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Delegates work together at hybrid convention

THREE HUNDRED THIRTY voting delegates attended WELS’ 66th biennial convention, July 26–28, at Luther Preparatory School, Watertown, Wis., under the theme, “Here we stand.”

Yet the convention floor looked a little different this year because only 78 delegates—the chairman, secretary, and two lay delegates from each floor committee—attended in person. The rest were encouraged to attend online as virtual delegates.

Because most delegates were not at Luther Preparatory School but attended virtually from home, much of the convention business was conducted before the convention.

Synod convention
This year’s synod convention included in-person and virtual delegates. James Lake participated from his home in Virginia. 

Most floor committees met in June via Zoom to discuss the ministry that was assigned to them. During these meetings, members discussed the ministry and its corresponding report in the Book of Reports and Memorials, heard from representatives of that ministry so that questions could be answered when needed, and then crafted reports and resolutions for delegates to consider during the convention.

illustration of convention participants“I saw definite advantages to doing a lot of work ahead of time in our floor committees,” says Steven Pagels, who served as chairman of Floor Committee #10: Ministerial Education. “We were then able to make more efficient use of our time during the convention. The downside was not getting to know fellow committee members as well, but we did take time to introduce ourselves at our first meeting, which helped.”

Elections also took place before the convention began via online ballots. During the convention, online participants could vote on resolutions presented to delegates via online voting.

James Lake, a virtual delegate from Grace, Falls Church, Va., says that the technology he needed to participate worked well and notes, “Participation in the convention from a practical standpoint was pretty seamless. It was very interesting to learn more about how the business of the synod is carried out. I loved seeing the earnestness of the participants. Even though most voting seemed to be almost pro forma, it seemed more to be due to unity of purpose rather than any sort of complacency.”

All delegates from this year’s convention will be invited to serve in person at the 2023 synod convention at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, Mich.

For more coverage of this synod convention, read “Synod convention shorts” and “100 missions in 10 years” and look at more photos and captions.

Volume 108, Number 9
Issue: September 2021

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