Lutheran Church–Canada President Robert Bugbee has issued the following note to convention delegates on recent materials shared by LCC. You can also download the letter as a pdf here.
Friends in Christ,
A helpful colleague wrote last weekend seeking clarity about materials shared with delegates (and with the wider church) in recent weeks. The concern was that, in the flurry of documents, it might all be a bit confusing. So I’ll try briefly with these lines to make a few things clearer:
The Convention Workbook, which you received in early August, is the usual collection of reports from officers of the Synod, boards, commissions, auxiliary organizations, etc. It also includes the original batch of “overtures,” that is, requests from congregations and other entities that the Convention take a certain action.
The Workbook Supplement, sent out on September 15, is really “Workbook—Volume 2”. We’ve never had this before. It was needed because of our delayed schedule of a Convention in October rather than the usual June. As a result of this later Convention, many typical deadlines fell in the summer. In the Workbook Supplement you will find an expanded report, for example, from the LCC Board of Directors. You’ll also find an extra batch of overtures that came in from congregations, a District Board of Directors, as well as from the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure (CCMS) and LCC Board of Directors (BOD). The CCMS included also the texts of the amendments it is proposing to the LCC Handbook – in other words, to the Statutory Bylaws, Constitution and Synodical Bylaws as the CCMS’ recommended way of restructuring our church. Finally, the Workbook Supplement contains as a resource document the version of the Act and Bylaws proposed some months ago. The CCMS wants delegates to understand that this resource document is no longer their recommended means of accomplishing the restructuring of our Synod, but it was included as a courtesy, since it is referred to in a late overture from Faith Lutheran Church in Saskatoon. The “Foreword” page of the Workbook Supplement will provide an overview.
Soon you will receive the first edition of Today’s Business, which will publish the recommended actions of the Resolutions Committees which met September 8-9. In other words, these resolutions are what the Committees propose the Convention should do with the various overtures contained in the Convention Workbook and its Workbook Supplement.
“What should I read to prepare?” Ideally, you ought to read as much of the Convention Workbook and the Workbook Supplement as you possibly can to be “up to speed” for the Convention. To be sure, the proposed changes to the Handbook (in the CCMS overtures) may seem tedious. This is why there is a side-by-side comparison between the present Handbook and the proposed changes, sometimes including a little explanation on the right to explain why a specific change is being recommended.
One other thing: Last Tuesday, September 12, an “Official Notice” went out to all the members of the
Synod (pastors, deacons and congregations). You do not need to read this, because everything it
contains is already included in the Workbook Supplement. This communication was sent because the
Handbook requires a 30-day advance notice to the church before changes can be made to the Statutory
Bylaws located in the LCC Handbook. And this notice was sent to all members on the Synodical roster,
not just to Convention delegates.
I hope this helps a little bit for your preparations. I treasure your prayers and “homework” as our days
together in Kitchener draw near.
Sincere greetings in Christ,
Robert Bugbee, President
Lutheran Church-Canada
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