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Constitution of
The Lutheran Historical Society
The Lutheran Historical
Society of the Mid-Atlantic was formed in 1989 as a re-organization of The
Historical Society of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church
in North America begun in 1952 and of its
predecessor organizations, the first of which was founded in 1843.
This Constitution is effective as approved by the
membership of the Lutheran Historical Society on April 21, 2002.
ARTICLE I--NAME
The name of this organization shall be The Lutheran
Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic (hereafter referred to as The
Society).
ARTICLE II--PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE SOCIETY
SECTION 1. The
mission of The Society is to preserve, to document, and to share the history
of Lutherans and Lutheranism in the Middle Atlantic and adjoining areas.
SECTION 2. The Society's purposes are to:
a. stimulate
interest in the history of Lutherans and Lutheranism
b.
encourage the collection and preservation of archival
materials; document
Lutheran
church life at the regional, synodical, and congregational levels;
c. assist scholarly
research exploring Lutheran history.
ARTICLE III--MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1. Membership in this Society shall be open to all
individuals, congregations, and other institutions supporting the mission of
the Society.
SECTION 2. Each institutional member may designate one
representative to vote at annual meetings.
SECTION 3.
Individual members and the one designated representative from each
institutional member may vote in Society meetings and may hold office.
ARTICLE
IV-MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY
SECTION 1. The
Society shall hold one Annual Meeting for the purposes of conducting
business.
SECTION 2.
Additional meetings of The Society or Special Meetings may be called
for the presentation of research papers, workshops, special reports, and
general fellowship by the action of the Board of Directors, or in unusual
circumstances, by the President of The Society.
SECTION 3.
Sixteen voting members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of business at the meetings of The Society.
SECTION 4. Notice of all meetings shall be given at least
thirty days in advance by regular mail to the last known addresses of The
Society's
members.
SECTION 5. All business conducted at the meetings shall be
guided by Roberts Rules of Order, latest edition.
ARTICLE V--BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SECTION 1. The Society shall be governed between meetings
by a Board of Directors. Terms of office of the members of the Board of
Directors shall be three years.
SECTION 2. The
Board of Directors shall have at least nine and no more than fifteen members
with one-third of the members elected each year at the Annual Meeting of The
Society. The Board of Directors may fill vacancies on the Board with interim
members subject to approval at the next regularly scheduled Annual Meeting of
The Society.
SECTION 3. At
the first Board Meeting following the Annual Meeting, the Board of Directors
shall elect the president, vice-president, recording secretary, corresponding
secretary and treasurer for a term of one year.
SECTION 4. A majority of the members of the Board of
Directors shall constitute a quorum.
SECTION 5. The
Board of Directors shall elect the editor(s) of publications who shall serve
at its pleasure.
SECTION 6. The Board of Directors is authorized to adopt,
amend and repeal Standing Rules for The Society.
SECTION 7. The Board of Directors shall meet at least once
in any given calendar year.
ARTICLE VI--FINANCES
SECTION 1. The Board of Directors shall establish
categories of membership and dues for individuals and institutions.
SECTION 2. The
Board of Directors may create permanent special accounts whose principal will
be invested and whose earned income shall only be used for the purposes of
the Society. Principal funds in
special accounts may be expended only by action of the Society at a legally
conducted meeting.
SECTION 3. The Treasurer shall present a financial
statement to the Society members at its Annual meeting and to the Board at
its regularly scheduled meetings.
SECTION 4. The
President and the Treasurer shall prepare an annual budget for the calendar
year for consideration and adoption by the Board of Directors.
SECTION 5. The President shall appoint two members of the
Board to conduct an annual audit of the Society's finances with a report
provided at the fall meeting of the Board.
ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
SECTION 1. There shall be the following Standing
Committees: Executive and Nominating. The officers of the Board constitute
the Executive Committee. This Committee is to conduct the business of the
Society between meetings of the Board and the Society, itself.
SECTION 2. Other Standing Committees may be created,
modified and eliminated from time to time at the direction of the Board of
Directors or the Society. The duties and membership of these Committees shall
be specified in the Standing Rules.
SECTION 3. Committee members are members of the Society
and are appointed by the Executive Committee with approval of the Board of
Directors. The Chairperson of each
standing Committee shall be a member of the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VIII--AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1. This Constitution may be amended at any legally
called meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present, providing that
there be a six-weeks advanced notice of the proposed amendment.
BY-LAWS
SECTION 1. The duties of the officers shall be:
A.
President. To preside at all meetings of the Society, Board and
Executive Committee; to call
special meetings of the Board, after seeking the advice of the Executive Committee;
to appoint members to regular and ad hoc committees composed of members of
the Society and/or the Board; with the Recording Secretary, to sign all official
records of the Society
B. Vice
President. To act in the place of the President, where necessary; to be
Chairperson of the Nominating Committee.
C.
Recording Secretary. To record and distribute all minutes of the
Society, Board and Executive
Committee; to send notice of all meetings of Board and Society; to conduct
all official business between the Society and other historical, Church or
government agencies.
D. Treasurer. To
keep a record of all financial information of the Society; to conduct
all financial business of the
Society; to present a financial statement regarding the Society's finances to
the Annual meeting and to all regularly scheduled meetings of the Board.
D. Corresponding
Secretary. To receive all information of the Society; to keep a list of
active members; to prepare and distribute the Society's literature to the
membership.
Standing Rules
Resolved,
that all standing rules of the Lutheran Historical Society, presently in
force are hereby repealed and replaced by the following.
1.
