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Nominations and Elections Cycle

2023 Synod Assembly Nominations & Elections 

Information Page

Conference nominations begin January 6, and must be completed by February 10. Open nominations begin February 11, and must be completed by April 18 to be included in the pre-assembly reports.  For information regarding conference nominations for synod council, please contact the Dean of your conference.

 

Nominations and Elections Form >

During our time together in assembly, we will be electing persons to our Synod Council, Consultation Committee, and Discipline Committee. Below, you will find both, the listing of open seats and a description of the position. We strongly recommend those nominated are familiar with the position description below. 

Synod Council Cycle A

Synod Council Members, Four-Year Term (2024 – 2028)
 
  • Clergy Woman: Hudson*
  • Clergy Woman: Tappan Zee*
  • Clergy Man: Western Nassau* 
  • Clergy Man: Manhattan*
  • Lay Woman: Peconic*
  • Lay Woman: Staten Island*
  • Lay Woman: Western Queens*
  • Lay Man: At-Large*
  • Lay Man: South-Shore Brooklyn*
  • Lay Person: At-Large (LGBTQIA+ recommended)*
  • POC/Multicultural: At-Large
  • Youth: At-Large (*2-year Term)
  • Young Adult: At-Large
 
For the Nominations and Elections | Cycle B in 2026, click HERE.  *Two nominations per conference
 
 

CONSULTATION COMMITTEE

Six-Year Term
  • Clergy Female
  • Clergy Male
  • Lay Female
  • Lay Male

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE

Six-Year Term
  • Clergy Female
  • Clergy Male
  • Lay Female
  • Lay Male

2025 CHURCHWIDE ASSEMBLY: MNYS REPRESENTATIVES

  • Clergy Female | 2 representatives
  • Clergy Male | 2 representatives
  • Lay Female | 2 representatives
  • Lay Male | 1 representative
  • BIPOC Male | 1 representative
  • BIPOC Female Whose Primary Language Is Other than English | 1 representative
  • Young Adult Female (18 to 30 years old) | 1 representative
  • Youth Male (16 to 17 years old) | 1 representative
  • *POTENTIAL—Lay Female | 1 representative
  • *POTENTIAL—Lay Male | 1 representative

*Please note that, in order to have nominations from the floor during the assembly for this category, we will need to nominate two “POTENTIAL” candidates. During the fall of 2023, the MNYS Office of the Bishop will receive the official number of MNYS representatives required for the 2025 Churchwide Assembly. This number will determine if the “POTENTIAL” candidates will be officially elected or not. If the number of representatives required is 13 (as in CWA 2022), then “POTENTIAL” candidates will be recognized as official representatives; however, if the number of required representatives is less than 13, “POTENTIAL” candidates will not be recognized as representatives.

 
 

Synod Council Member

The Synod Council serves as a board of directors that makes legislative decisions between Synod Assemblies. The Synod Council exercises trusteeship responsibilities, recommends goals and budgets to the assembly, carries out resolutions of the assembly, reviews the official rosters and rostered leaders’ statuses, issues calls, as well as supervise the work of committees (S.10).
 
Synod Council members must be voting members of a congregation of our synod or on our synod’s roster of ordained ministers. The Synod Council shall consist of the four officers of the Synod:
  • Vice-president: The Committee on Nominations and Elections shall nominate at least two persons for vice-president; additional nominations may be made during the open-nominations period;
  • Secretary: The Synod Council shall nominate at least two persons for secretary; additional nominations may be made during the open-nominations period;
  • Treasurer: The Synod Council shall nominate two persons for treasurer; additional nominations may be made during the open-nominations period.

In addition to the officers, synod council members should include:  

  • one youth who shall be not less than sixteen (16) years nor more than eighteen (18) years of age at the time of election or appointment for service, 
  • one young adult who shall be between the ages of eighteen (18) and thirty (30) at the time of election or appointment for service, 
  • and twenty-two (22) other members. Of the twenty-two (22) other members 
    • eight (8) shall be clergy, 
      • (4) Women
      • (4) Men
    • six (6) shall be lay female, 
    • six (6) shall be lay male, these members shall be nominated and elected as provided for under S9.20.00; in addition, 
    • four (4) lay members shall be elected as at large candidates, 
      • one shall be persons of color and/or whose primary language is other than English.
In 2023, we are filling 13 seats for the 2024 - 2028 term. The Nominations and Elections Committee will solicit nominations through a conference nomination period. when name and contact information may be submitted to the committee for consideration. After this the committee will solicit nominations, during the open nominations period. More information is available in Chapter 9 of our constitution.
 
The Synod Council meets six times a year. Five meetings via video conference on Saturday morning from 9:00 – 11:00 am on the following 2023 dates: Mar 18; Apr 22; Jun 3; and Nov 18. Synod Council members are expected to participate in an overnight retreat Sep 22-23 and are voting members of our synod assemblies. Meeting schedules are determined by Synod Council members annually. Seats on Synod Council will be declared vacant after four unexcused absences or overall attendance that is less than 50 percent in a twelve-month period.
 

Consultation Committee

The Consultation Committee consists of twelve persons, of whom six shall be lay and six shall be Ministers of Word and Sacrament/Service, who shall be elected for a term of six years. Members of the Consultation Committee are called to consider matters of adjudication in a congregation. The functions of the Consultation Committee are set forth in Chapter 17 of our synod constitution.
 

Discipline Committee

The Committee on Discipline shall consist of twelve persons of whom six shall be ministers of Word and Sacrament/Service, and six shall be lay who shall be elected for a term of six years. The Committee on Discipline shall be responsible for the process of discipline governing officers, ministers of Word and Sacrament, ministers of Word and Service, congregations, and members of congregations in accordance with Chapter 20 of the Constitution, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
 

ELCA Churchwide Assembly

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly gathers elected representatives from across all of the regions and synods from the denomination in order to conduct business that will govern the future of the church.

Duties of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly include:

  • Review the work of the churchwide officers, and for this purpose, require and receive reports from them and act on business proposed by them.
  • Review the work of the churchwide units, and for this purpose, require and receive reports from them and act on business proposed by them.
  • Receive and consider proposals from synod assemblies.
  • Establish churchwide policy.
  • Adopt a budget for the churchwide organization.
  • Elect officers, board members, and other persons as provided in the constitution or bylaws.
  • Establish churchwide units to carry out the functions of the churchwide organization.
  • Have the sole authority to amend the constitution and bylaws.
  • Fulfill other functions as required in the constitution and bylaws.
  • Conduct such other business as necessary to further the purposes and functions of the churchwide organization.
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