Standing Rules of the 2025 Assembly

 

1. Order of Business. With the permission of the assembly, the chair shall have the authority to call items of business before the assembly in whatever order the chair considers most expedient for the conduct of the business of the assembly.

 

2. Quorum. A quorum shall be present at any meeting before business can be conducted. A quorum shall consist of at least one-half of all persons elected and registered as voting members. If a quorum is not present, the members present may adjourn the meeting to another time and place. Only those persons eligible to vote at the original meeting may vote at the adjourned meeting.

 

3. Absence of Members. Members shall not absent themselves from any session of the assembly without valid excuse.

 

4. Parliamentary Procedure. The Synod Assembly shall use parliamentary procedures in accordance with the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

 

5. Proxy and Absentee Voting Precluded. Proxy and absentee voting shall not be permitted.

 

6. Obtaining the Floor. At plenary sessions of the Synod Assembly, voting members, including ex officio members, shall have the right to seek recognition. However, the Chair may determine that it is in the best interests of the assembly to call upon an advisory member, a resource member, or another individual with voice. In such cases, the Chair shall make this determination at their discretion.

 

7. Questions of Personal Privilege. Questions of personal privilege that are not urgent and do not relate to the assembly as a whole are out of order.

 

8. Debate Time. Debate time in all plenary sessions, resolutions, and memorials shall be limited to 15 minutes, unless the limits of debate are extended by a 2/3 vote.

 

9. Speeches. In all plenary sessions, persons speaking from the floor shall be limited to 3 minutes, unless the limits of debate are extended by a 2/3 vote. This rule shall not apply to persons presenting a report, or when direct questions are posed to specific individuals for clarification. No person shall speak more than twice on the same question, and no person shall be recognized to speak a second time on the same question until every member who desires to speak has had an opportunity to do so once. After four people have spoken consecutively on the same side of the motion before the assembly and no one is awaiting recognition to speak on the other side, the chair will move immediately to a vote on the pending motion.

 

10. Previous Question. Only a person who is specifically recognized to move the previous question may make the motion for the previous question. A member who has spoken on the pending question(s) may not move the previous question(s). A motion to end debate by moving the previous question shall apply only to the immediately preceding motion. A motion to end debate on all matters on the floor or more than the immediately pending question is not in order.

 

11. Alternating Speeches. To the greatest extent practicable during discussion, a speaker representing one perspective on the pending question shall be succeeded by a speaker advocating the opposing viewpoint. In order to streamline alternating speeches, assembly members seeking recognition on the main floor are instructed to queue behind a green microphone if expressing support for the pending question, or behind a red microphone if articulating opposition to the question under consideration.

 

12. New Business. Proposed matters of new business must be submitted to the Secretary prior to the close of the first Plenary Session. Matters will be brought before the Assembly, or referred to the Synod Council, at the discretion of the Chair of the Assembly after consultation with the Reference and Counsel Committee and the Secretary.

 

13. Motions. All substantive motions shall be written by the mover on forms provided for that purpose, signed and sent to the secretary’s table. The chair may use discretion not to open the floor for debate on a motion until a written copy is available to the chair, the secretary, or the assembly membership. When the motion to Amend by Substitution is before the assembly, a vote must first be taken to substitute before the surviving motion may be amended.

 

14. Motion to Rescind or Amend Something Previously Adopted at This Assembly. A two-thirds vote of the voting members present and voting shall be required to rescind or to amend something previously adopted during this Assembly. This rule does not apply to constitutional or bylaw amendments previously adopted by this assembly.

 

15. Suspending or Revising the Rules. After the adoption of the Standing Rules of the Assembly and any amendments thereto offered prior to the adoption of the Rules, any further amendment to, revision in, or suspension of the Rules shall always require for adoption a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting.

 

16. Applause. During discussion, assembly members are expected to abstain from expressing approval through applause.

 

17. Unfinished Business. Upon adjournment of the Synod Assembly, all remaining unfinished items of business shall be referred to the Synod Council of the Metropolitan New York Synod for disposition.

 

 

1. This is an open meeting. Live-streaming of the meeting shall be available for everyone via synodical social media platforms.

 

2. Voting members shall remain seated until they wish to speak, when they will approach the corresponding microphone. As mentioned above, members expressing support for the pending question shall queue behind a green microphone, while those articulating opposition to the question shall queue behind a red microphone. Members offering neutral commentary may join either queue. The Chair shall recognize the person wishing to speak and the speaker shall state their name and the name of the organization or body they represent. Once the speaker has finished speaking, they should return to their seat unless they are granted further recognition by the Chair.

