Each of this church’s expressions – congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization – has a constitution. It is recommended that ELCA congregations and synods review the adopted amendments for their constitutions as soon as possible after each churchwide assembly to incorporate the required changes and to consider the recommended changes. The churchwide assembly meets every three years. Amendments to any synod constitution are approved by the synod assembly. Amendments to any congregation constitution are approved by the congregation at its regular meeting. These meetings are governed by parliamentary procedure. Basic information on parliamentary procedure can be found here.
Questions? Email the Constitution Review Committee at constitutions@sdsynod.org. Additional information can be found on the ELCA Office of Secretary website here.
Amending The Constitution To Include C10.08 (pdf)
Best Practices For Amending Your Constitution (pdf)
Constitution Revision Flow Chart (pdf)
Guide for Use of the Model Constitution for Congregations (pdf)
Model Constitution For Congregations 2022 (docx)