of 18 at the time of election. d) The young adult member shall be elected at large. The young adult member shall be between (and inclusive of) the ages of 18 and 30 at the time of election.
B10.02. Terms of office: a) Four clergy pastors, six lay members, and the young adult member shall be elected for a three-year term and shall not serve for more than two consecutive terms in that seat. b) The youth member shall be elected to a one-year term without term limitation. c) The term for members of Synod Council shall begin on the first day of the third month following election or, in special circumstances, at a time designated by the Synod Council.
B10.05. The Synod Council shall have an Executive Committee composed of the officers and three members of the council (1 clergy pastor, 2 lay members) elected by the council. The Executive Committee shall counsel with the officers and shall perform those functions of the Synod Council assigned to it by the Synod Council. The Executive Committee, with the exception of the bishop of this synod, shall review the work of the bishop, assistants to the bishop and support staff of the synod and shall recommend salaries and benefits for the bishop, assistants to the bishop and support staff of the synod.
B10.08. Synod Council and all other committees may, at the discretion of the chair, employ mail (including asynchronous telecommunications) voting so long as all members have been notified of the call for vote and have acknowledged that call for vote, a unit veto striking down the question.
B11.03. The Synod Council shall appoint members to the joint Candidacy Committee of the Southwest Pennsylvania Synod and the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod according to the provisions of the agreement between the synods as amended from time to time and ratified by the Synod Council, said committee being established to fulfill the duties outlined in the Candidacy Manual of the ELCA. There shall be a Professional Candidacy Committee to provide for the professional leadership recruitment preparation and support in accordance with churchwide standards and policies and to certify candidates for the ordained ministry in cooperation with the appropriate seminaries of this church. This committee shall have six (6) members, four (4) laypersons and two (2) ordained ministers, appointed for a term of six (6) years. The terms of those initially appointed shall be staggered so that not all terms will expire at the same time.
B11.07. There shall be such additional committees as deemed necessary by this synod to guide and support the ministry of the synod and its congregations in the various aspects of the Church’s mission. Such committees shall normally be created or disbanded by continuing resolution of the Synod Council, but nothing herein shall preclude the right of the Synod Assembly to create or disband such operational committees by either continuing resolution or bylaw.
B12.01.c.17. [There shall be four conferences designated as follows: Potomac Conference: ] Westernport, MD, Mt. Calvary.
Feedback
Post your comment on this topic.