 

3. The privilege to speak on a given issue still must be appropriate to Robert's Rules of Order and the adopted Rules of the Assembly.

 

 

1. The synodical bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod and such other official

representatives of this church, as may be designated from time to time, as well as Synod standing committee members, shall also have voice but not vote in the meetings of the assembly. Like privileges shall be accorded to those additional persons whom the Bishop, Synod Council, or the assembly shall from time to time designate.

 

2. Assistants to the Bishop who are not otherwise voting members shall be advisory members of the assembly and have voice but not vote.

 

3. All youth officially registered for the assembly shall be granted the privilege of participating in its proceedings with voice but not vote.

 

4. Official visitors may address the assembly at the request of the chair or by majority vote.

 

5. Rostered Synodical Deacons who are not otherwise voting members but who are in attendance as registered visitors to the assembly shall have the privilege of voice in the assembly.

 

6. Visitors shall be seated in the designated areas but shall not have the privilege of voice in the assembly.

 

 

1. VPoll shall be the authorized vendor for the tabulation of ballots in all elections (except for the first ballot for bishop).

 

2. VPoll shall be that authorized vendor for the tabulation of other matters requiring a division of the house as ordered by the chair.

 

3. Identifying information of voting members shall only be collected for the purpose of logging authorized voting members into the system.

 

4. Only vote totals of ballots shall be published to the assembly. No information indicating the vote of any voting member shall be provided to synod personnel, individuals or the public.

 

5. All records of individual ballots shall be destroyed 91 days after the adjournment of the Synod Assembly.

 

 

1. The Committee on Reference and Counsel may assist the chairperson in the schedule for handling business items, consider requests for the distribution and posting of materials and give other assistance as the chairperson may request. New business shall be processed through this committee.

 

2. The deadline for receipt of resolutions in the Synod Office was February 10, 2025. No resolutions received after the deadline shall be considered by the Synod Assembly unless the Synod Council or the Committee on Reference and Counsel determines that it is either of

overriding importance or germane to the issues of the Synod Assembly agenda and whether there are other matters on the agenda related to the item. If any voting member proposes to add any new item of business, it shall immediately be referred to the Committee on Reference and Counsel. The deadline for submitting any item of business shall be the close of the first plenary session. The committee shall report to the assembly its recommendation for handling such new business, which may be that the matter not be considered. If the committee determines that the item is neither of overriding importance nor germane to the agenda of the Synod Assembly, it shall report its conclusion to the Synod Assembly. This report shall include a recitation of the “resolved” clauses. If no further action is taken by the Synod Assembly, the minutes shall contain the report of the Committee regarding such item, and the item shall be referred to the Synod Council for consideration. In such matters, a two-thirds vote of the assembly shall be required to add the item of business to the agenda.

 

3. Priority shall be given to those resolutions received in advance of the assembly on or before the deadline for submissions. Insofar as possible, resolutions shall be considered in the order in which they were received.

 

4. When two or more resolutions addressing the same general topic are received the committee on Reference and Counsel may adapt, edit, amend or combine them as seems helpful, securing the consent of (or consulting with) the original author(s) if at all possible. If the committee presents a substitute resolution it becomes the main motion. The maker of the original resolution has the right to place the original resolution on the floor as an amendment by substitution.

 

5. Resolutions to amend the budget as recommended by the Synod Council must be submitted in writing to the treasurer by the conclusion of the plenary session in which the budget is put before the assembly. All proposed amendments must include recommendations to maintain a neutral budget line, meaning that any proposed changes to the budget should not result in a deficit or surplus, but rather aim to maintain the balance in the budget.

 

6. All resolutions proposing the establishment of any new committee, board, commission

or task force etc. must include a plan for funding. Those resolutions which do not include such a plan shall be automatically referred to the Synod Council.

 

 

1. Floor nominations for all positions to be elected at this assembly shall be called for at the beginning of the assembly during the report of the Nominating Committee, except for those positions closed under S9.20.05.a.

 

2. Floor nominations must have the support of at least ten (10) credentialed voting members (by signature) on the forms provided at the assembly.

 

3. Nominations forms including biographical information shall be submitted to the Nominations and Elections Committee on the form provided by the close of the first plenary session.

 

4. Once floor nominations have been closed, a brief summary of data on each nominee shall be distributed to the members of the Assembly via the synodical website. Nominations whose nomination and biographical forms have not been received by the secretary by the end of session in which the nominations report is given will be considered withdrawn.

