Video from 2017 Convention now on YouTube

ONLINE – Video from Lutheran Church–Canada’s 2017 convention is now online. The video includes both the opening worship service and all six business sessions.

The eleventh synodical convention, held in Kitchener, Ontario, was broadcast live online on Livestream and Facebook, but that video eventually expired after several weeks online. That footage has now been re-posted on YouTube.

Watch the video of the opening worship service and business sessions of the convention below:

Opening Worship Service

Business Session 1

Business Session 2

Business Session 3

Business Session 4

Business Session 5 (Part 1)

Business Session 5 (Part 2)

Business Session 6

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Convention Proceedings now available

CANADA – The Proceedings from Lutheran Church–Canada’s eleventh synodical convention have now been published. The convention took place October 13-16, 2017 in Kitchener, Ontario.

“The official Proceedings… are provided as the official record of the decisions, elections, and activities of the Convention,” notes Rev. Paul Schallhorn, outgoing Synod Secretary. “I encourage all members of the Synod who receives these Proceedings to make them available to the members of their respective congregations and others so that the information contained herein may reach as many as possible.”

The Proceedings are available as a pdf download here. Physical copies of the Proceedings are also available upon request from Lutheran Church–Canada’s synodical office in Winnipeg.

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LCC holds 2017 synodical convention

KITCHENER, Ontario – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) will hold its eleventh synodical convention October 13-16, 2017 in Kitchener, Ontario, with business sessions and the opening worship service being broadcast live online.

This year’s convention comes at a historic time for Lutherans, as 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Tradition states that Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. That event is widely considered the spark which ignited the Protestant Reformation. As delegates gather in Kitchener for LCC’s synodical convention, they will be taking time to observe Reformation commemorations as a result, including through a special Reformation concert the evening of October 14, 2017. The concert will feature J.S. Bach’s Cantata 199 and Felix Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony as performed by the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra.

Delegates to the 2017 convention have a full slate of work to accomplish, including the election of a new synodical President, voting on plans to restructure Lutheran Church–Canada, and considering the establishment of relations with a new partner church. Information on these and other resolutions the convention will debate are available in the 2017 Convention Workbook.

The first business session will begin on Friday, October 13 at 4:00 p.m. (EDT), with an orientation for delegates. The opening worship service will take place later that day at 7:30 p.m. (EDT). See the full convention schedule here.

Watch on the synodical convention website here. The event will also be broadcast live online via LCC’s Facebook page.

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Audio from Restructuring Webinars now online

ONLINE – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) held two webinars on September 28, 2017 to unpack the details of the proposed new structure for Synod, which will be voted on during LCC’s upcoming national convention in October. A recording of the presentation is now available to download for those who were unable to attend the webinars live.

The audio is a composite from both webinars, and has been condensed to focus on the presentation made by LCC First Vice President Nolan Astley. It also includes introductory remarks by Rev. William R. A Ney, Chairman of the Commission for Constitutional Matters and Structure, and an opening prayer from LCC President Robert Bugbee.

The audio is about one and a half hours long, and just over 40 mbs in size. Download it here.

More than fifty people participated in the webinars, representing a good portion of delegates who will attend the forthcoming convention in Kitchener. President Astley paused throughout his presentation to welcome questions of clarification in relation to the proposed changes to LCC’s handbook.

Those listening to the presentation are encouraged to have a copy of the proposed changes to the handbook to follow along. The documents are all available in the Supplement to the Convention Workbook released earlier in September.

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Official Notice to all Members of LCC from the CCMS

 

Update (September 13, 2017): A few small corrections have been made to this downloadable pdf since this story was first posted (switching the colours noting additions/deletions; replacing the word “Bylaws” with “Constitution” in one instance; and correcting the title of the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure (not the “Commission on Structure and Governance,” as was inadvertently included in two overtures).

Notice re Statutory Bylaws

In keeping with Article XXI, 21.01 of the LCC Statutory Bylaws (2014 LCC Handbook, Page 7) the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure (CCMS) hereby serves notice to congregations, pastors and deacons on the LCC roster of its unanimous decision to submit an overture to amend the Statutory Bylaws at the 11th LCC Convention, set for October 13-16, 2017 in Kitchener, Ontario.

Amendments of Other Handbook Documents

Other portions of the LCC Handbook are amended differently. Changes to the Constitution do not require the 30-day notice. They do, however, require a two-thirds majority vote at the Convention and then a two-thirds affirmative vote of LCC congregations who participate in that ratification phase during the six months following the Convention. (Constitution Article XIV,2 and 4., LCC Handbook, Page 12-13). Overtures to amend these portions of the Handbook were also unanimously passed and submitted
by the CCMS.

The Synodical Bylaws portion of the LCC Handbook may be amended by a simple majority vote of the Convention (Synodical Bylaws Article XIV, LCC Handbook, Page 81). Overtures to amend these portions of the Handbook, were, like the others unanimously passed and then submitted by the CCMS.

