Convention business agenda set as committees meet

President Prachar, Rev. Ron Mohr, and Deaconess Miriam Winstanley

WINNIPEG – Three committees tasked with drafting resolutions for Lutheran Church–Canada’s (LCC) tenth convention met April 11-12 in Winnipeg. Chaired by LCC’s three district presidents, Rev. Tom Prachar (Central), Rev. Don Schiemann (ABC), and Rev. Paul Zabel (East), the members (drawn from the convention delegates) reviewed overtures submitted from across Canada, read reports published in the Convention Workbook, and found common areas of concern the convention can address under the topics of Faith, Witness, and Parish Services; Higher Education; and Constitutional, Administrative, and Financial Matters.

“These committees, along with the Nominations Committee which met last November, forge the business agenda for voting delegates to consider,” explained LCC President Rev. Dr. Robert Bugbee. “It’s a difficult task to draw together so many threads and draft resolutions that embrace the direction members of Synod, its boards, commissions and institutions have presented to them.”

Once the committees complete the draft resolutions, all members of Synod and convention delegates will receive copies by email for comment. In the intervening weeks between publishing the resolutions and the opening of the convention, committee members will assess the feedback.

The committees will hold another face-to-face meeting June 6 at the convention site on the campus of the University of British Columbia when delegates can address the committees. Although the final drafts will be published for delegates’ consideration at the convention, each resolution is subject to amendment on the convention floor.

“Not every overture will necessarily become part of a resolution,” noted President Bugbee. “Some matters are best handled in ways other than majority vote by the national convention. They may be referred to district conventions or brought before other entities for assessment and possible action.”

Committees who determine an overture should not be presented as a resolution must still ask the voting delegates for consent to “decline the overture.”

All convention information and resolutions are at www.lcc2014.ca.

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