Due to the election of Mr. Imran Siddiqui to serve as the Vice President of the ELCA, the 2023 Southeastern Synod Assembly will be electing a new Vice President to serve a four-year term of office. The Vice President position will be elected by the Synod Assembly and be a voting member of a congregation of this synod. The Vice President must be a lay person. The Vice President responsibilities include chairing the Synod Council and in the event of the death, resignation, or disability of the bishop, the vice-president, after consultation with the presiding bishop of the ELCA, shall convene the Synod Council to arrange for the conduct of the duties of the bishop until a new bishop shall be elected or, in the case of temporary disability, until the bishop resumes performance of the duties of the office. See Synod Constitution S.8.20 for the responsibilities. All nominees for the Vice President position will be asked to present a short (5 minutes or less) speech during the 2023 Synod Assembly. Also, the synod constitution requires a criminal background check for all officers. Nominees for Vice President can be submitted here.
The 2023 Synod Assembly will also be electing the position of Treasurer for the Southeastern Synod. The position of the Treasurer of the Synod responsibilities may be served by either a lay person or rostered minister of our synod. They must be a voting member of a Synod congregation and they will be elected for a four-year term. The Treasurer may be re-elected, but may not serve more than eight years, whether consecutive or not. The responsibilities of the Treasurer include being accountable for the Synod’s financial policies and management of the Synod’s financial resources, as set forth in section S8.42 of the Synod Constitution. The Treasurer serves as an office of the Synod and as a member of the Synod Council and the Executive Committee. They also serve as an ex-officio member of the Budget and Finance Committee. They work with the Audit Committee to arrange the annual audit of the Synod’s financial statements; serves as a primary liaison with the audit firm. Serves as an accounting consultant to synod staff and works with synod staff to produce monthly financial reports. Submits synod payroll monthly for processing by payroll vendor. Reconciles all bank and investment statements monthly. Implements approved investment policies. Presents reports to the Synod Council and Synod Assembly; interprets financial statements and policies for the Synod Council. Works with the Budget and Finance Committee to monitor Synod financial status, compliance with financial and investment policies, selection of financial staff and vendors, etc. Consults on financial matters, recommends policy changes as necessary, and performs other functions as requested by the Synod Council. Serves as liaison with the ELCA Office of the Treasurer
Also, the synod constitution requires a criminal background check for all officers. Nominees for Treasurer can be submitted here.
In addition to the two officer positions, the Assembly will also be elected 2 at-large positions on the Synod Council, these positions can only be held by lay members. The Assembly will also be voting on 3 lay members of the Consultation Committee for a six-year term, 1 rostered member (male or female) of the Consultation Committee for a six-year term, 2 lay members (male or female) to the Discipline Committee for a six-year term, and two Rostered Ministers (male or female) of the Discipline Committee for a six-year term.
The following Conferences will be electing Conference Representatives to Synod Council for two-year terms at a Pre-Assembly Conference gathering via Zoom on March 26, 2023 at 3:00 pm Eastern:
Conference 1: Lay Member
Conference 2: Rostered Minister
Conference 3: Lay Member
Conference 4: Rostered Minister
Conference 5: Rostered Minister
Nominations for all positions being elected at the 2023 Southeastern Synod Assembly can be found here.