A Guide to the Overtures

The link below takes you to the full text of all the overtures and supporting documents. They are:

  • Overture 1.18, TO ADOPT THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE STATUTORY BYLAWS OF LUTHERAN CHURCH–CANADA (submitted by the CCMS);
  • Overture 1.19, TO ADOPT THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION OF LUTHERAN CHURCH–CANADA (submitted by the CCMS);
  • Overture 1.20, TO ADOPT THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE SYNODICAL BYLAWS OF LUTHERAN CHURCH–CANADA (submitted by the CCMS);
  • Overture 1.21, TO REQUEST THAT THE 2018 CONVENTIONS OF THE 3 DISTRICT CORPORATIONS (THE ALBERTA-BRITISH COLUMBIA DISTRICT, THE CENTRAL DISTRICT AND THE EAST DISTRICT) FACILITATE THE NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF REGIONAL PASTORS AND CIRCUIT COUNSELORS FOR THE BALANCE OF THE 2017-2021 TERM (submitted by the LCC Board of Directors);
  • Overture 1.22, TO DISCONTINUE WORKING WITH THE 3 DISTRICT CORPORATIONS (THE ALBERTA-BRITISH COLUMBIA DISTRICT, THE CENTRAL DISTRICT AND THE EAST DISTRICT) TO SEPARATELY DELIVER SERVICES TO THE MEMBERS OF LCC AS OF JANUARY 1, 2019 (submitted by the LCC Board of
    Directors);
  • Overture 1.23, TO REPLACE THE CURRENT STATUTORY BYLAWS AND ALL AMENDMENTS SINCE ADOPTED IN 2002 WITH A CONSOLIDATED FORM OF STATUTORY BYLAWS (submitted by the CCMS);
  • Overture 1.24, TO REPLACE THE CURRENT SYNODICAL CONSTITUTION AND ALL AMENDMENTS SINCE ADOPTED IN 2002 WITH A CONSOLIDATED FORM OF SYNODICAL CONSTITUTION (submitted by the CCMS);
  • Overture 1.25, TO REPLACE THE PREVIOUS SYNODICAL BYLAWS AND ALL AMENDMENTS SINCE ADOPTED IN 2002 WITH A CONSOLIDATED FORM OF SYNODICAL BYLAWS (submitted by the CCMS).

The first three overtures (1.18, 1.19, 1.20) are the “heart” of the CCMS restructuring proposals. The two “middle” ones (1.21, 1.22) deal with transitional matters that become necessary if the restructuring proposals are adopted. The final three (1.23, 1.24, 1.25) formally replace current documents with the new ones being proposed at this Convention.

The first three restructuring overtures take the reader through a column-beside-column comparison of the current documents and the proposed changes. The last three overtures include the “clean” text of what the new documents would look like if the proposed changes are adopted.

Download all the documents here.

The Way Forward

The CCMS action to submit these overtures follows the Commission’s unanimous adoption of proposals made by the “Working Group,” made up of representatives of CCMS and the LCC Board of Directors (BOD). Those representatives include Rev. William Ney and Rev. Paul Schallhorn (for the CCMS), as well as Rev. Nolan Astley and Mrs. Cindy Sholdice (for the BOD).

Resolutions Committee #1, under the chairmanship of Central District President Thomas Prachar, met in Winnipeg September 8-9 to consider all overtures which had been submitted relating to the area of restructuring. The Committee’s proposed Resolutions on these matters will be released after editing, etc., as soon as possible.

These CCMS overtures are being sent today to all pastors, deacons and congregations on the LCC roster, as well as to all Convention delegates. This constitutes the Commission’s formal notice to the church of the restructuring proposals it has recommended.

Rev. William R. A. Ney, Chairman
LCC Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure
September 12, 2017

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Convention 2017: Workbook released, presidential nominees announced

NOTE: An earlier version of the Workbook inadvertently left off two names from the Commission on Adjudication membership list as well as a chart from the LCCFM report. The story now links to a corrected version of the Workbook. Please note that the corrections change the pagination of the original workbook.

CANADA – Lutheran Church–Canada has released the workbook for its upcoming synodical convention to be held October 13-16, 2017 in Kitchener, Ontario. Included in the workbook is information on nominations as well as other important convention information, including overtures as well as reports from synodical departments, auxiliaries, listed service organizations, and other entities.

The workbook is available for download here.

Of particular interest this convention are the nominations for president, as President Robert Bugbee announced earlier this year he would not be standing for reelection. In total, 18 different pastors received at least two nominations for the position of president. Of these, two have accepted the nomination. The slate of presidential nominations includes Rev. Timothy Teuscher (11 nominations) and Rev. Dr. Glenn Schaeffer (4 nominations). Rev. Teuscher currently serves as pastor of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church (Stratford, Ontario) and as First Vice President of the East District of Lutheran Church–Canada. Dr. Schaeffer currently serves as President of the Alberta-British Columbia District of Lutheran Church–Canada.

The slate of candidates for Vice-Presidents include:

  • ABC District: Rev. David Bode, Rev. Tom Kruesel, Rev. Roland Kubke, Rev. Lee Loveridge
  • Central District: Rev. Ted Giese, Rev. Alex Klages, Rev. Dr. Harald Schoubye
  • East District: Rev. Marvin Bublitz, Rev. Timothy Teuscher, Rev. Kurt Reinhardt

Further information on candidates is available in the workbook, as is the names of those candidates who declined nomination. Also included in the workbook are the nominees for open positions on the Board of Directors, Commission on Adjudication, Commission on Theology and Church Relations, and the Boards of Regents for both Concordia Lutheran Seminary (Edmonton) and Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (St. Catharines, Ontario).

Further information on the convention, including appointments and registration information, is available here.

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