The last revision of the constitution of Peace Lutheran Church occurred in 1992. Since that time, the needs and ministry goals of this congregation and the requirements of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have changed. Because much of the language and congregational structure of the existing constitution reflected the needs, requirements and ministry goals of a predecessor church body and outdated patterns of ministry in this congregation, the leadership team charged the Constitution Review Team to undertake the process of reviewing and revising the current constitution of Peace Lutheran Church with the following goals in mind:
· To streamline the constitution and make it easier to use and adhere to its requirements. The committee and the Leadership Team have found that many elements of the older constitution were better left as bylaws or continuing resolutions because they covered aspects of the congregation’s life that change frequently. Bylaws and continuing resolutions are easier to change than the constitution and are more appropriate venues from transitory issues and procedures. Many of the policies and procedures that could and will change would be more appropriately included in a Policy and Procedures Manual because they do not touch upon crucial matters of doctrine or good order in the life of the church.
· To create a constitution that will not go out of date: This means removing some specific language and replacing it with more general, flexible language. For example, the current constitution states that a congregational meeting was to be held on the last Sunday of Easter. The proposed constitution requires that such meetings be held regularly and recommends that the meeting be held in May.
· To create a constitution that reflects the values and patterns of ministry of Peace Lutheran Church: The proposed constitution reflects this congregation’s current practice of ministries forming and dissolving according to the interest, calling and ministry needs the congregation and its members while preserving all the structures which are necessary for the life of a congregation of the ECLA.
· To bring Peace Lutheran Church’s constitution into conformity with the constitutional requirements of the ELCA for all its member congregations. The ELCA periodically updates its constitution due to legal decisions or changes in the polity of the church and requires that these changes be taken into account in the constitutions of its member synods and congregations.
The changes listed on this page should not be considered as an exhaustive list of the changes that are proposed to the constitution. Rather, they are an overview of the principles that guided the revisions, and examples which illuminate the principles which guided our work.
Draft Constitution of Peace Lutheran Church (pdf)
Please feel free to leave comments on the proposed changes here or send them to churchoffice@plchurch.org.
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3 comments:
My first comment would be readability. Realizing that the average parishioner is perhaps less concerned with what the old constitution said than what the propsed constitution is, I would have preferred to see them separately. A narrative summary of significant differences -- if any -- by section, would suffice as a thrird document. I wonder how many people will slog through this "mess".
As I digest the details, I'll share my thoughts on specifics. I know that certain parts are required -- and already there are some things I dislike in re the power of the ELCA/Synod viz a viz the congregation -- which require some trust (as well as recognition that there may be no practical choice to modify/opt out of these provisions). My concerns are colored by the experiences of belonging to a now-independent Lutheran congregation that had serious differences with the LCMS, and the difficulty reconciling those differences in a way that respected the local community of believers.
My second comment is why on earth the need to have comment moderation enabled if you are looking for free and open conversation? You can always remove inappropriate comments or spam, if need be.
Eric,
I setup the blog and use comment moderation more as a way to let me know there's activity happening on a blog (there's no hidden agenda to thwart open conversation;)
As far as how many will slog through it - yours are the first comments. I tried, but had a difficult time deciphering the document.
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