Congregation Constitutions  

The 2022 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA adopted a number of changes to the Model Constitution for Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Every congregation is to make these changes in your constitution to be in sync with the ELCA constitution. The procedure is simple: your Congregation Council passes a motion to send the proposed changes to your next Congregation Meeting (which in most cases is in January). The congregation must be notified of the proposed changes at least 30 days in advance of the meeting at which the vote will be taken. Upon a majority vote of members at the Congregation Meeting, the amendments will take effect. They do not require review and approval by the synod.

For additional assistance, contact: Rocky Mountain Synod Secretary, Janet Philipp: secretary@rmselca.org 

  • 2022 Model Constitution for Congregations (Word or PDF)
    • Amendments to the Model Constitution for Congregations as approved by the 2022 CWA (Word or PDF)
  • Suggestions for Updating Your Constitution (Word or PDF)

Additional Resources 

Rocky Mountain Synod Constitution

The RMS Constitution is different from the congregation constitution. Here is a link to the RMS constitution.