Standing Committees.
A.
Membership Committee. The Membership Committee shall recruit new members and
sustain contacts with the Churches and Synods in Region 8 of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of America. There shall be three members of the Membership
Committee, one of whom is not a member of the Board. Members of the
Membership Committee shall serve three year terms, with one member leaving
the Committee each year.
B.
Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall receive and make
nominations to the Board and provide a list of nominees for a term on the
Board of Directors to the Annual Meeting of the Society. The Nominating
Committee shall provide a list of officers of the Society for election by the
Board of Directors at the Board’s next scheduled meeting following the
annual meeting of the Society The Vice President shall chair the Nominating
Committee which shall have two other members, at least one of whom is not a
member of the Board. No member of this Committee shall serve more than three
years.
C. Prize Committee. The Prize Committee shall publicize
and receive nominations for the St. Paul Biglerville and Wentz prizes and
make recommendations to the Board for recipients of these prizes. The Prize
Committee shall also monitor and provide to the Board an annual report of the
status of the assets of the Society held in the Endowment Funds of the
Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg.
There shall be three members of the Prize Committee, at least one of whom is
not a member of the Board. Members of the Prize Committee shall serve three
year terms, with one member leaving the Committee each year.
D. Program Committee. The Program
Committee shall be responsible for the program and local arrangements of the
Annual Meeting of the Society and any other meetings that the Board of
Directors, the Society or, in unusual circumstances, the President might
schedule. There shall be three members of the Program Committee, at least one
of whom is not a member of the Board. Members of the Program Committee shall
serve three year terms, with one member leaving each year.
E. Publicity Committee. The Publicity
Committee shall make members of the Society, the Church and the general public
aware of the business of the Society, as appropriate, and the program of the
annual meeting. There shall be three members of the Publicity Committee, at
least one of whom is not a member of the Board. Members of the Publicity
Committee shall serve three year terms, with one member leaving the Committee
each year.
2. Categories
of Membership and Dues.
The following are the categories of membership in the
Society and the annual charge for each:
a.
$15 individual and institutional
b.
$25 family
c.
$30 sustaining
d.
$50 supporting
A. During the month of
October each year a notice with a return envelope enclosed shall be sent to
all members of the Society soliciting dues for the coming year. Toward the end of January, a second
notice shall be sent to those members who have not responded to the
first. Within a month after the
annual meeting, a third notice shall be sent to those who have not responded
by June 15, they shall be dropped from the membership rolls. As soon as possible after June 15 the
treasurer shall transfer the delinquents to the former member file.
B. The membership year is the
calendar year. The fiscal year
extends from October 1 to September 30.
3. In
cooperation with the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, the Lutheran Historical Society,
awards the Abdel Ross Wentz Prize for the best essay or research paper
submitted by a Lutheran student enrolled in a first-degree program at an
accredited theological seminary on a subject in American Lutheran church
history.
a.
The principal amount of the prize funds, contributed
by the friends and family of Dr. Abdel Ross Wentz (1883-1976), is invested
and managed by the seminary. An
agreement approved by the seminary and the society prescribes the responsibilities
of each in managing and expanding the funds.The prize is administered by the Society’s
Prize Committee.
b.
The Prize Committee is authorized to use income from
the prize fund to defray costs incurred in administration which are not
otherwise provided for; to choose judges to evaluate papers submitted and
make their recommendations to the committee; to determine the amount of each
prize, including second and third prizes, if in its opinion, such are
warranted; and to select all recipients.
Assuming the availability of qualified submissions, the normal
sequence of prizes is at least one each year. Except in the absence of such
submissions, available prize funds should be expended and not allowed to
accumulate.
c.
The Prize Committee shall keep a record of its
activity and report to the Board of Directors on its work at least annually.
4. In
cooperation with the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg,
the Lutheran Historical Society, awards the St. Paul’s, Biglerville, Prize for a
publishable work of mature scholarship in the field of American Lutheran
church history.
a.
The principal amount of the prize funds, contributed
by St. Paul’s
Lutheran church, Biglerville PA, is invested and managed by the
seminary. An agreement approved
by the seminary and the Society prescribes the responsibilities of each in
managing and expending the funds.The prize is administered by the Society’s
Prize Committee.
b.
The Prize Committee is authorized to use income from
the prize fund to defray costs incurred in administration which are not
otherwise provided for; to choose judges to evaluate works which it selects
for consideration and make their recommendations to the committee; to
determine the amount of each prize; and to select each recipient. Assuming the availability of qualified
works, the normal sequence of prizes is one every three years. Except in the absence of such works,
available prize funds should be expended and not allowed to accumulate.
c.
The Prize Committee shall keep a record of its
activity and report to the Board of Directors on its work at least annually.
5. The
Society offers travel, meal, and lodging expenses to speakers at annual
meetings. It may solicit from the
presenters at its public meetings release forms approved by the Board of
Directors.
6. The
Board of Directors may establish local chapters of the Society. Members of each local chapter shall
also be members of the Society.
Local chapters shall develop programs of their own choosing, but such
programs shall be consistent with the stated purposes of the parent
society. Each chapter shall
maintain regular contact with the parent society, in order to insure that the
efforts of both are complementary and mutually supportive.
7. Unless
otherwise designated, all gifts of $500 or more, or which over a period of
time accumulate to that amount will be placed in the endowment and donors
will receive a certificate to that effect.
Contact Lutheran
Historical Society
You can reach LHS by mail at:
61 Seminary Ridge
Gettysburg, PA
17325
or by Email
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