With the steady increase in bivocational ministry, why is it that worker-priests and their congregations are denied the franchise in synod elections simply because their pastors have to work and are unable to attend their district conventions?
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Good question Fritz. Why can't the documented worker priests submit an absentee ballot?
ReplyDeleteAlso, why can't Assistant Pastors vote? What is the difference between Associate & Assistant?
Pastor Wurst (John)
St. Paul - Cedar, Michigan
Larry-
ReplyDeleteSimple answer, because the bylaws say so, and they were part of the Kieschnick restructure. Who knows what was behind it? Speculation doesnt help, it the bylaws will simply need to be changed so that each parish simply has a pastoral and lay vote, whether they go to the convention or not. Write it up and send it in!
That said, is it that difficult for a bi-vocational pastor to simply make an appearance? All that is necessary is registration and signing in. Registration costa nothing. It might be a hardship to show during working hours, particularly if tye convention is a long ways away. But they could present their credential at anytime the convention is in session, this could be at 8pm at night or at 6 in the morning as long as they contact the registrar. But they do have to physically show. Again, it is lousy and needs to be changed.
The bylaws delineate between Associate and Assistant. Assistant Pastors are advisory members of the Synod in the same category regarding the franchise as commissioned ministers. Some bylaw scholar might know the history behind this. But there is no stated why.
Speaking from a purely political standpoint, and at the risk of painting with a broad as wide as the Mississippi... not having all the Confessions-denying, liberal-leaning pastors from big multi-pastor situations is probably a good thing. As far as absentee voting goes, it's pretty much impossible for resolutions since they are modified and re-modified considerably before final votes.
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