The Commission on Handbook (–3.9.4.2) consists of eight individuals, five voting members and three nonvoting advisory members. Three of the voting members are individual members of the Synod (ordained or commissioned ministers) and two of the voting members are attorneys. The three nonvoting advisory members are the Secretary of the Synod, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Synod, and a member of the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM). The voting members are appointed by the President of the Synod for six-year, once-renewable terms from nominees provided by district boards of directors and selected as candidates by the Council of Presidents. Names of the members of the Commission on Handbook are listed in the Workbook Directory. The primary responsibility of the Commission on Handbook is to provide for the ongoing maintenance and management of the Handbook (Constitution, Bylaws, and Articles of Incorporation of the Synod–). Specific responsibilities of the commission are detailed in as follows: (1) assisting convention floor committees when developing amendment proposals to the Constitution, Bylaws, or Articles of Incorporation of the Synod to determine their agreement in language (terminology) with the existing Handbook; (2) in consultation with the CCM, revising the Handbook of the Synod immediately after each Synod convention in order to bring it into harmony with the resolutions and changes adopted by the convention; (3) maintaining a complete file of succeeding handbooks so comparison can be made between current and preceding provisions; (4) carrying out assignments by Synod conventions relating to the Handbook; and, (5) responding to requests from Synod agencies to propose new provisions to address specific Handbook-related issues that arise between conventions of the Synod. Following the 2019 convention of the Synod and in consultation with the CCM, the commission incorporated all the revisions to the Bylaws that were adopted by the convention and to the Constitution that were adopted by the convention and subsequently ratified by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the voting congregations of the Synod (cf. 4). Electronic versions of the current November 2019 printed Handbook are available in both Adobe® PDF and Microsoft Word formats on the Synod’s website under the “About” menu, then the “Leadership” link, and then the “Commission on Handbook” tab lcms.org/coh. Since the 2019 convention of the Synod and as part of its Bylaw responsibility for the ongoing maintenance and management of the Handbook, the Commission on Handbook has adopted several
minor corrections and non-substantive editorial changes to the Bylaws. These corrections and changes primarily have been to punctuation, format, or terminology, there by providing greater clarity and consistency throughout the Bylaws. All changes immediately are posted on the electronic version of the Handbook available as the “Update Edition” on the Synod’s website (as noted above) and are in Adobe® PDF format. Over the course of its meetings this triennium, the commission has received inquiries, recommendations, and input from various Synod agencies, commissions, councils, committees, and task forces concerning certain portions of the Constitution and Bylaws of Synod. The commission has responded both by providing appropriate feedback and by formulating and approving several proposed revisions to the Handbook in the following subject areas: Dispute Resolution Processes, Synodwide Corporate Entities, Synod Membership Status and Limitations, Cross-Circuit and Cross-District Multi-Congregation Parishes, Clarification of Commission on Theology and Church Relations Bylaw Provisions, Circuit Visitor Election Procedures, Procedures for Election of District Presidents and District Vice-Presidents, Procedures for Electronic Registration of Voters for the President of Synod, and several Practical Bylaw Considerations. These subject areas are being submitted in the form of corresponding overtures for consideration by the 2023 convention of the Synod. In each case, action by the convention to adopt the proposed changes will both support and enhance the Synod’s constitutional objectives () and bylaw purposes (). The commission will have met nine times between the 2019 and the 2023 conventions. Due to logistical considerations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and recognizing the importance of good stewardship of time and money, seven of the commission’s meetings were held remotely using electronic means. The minutes of each commission meeting are publicly available on the Synod’s website under the “About” menu, then the “Leadership” link, and then the “Commission on Handbook” tab lcms.org/coh.