BETHESDA LUTHERAN CHURCH
CONGREGATIONAL SPECIAL MEETING
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Council President Jolene Frette called the meeting to order at 9:45 a.m. for the 84 Bethesda members who signed in. Pastor John Kerr led the opening devotion and prayer.
Frette noted that there was no trouble meeting the required quorum of 50 members but asked those present to sign one of the attendance sheets being passed around. She thanked Marianne
Chalstrom, the Governing Documents Ministry Team leader, for serving as parliamentarian.
About This Special Meeting
The purpose of the meeting was to approve changes to our constitution to bring it in line with the
ELCA constitution and changes to our bylaws to update our organizational structure. The meeting, its date, and its specific purpose were announced in

Correspondence sent to every Bethesda member

The Current

The Wellspring

Church service

Forums
Documents to be voted on were provided earlier on the web site, on the council bulletin board, in the Welcome Center, and in the library. Congregants also could ask to receive paper or email copies.
According to our governing documents, the call for each special meeting is to specify the purpose for that meeting, and no other business can be transacted at the meeting.
Summary of Bylaw and Constitution Changes
President-Elect Keith Robinder summarized proposed changes to Bethesda’s governing documents, changes which he also presented at the congregational meeting in August. The five networks will become six boards. Each board will have two new positions: an outreach coordinator, who will focus on evangelism, reaching out to the community and world, plus a council liaison. This latter addition means there will now be six at-large council members. The changes in our constitution will bring it in line with the ELCA constitution and are not seen as substantive. Robinder referred people to the handout on the tables for further analysis of changes.
Robinder noted there was good participation at open forums to discuss the changes; suggestions made there were incorporated into the new board model. The Governing Documents Ministry
Team made the changes to the documents and forwarded the proposed documents to Council, which approved them. Because these changes are considered administrative changes rather than substantive changes, they need only one congregational vote.
Motions
Robinder moved on behalf of the church council to update the bylaws as printed in the materials that had been distributed earlier and were available as handouts (no second is required). Motion carried.

BETHESDA LUTHERAN CHURCH
CONGREGATIONAL SPECIAL MEETING
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Hogberg moved on behalf of the church council to update the constitution as printed in the materials that had been distributed earlier and were available as handouts (no second is required).
Motion carried.
Frette closed the meeting with the Lord’s Prayer. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Kienzler, Secretary