It’s probably time to update your congregation’s constitution
Currently the ELCA meets every three years in churchwide assembly where both routine and extremely important decisions are made that affect constitutions of the ELCA, the synods, and the congregations. It’s best to keep your constitution up to date to reflect these changes.
Your situation may fall in one or more of these categories:
You updated your constitution and voted to approve it after the 2022 Churchwide Assembly, and only need to update it to reflect the 2022 updates.
You have recently made or want to soon make changes to your constitution
For example: revising the requirements for a quorum in meetings.You haven’t updated your constitution in many years.
Updating your constitution takes only a few easy steps:
Contact the synod office and let them know you wish to revise/update your constitution. The synod office will contact a member of the synod’s Constitution Review Committee.
Your Review Committee contact person will be in touch with you about your constitution and walk you through the process that’s right for you. This will include using some of the documents the church has posted on https://elca.org/Resources/Office-of-the-Secretary, such as:
2022 Model Constitution for Congregations
2022 Amendments to the Model Constitution for Congregations
Rationale for the 2022 Amendments
Your congregation leaders make the needed updates and any desired changes in consultation with your Review Committee contact.
Once your Review Committee contact has reviewed and approved it, your constitution will be returned to you ready to be voted on at a meeting of your congregation, according to constitution requirements.
If passed, your congregation secretary sends your updated constitution to the synod office so it can be accepted by a meeting of the synod council.