Official Handbook Source Text
Handbook page 30
Source: LCMS Handbook 2023, page 30.
This page reproduces text from the 2023 LCMS Handbook for study and navigation. Readers should verify procedural, legal, parliamentary, or governance questions against the official LCMS Handbook and appropriate LCMS authorities.
shall be transferred, consistent with applicable state and federal laws, as follows:
(1) In the case of a synodwide corporate entity, district, university, college, or seminary, to The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod as may be more specifically described elsewhere in these Bylaws;
(2) In the case of a corporation formed by an agency (as defined in these Bylaws), to the agency that formed the dissolving corporation, or if such forming agency is not then in existence, to The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod itself.
An agency may submit any concerns related to the inclusion of subsections
(a) or (b) in its governing documents to the Board of Directors of the Synod, and the Board of Directors may determine to permit the removal or modification of these provisions for an affected agency.
Full Financial Disclosure
1.5.4 The Synod and each of its agencies shall fully disclose their financial books
and records to any member congregation of the Synod.
(a) Full disclosure includes all information (including, but not limited to, information required to be made available under state law) recorded in any fashion, except the following:
(1) Information that would violate the expected confidentiality of donors.
(2) Personnel files or other information that would violate the expected confidentiality of employees.
(3) Information that relates to in -process negotiations of financial matters.
(4) Information the disclosure of which would breach a legal obligation of the Synod or its agencies or affect pending litigation or claims against the Synod or its agencies.
(5) Information that is preliminary in nature or otherwise has not been finalized in its form and content.
(b) Salaries of elected officers of the Synod, as identified in Constitution Art. X A, shall be published annually in an official periodical.
(c) The accounting department of the Synod shall publish annually in an official periodical an invitation to request full, audited financial statements and summary operating budgets of the Synod or its agencies.
(d) The Synod and its agencies shall share, upon request, the quarterly financial statements as reported to the respective governing boards.
(e) All information produced for normal publication or distribution shall be provided free of charge.
(f) Requests for detailed financial information or the inspection of financial records shall be made in writing to the respective corporate boards by a member congregation and shall state the records desired and the time period to be covered.
