of the
West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod
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Contents
Synod
Assembly Communications
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Synod Assembly 2025 adjourned sine die at approximately
5:35 p.m., 31 May 2025. Held at the Mon County 4-H Center,
Morgantown, WV, the Synod Assembly tackled several items
of business. It will take a few days to curate all of it
into a summary. Stay tuned.
What Is Synod Assembly?
Synod Assembly is the highest legislative authority of
the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod. It is a
unicameral legislature of clergy and laity enfranchised
under the Synod Constitution. In session, it employs Robert's
Rules of Order, Newly Revised (latest edition) as
its parliamentary authority. The Synod Assembly must meet
in regular session at least triennially, but, with one
exception, West Virginia-Western Maryland has met annually
since its constituting convention in 1987.
Who Are the Members of the Synod Assembly?
The voting membership of the Synod Assembly is a mix of
clergy and laity. A minimum of 60% of its voting members
must be laity. Of the laity, at least 45% must be men, and
at least 45% must be women.
The voting membership includes:
- the officers of the synod (bishop, vice president, secretary, and treasurer);
- the members of Synod Council not otherwise enfranchised;
- the clergy on the roster of the synod who are under
call and also those who are retired;
- from each of the congregations of the synod, two lay voting members enfranchised by action of their respective congregations (see below); and
- a handful of special cases defined in our Synod Constitution, involving discretionary enfranchisement by Synod Council.
About Congregational Lay Voting
Members
Per our rules, those elected by their respective
congregations to serve as lay voting members of the Synod
Assembly remain lay voting members until replaced by their
congregations or otherwise disqualified (i.e., by
no longer being a voting member of the electing
congregation).
If you have been a congregational lay voting member in
the past, you may still be (if your congregation has not
formally replaced you). Review our Roster of Congregational Lay
Voting Members of the Synod Assembly to find out.
Every congregation is encouraged to review the Roster of
Congregational Lay Voting Member of the Synod Assembly
annually and register new lay voting members when
registration opens for Synod Assembly. Even those
continuing should be registered so as to help the Synod
Assembly planning staff prepare.
Some have asked: Who elects
congregational lay voting members to the Synod Assembly?
To answer this question, we've posted a dedicated page (click here).
About Clergy Voting Members
Clergy who are on the roster of the synod are
enfranchised as follows:
- clergy under letter of call are voting members of the Synod Assembly per †S7.21(a);
- pastors who are on retired status are voting members of the Synod Assembly so long as a minimum of 60% of the Synod Assembly membership is laity per S7.22 & B7.08, otherwise they have voice but not vote; and
- pastors who are on leave from call are voting members of the Synod Assembly if enfranchised by the Synod Council for the immediate Synod Assembly under S7.27 & CR2.01, otherwise they have voice but not vote.
Clergy who are members of full-communion partner churches
serving congregations of this synod under extended
ecumenical service may are voting members of the Synod
Assembly if enfranchised by the Synod Council for the
immediate Synod Assembly under S7.27 & CR2.02.
About Ex Officio Voting Members
Those who are ex officio voting members of the
Synod Assembly continue as such until they no longer hold
the office. These include
- the officers of the synod;
- members of the Synod Council not otherwise enfranchised (q.v., S7.28);
- the lay chairpersons of the conferences not otherwise
enfranchised (q.v., S7.29).
About Advisory Members
In addition to the voting members, there is a small number of advisory members, those who have voice but not vote.
Anatomy of the Synod Assembly
Synod Assembly, much like any convention, has various
committees and offices that work well in advance of the
assembly and during the assembly. While this can get
pretty complicated, the most important entities for the
legislative work of the assembly are...
- Nominating Committee—Nominating
Committee, with some few exceptions, generates
nominations for offices to be elected by the Synod
Assembly. Learn more about Nominating Committee, its
processes, and the status of its work at this point at
the Nominations
webpage.
- Reference & Counsel—R&C is the principal legislative committee of the assembly. R&C, among other duties, reviews all resolutions and memorials submitted to the assembly by voting members and congregations. Learn more about Nominating Committee, its processes, and the status of its work at this point at our Resolutions & Memorials webpage.
- Resolutions Committee—Resolutions Committee is the drafting committee of the Synod Assembly.
Past Synod Assemblies
Synod Assembly 2024
Synod Assembly 2024 has adjourned sine die. For more information, click here.
Synod Assembly 2023
Synod Assembly 2023 has adjourned sine die. Visit our webpage for Synod Assembly 2023 to find out what happened.Synod Assembly 2022
Synod Assembly 2022 has adjourned sine die, and the synopsis is on-line! Review the happenings at our Synod Assembly 2022 page.
Synod Assembly 2021
The 33rd Annual Synod Assembly of the West Virginia-Western Maryland, ELCA, convened Saturday, 16 October 2021, at the Mon County 4-H Center, Mylan Park, outside of Morgantown, WV. To find out what happened, including elections, legislative action, and more, visit the Synod Assembly 2021 page.