 

 

Biographical information on the seven nominees (plus ties) who received the greatest number of votes on the second ballot, submitted on a form determined by the Bishop’s Election Committee, shall be distributed to voting members prior to the casting of the third ballot for bishop.

 

a. Prior to the third ballot for bishop, the seven persons (plus ties) who received the greatest number of votes on the second ballot will be invited to address the assembly, with each speech limited to five minutes. If any such person is not present at the assembly, the individual, if possible, may designate an alternate to speak on her or his behalf.

 

b. A time keeper shall indicate to the speaker when 30 seconds remain of the allocated time and when the allocated time has elapsed.

 

c. The sequence of the speeches shall be determined by lot.

 

a. Prior to the fourth ballot for bishop, the three persons (plus ties) who received the greatest number of votes on the third ballot will be invited to participate in a question-and-answer period.

 

b. The period shall be moderated by the person designated to preside at the election.

 

c. The questions shall be asked in rotating order of the nominees, and the same questions will be asked to each nominee. Each nominee shall have a maximum of 90 seconds to respond to each question.

 

d. A time keeper shall indicate to the speaker when 30 seconds remain of the allotted time and when the allotted time has ended.

 

e. The time for the question-and-answer period shall be a maximum of 45 minutes.

 

f. The Synod Council shall prepare questions for this process. Any voting member of the assembly may submit additional questions in writing to the secretary, or the secretary’s designee, by 5:00 p.m. of the 15th day prior to the beginning of the synod assembly.

 

g. The list of potential questions to be used from Synod Council and voting members of the assembly will be compiled and distributed no fewer than seven days prior to the beginning of the synod assembly via the synod’s usual electronic communications.

 

h. The specific questions to be asked and sequence shall be determined by the vice president and presiding officer, in consultation with the Bishop’s Election Committee.

 

4. The election of bishop at the 2025 Synod Assembly shall be conducted under the oversight of Deacon Sue Rothmeyer, Secretary of the ELCA.

 

 

1. Voting Members not registered in advance of the Assembly are permitted to register and be credentialed as Voting Members as space permits.

 

 

1. A congregation shall submit a written statement of its appeal of any decision under §13.24 to the Synod Secretary no later than thirty days prior to the next meeting of the Synod Assembly.

 

2. When an appeal of a Synod Council decision under §13.24 is made to the Assembly, the Assembly shall docket time for at least two reports from members of the Consultation Committee, ordinarily on separate days of the Assembly meeting. The Assembly shall not vote on the appeal until it has heard the final report from members of the

Consultation Committee.

 

3. Following the first report from members of the Consultation Committee, members of the Assembly may submit written questions to members of the Consultation Committee, which may respond as appropriate in later reports to the Assembly.

 

4. During the final report from members of the Consultation Committee, the Assembly chair will recognize members of the appealing congregation to speak to the Assembly regarding the appeal.

 

o Each speaker from the congregation will have no more than two minutes.

 

o No additional speakers will be recognized after 15 minutes has elapsed.

 

o When there are multiple factions within the appealing congregation, the Assembly chair may confer with members of the Consultation Committee so as to recognize speakers in a way that divides this time as equally as possible among members of the various groups.

 

5. At the conclusion of the final report from members of the Consultation Committee, the question before the Assembly will be, “Shall the action of the Synod Council exercising

Section §13.24 of the Synod Constitution in relation to (name of appealing congregation) be sustained?”

 

6. Each voting member of the Assembly recognized to speak will have no more than three minutes to speak for or against the motion to sustain the action of the Synod Council. No additional speakers will be recognized after 20 minutes has elapsed. During the debate:

 

o A motion to amend, postpone, or refer this question shall not be in order.

 

o A motion to call the previous question or change the limits of debate beyond the limitations stated in this procedure shall not be in order.

 

o Members of the Assembly will not be recognized for questions on the content and substance of the motion during the debate.

 

7. Before the Assembly votes, the Assembly Chair shall restate the question, “Shall the action of the Synod Council exercising Section §13.24 of the Synod Constitution in relation to (name of appealing congregation) be sustained?” and clearly indicate the intent of each vote.

 

o A “yes” vote shall sustain the action of the Synod Council to exercise Section §13.24 of the Synod Constitution.

 

o A “no” vote shall overturn the action of the Synod Council to exercise Section §13.24 of the Synod Constitution.