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If you are reading this page, we probably don't have to
present an argument for maintaining accurate and clean
membership rolls. So, assuming you are looking for
guidance on removing congregational members from your
rolls for inactivity, let's get to it with the relevant
required provision in the Model Constitution for
Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. Your congregation's constitution should be
identical to this:
*C8.05. Membership in this congregation
shall be terminated by any of the following: (a) death;
(b) resignation; (c) transfer or release; (d) disciplinary
action in accordance with Chapter 20 of the constitution
and bylaws of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America;
or (e) removal from the roll due to inactivity in
accordance with the provisions of this constitution and
its bylaws. Such persons who have been removed from
the roll of members shall remain persons for whom the
Church has a continuing pastoral concern. [emphasis added]
N.B., the
only time the word inactivity shows up in
the Model Constitution is in *C8.05(e). Some
mistakenly use the term to describe members who do
not meet the basic requirement for voting membership
(see *C8.02(c)). Confirmed members who do
not meet the basic requirement for voting
membership are still confirmed members
of the congregation. They should never be called active
members or inactive members as if
these were constitutionally recognized classes of
membership (which they are not) in order to prevent
confusion with matters related to removal for
inactivity and also to prevent neglect. So
long as a member remains on the roll of the
congregation, even if that member is inactive, that
member is an object of the congregation's ministry
to members.
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*C8.05(e) lists inactivity as a grounds for
termination of membership, but the provision includes an
important condition: removal can only be done in
accordance with the provisions in this constitution and
its bylaws. At this point, the Model
Constitution falls silent. Nowhere is inactivity
defined, and no provisions (constitutional or bylaws,
required or recommended) are provided. It is, therefore,
left to the congregation to define inactivity and
to draft and incorporate appropriate provisions in its own
constitution/bylaws. The following is an example of a such
from a synod congregation's bylaws:
B8.05. The Congregation Council may terminate,
under *C8.05(e), membership in this congregation upon a
two-thirds vote for inactivity, such inactivity being
defined as failure to commune in this congregation and
make a contribution of record to this congregation in
four consecutive calendar years.
Note the critical elements:
- the body that can terminate membership is
identified—in the example, the Congregation Council,
being the body that grants confirmed membership
(*C8.03), is designated as the body that can terminate
membership;
- removal is not automatic—Congregation Council has
discretionary authority to accommodate special cases;
- the vote necessary to terminate membership is
defined—in the example, a two-thirds supermajority is
required; and
- inactivity is defined—in the example, inactivity
is defined as a failure to meet the commune and
contribute in four consecutive calendar years,
essentially double the length for voting membership.
While all four general elements should be included in any
such provision, details may vary. For example, the vote
necessary to terminate may be different, and the
definition of inactivity may be different. It is strongly
recommended that Congregation Council be the body invested
with the power to terminate membership and that it have
discretionary power to do so (or not). Here's a template
for the bylaw:
B8.05. The Congregation Council may terminate,
under *C8.05(e), membership in this congregation for
inactivity [under the parliamentary authority's rules
for recension][upon a two-thirds vote], such inactivity
being defined as failure to commune in this congregation
and make a contribution of record to this congregation
in ____ consecutive calendar years.
A choice needs to be made between the two sets of
bracketed material, and the blank should be filled.
- Most congregations will likely opt for the simple
two-thirds vote. Those more familiar with Robert's
Rules of Order may prefer the option naming the
rules for recension.
- How many years is a matter of discretion for the
congregation. Some congregations may want to have a
higher number, some lower. In no wise should the number
be dropped below the standard for voting membership.
It would be prudent to annually act upon potential
removals. The Model Constitution includes a
relevant recommended provision:
C12.07. The Congregation Council shall provide
for an annual review of the membership roster.
Assuming a congregation's constitution includes this
provision, consideration of removal for inactivity should
be an annual agenda item.
To facilitate this work, it would be wise to have a standing
committee on membership, though an ad hoc committee
could be appointed instead. Again, from one of our synod's
congregations, we present a continuing resolution
establishing its membership committee:
CR13.05. The Membership Committee shall (a)
conduct an annual review of the membership of the
congregation; (b) annually publish the rosters of
baptized, confirmed, associate, and seasonal members;
(c) review all applications for confirmed membership and
seasonal membership, reporting its recommendations to
the Congregation Council; (d) make recommendations for
dismissal due to inactivity to the Congregation Council;
and (e) certify the rosters of voting members and
seasonal members prior to a Congregational Meeting.
Whether a standing committee or ad hoc committee
is given the task of reviewing the membership roster, that
committee should generate a report listing all those
members who have met the criteria for inactivity as
defined. In addition to producing a list, the committee
should make recommendations for action. In some cases, the
committee should recommend removal. In other cases,
however, the committee might not, for good reason,
recommend removal. Should the elderly member with dementia
be removed? Should the member of the military, the
diplomat, the missionary, or the Peace Corps volunteer be
removed while they are on extended deployment abroad?
There can be extenuating circumstances, and the committee
should weigh them.
The committee should consult with the pastor and the
member in question (if possible). In some cases,
consulting with other members (e.g., family) who
have knowledge of mitigating circumstances may be
warranted.
It is within the power of the committee to recommend
other courses of action short of removal (e.g.,
intentional pastoral or fraternal conversation with an eye
to reinvigorating the member's involvement with the
congregation). Indeed, a congregation may want to develop
a protocol involving contact, inquiry as to the member's
desire for membership, consultation, exhortation, and
opportunity for reconnection with the congregation prior
to recommending removal. In the course of such engagement,
it may be learned that the member has become shut-in, or
transfered to another church, or fallen into a spiritual
depression warranting pastoral care rather than dismissal.
Likewise, those who have moved to a great distance may be
encouraged to connect with a congregation in their new
community if they have not already done so.
In the end, the Congregation Council (assuming something
like the sample provision above is employed) determines
what course of action will be taken. This should be done
with pastoral and fraternal concern, but there will be
times when removal is the appropriate course of action.
Remember, so long as a member is on the roster of the
congregation, the congregation has obligations toward
them. A Congregation Council may want to consider that an
every-member visit by the pastor could mean the
congregation pays for a flight to Florida so that the
pastor can visit that member on the rolls who moved to The
Villages ten years ago.
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