March 2017
By Jackie Bussert
The LCMS Northern Illinois District met in special convention Saturday, March 11, and gave straightforward approval to the circuit realignment that had been proposed and distributed by the district Board of Directors in January. The realignment establishes 19 circuits divided somewhat equally into four regions, down from 28 circuits in four regions in the current structure.
As member organizations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, some 210 congregations in northern Illinois are organized into circuits and regions for electoral purposes. Each circuit selects two voting representatives to send to the Synod’s national, triennial conventions. Circuits must meet certain size requirements to retain electoral status, and at least four of the NID’s current circuits would be out of compliance by the next Synod convention (that is, too small in number of confirmed members or number of congregations).
Additionally, within the district, nominations for NID vice presidents and Board of Directors members are all done by region—one ordained church worker from each of four regions is elected as a vice president; one ordained and one commissioned church worker along with two lay people from each region is elected to serve on the board of directors.
The nomination process for electing district leaders at the March 2018 regular triennial convention begins this April, thus the necessity of a special convention now—so that district nominations can be based on new circuit and region realities. Other than for nomination purposes, the new circuits will not go into effect until June 1, 2018. That is the day people elected at the March 2018 convention will assume office. New Circuits and Regions for Nominations Process.
Convention discussion
The only concern voiced at the convention from the floor was to call attention that the new alignment reduces Northern Illinois District representation at Synod conventions. With some of its current 28 circuits already out of compliance, the NID had 42 voting delegates at the last Synod convention (summer 2016). When the next convention comes around (summer 2019), NID congregations will be represented by, at most, 38 voting delegates. This new circuit configuration proposed circuits larger than necessary to ensure that as the Synod-wide trend of small churches closing continues, NID’s circuits will remain in alignment for a while.
Delegate Rev. Chuck Mueller, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Roselle, Illinois, cautioned that if this reduction in the number of circuits had been directed from outside the district, “we’d be up in arms.” He questioned it as a voluntary action and said this would make NID, which is the fifth largest of Synod’s 35 districts, the least represented. He voiced his desire that the district be better represented at the national level, but no action was proposed.
The motion, unamended, was adopted just 20 minutes after the convention was called to order. With this action, the three-term limit for holding regionally nominated district offices will reset to zero at the March 2018 convention.
Also that day
While the business of the day was brief, convention delegates representing 139 NID congregations also worshipped together in a service of Matins. Rev. Kris Whitby, North Region vice president and pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect, Illinois, served as the preacher.
The morning also included a presentation and video on plans for Concordia University Chicago’s Reformation 500 activities, which includes a rare Reformation-era book display that opens on campus October 8. A district-wide celebration day, on Saturday, October 28, co-hosted by the NID, will include food, fun and activities for the whole family, culminating in a celebratory Reformation worship service. On Monday, October 30, Synod President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison will be joined at Concordia by Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Blaise Cupich and other church heads in a discussion forum. Information on all Reformation 500 events will be at www.cuchicago.edu/reformation.