Delegate Selection

Voting delegates to the 2013 ELCIC National Convention (the ELCIC business sessions at the 2013 Joint Assembly) represent the parishes of the ELCIC. Every parish is entitled to send at least one delegate. Most congregations are single point parishes but some are part of a multipoint parish. Congregations that are part of a multipoint parish are represented by the same delegate.

There are three types of voting membership our ELCIC national event and they are selected in three different ways.

  • Two hundred rostered delegates (ordained or diaconal) are elected by conferences as allocated by National Church Council on the basis of baptized memberships. These delegates are elected by those attending the conference conventions held in the thirty-two conferences across Canada. The conference convention can elect any of the rostered leaders from the ELCIC roster living in that conference whether they are serving in a parish or not. The deadline for election of rostered delegates is November 30th, 2012.
  • Lay delegates are elected by all the members of the parish for each parish not already represented by a rostered delegate. Parishes that have in excess of 800 baptized members are allowed to send an additional lay delegate. The lay delegates are generally selected at each congregation’s annual general meeting. The Synod office will inform parishes in December 2012 if they are eligible to elect a lay delegate. Parishes will also be required to elect two alternate lay delegates. If you are uncertain if your parish is sending a delegate to this year’s ELCIC national convention, please ask your pastor or congregational chairperson.
  • Twelve youth delegates are selected by the synods as members of the youth assembly. Youth shall be baptized members between the ages of 16 and 23 inclusive on the first full day of the convention.

The deadline for election of lay delegates and lay alternates is Sunday, March 3, 2013. The deadline for submission of these names to your Synod office is Friday, March 8, 2013.

The following document forwarded to all ELCIC congregations in November 2012 contains the notice of the 2013 National Convention and the election of lay delegates.