Zion's Constitution Task Force (Linda Isebrand, Lisa Jacoby, and Pastor Andrea Myers) recently completed a thorough review of our governing documents. Zion had fallen behind with incorporating several sets of required changes from the ELCA. We were also asked to reorganize our bylaws for clarity. Along the way we made sure that the documents reflect our current ways of doing ministry.
Zion will vote on these proposed amendments during our Annual Meeting on January 29, 2017.
The following documents are provided so that you can be familiar with the changes that are proposed.
This 4-page summary provides a high-level overview of the proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws. It provides the text of new bylaws that have been proposed. It provides information regarding two proposed constitutional amendments that reflect current ministry practice at Zion. It also provides and overview of the many other "required changes" that bring us up to date with the ELCA's "Model Constitution for Congregations," as revised in 2016.
The ELCA's "Model Constitution for Congregations" now requires that bylaws be grouped with their related constitutional provisions. Zion’s current bylaws (last revised in 2012) are formatted as an appendix to the Zion Constitution. In some cases, a section of the current bylaws had to be divided up since it corresponded to several different constitutional chapters. This chart provides a guide to the changes proposed and the new numbering system.
This document contains the full text of the Constitution & Bylaws, with all proposed changes noted. Constitutional changes are highlighted in yellow, and bylaws changes are highlighted in blue. Proposed new text has been underlined, and proposed deletions are struck through.
If you have any questions regarding the proposed changes, please contact a member of the Constitution Task Force prior to the Annual Meeting on January 29:
Pastor Andrea Myers
Linda Isebrand
Lisa Jacoby