Chapter II

OF THE EXTERNAL GOVERNMENT OF THE CONGREGATION.

1. The congregation shall, by virtue of this new constitution, have the perpetual right and liberty, to elect and confirm, in Christian order, by a majority of votes, the officers and ministrants necessary for the congregation.

2. The Church Council of the congregation shall hereafter consist of the Trustees, six Elders and six Vorsteher, regularly elected or confirmed by the congregation. (The Pastors were Trustees. In 1791 the Council was made to consist of the Pastors, Elders and Vorsteher, the Trustees being omitted.)

3. Temporary provision for the surviving Trustees.

4. The mode of election of Elders shall be as follows: 1.) The whole Church Council shall assemble on the day before the election, shall select from the members who have subscribed this constitution, according to their best judgment, impartially, without respect of persons, eighteen worthy Christian men of good repute, whose names shall be distinctly written down and be presented to the congregation at the election. 2.) At the election the congregation present shall have the right and liberty to elect, by a majority of votes, six Elders out of the eighteen persons presented. These six Elders shall be presented to the congregation by the Pastors at the next public service, be reminded of their duties, and their names be entered in the Church Record. 3.) The aforesaid six Elders continue in office for three years, God willing, if they demean themselves as becomes their office; but the congregation shall always have liberty to re-elect them, if they consent to allow it.

5. As regards the office of the Vorsteher, it shall be as heretofore, except that there shall be six, instead of four, of whom one-half go out of office after serving two years, and new ones are to be elected in their place, in the same manner as is prescribed in the 4. for the election of Elders. The Vorsteher also shall be presented publicly to the congregation by the Pastors, be reminded of their duties, and thanks be returned to those who go out of office. Should any person elected as Elder or Vorsteher, decline, without sufficient reason, to accept the weighty office, he shall not go free without paying a considerable donation into the treasury; and then the person who received the next highest number of votes shall be presented. If the vote for several persons be a tie, the Church Council shall decide the case.

6. In the above described manner the Church Council is constituted of Trustees, Elders and Vorsteher.

7. When any important and weighty matter arises in the congregation, of whatsoever kind, whether within or without the church, whether it concerns the parsonage or school-house, the church yard or the burial place, it shall not be decided by the Pastors alone, nor by the other Trustees alone, nor by the Elders alone, nor by the Vorsteher alone; but it must be carefully and well considered by the whole Church Council, and be approved by, at least, two-thirds of their whole number, and after that be laid before the whole congregation, and be approved by two-thirds of the communicant members of the congregation, especially when it demands contribution from the members. For these purposes, in such weighty matters, the whole Church Council shall be publicly invited to meet, and no member shall absent himself without sufficient cause, and no decision shall be valid or dare be executed, which has not been approved and taken by two-thirds of the members, entered in the Record and subscribed by their signatures, to the end that all occasion for strife may, so far as possible, be avoided.

8. The duties of the ruling Elders are, among others, these: 1.) They shall endeavor, by the grace of God, to set a good example, as well to their own households as to the congregations, by a Christian life and conversation. 2.) Take care, with the Pastors, that the Evangelical doctrine and Christian discipline be maintained and perpetuated in the congregation. 3.) That the debts of the congregation, both principal and interest, be decreased and removed, by payments from the treasury and by generous gifts, in the most advantageous manner. 4.) That the Ministers of the Word in the Congregation be supported. 5.) That the account of all receipts and expenditures be carefully kept, be submitted to the whole Church Council on the day before the annual congregational meeting, be examined, approved and subscribed by the Trustees, and there be publicly laid before the congregation at the meeting, and be entered in the Record. 6.) They shall attend the school examinations, and by several deputies, to be elected by the Church Council from their number, be present at the annual meeting of Synod, and in all other matters aid in promoting the welfare of the congregation.

9. The duties of the Vorsteher are, among others, these: 1.) They shall set an honorable Christian example to the congregation. 2.) They shall render all necessary aid at the public and special services of worship and in the administration of the Lord's Supper, especially at the Kinderlehre and in the visitation of the sick. 3.) They shall gather the offerings, keep an account of the same, and pay them over to the Elders as often as they may deem necessary to the welfare of the congregation. 4.) They shall maintain good order at the services of public worship. 5.) Should they find disorder, discord or occasions of offense in the congregation, they shall endeavor to remove them, or report them to the Church Council, that remedies may be applied in time. 6.) They shall collect the pew rents, and the charges for burial places. 7.) They shall give notice to the Elders of special meetings of the Church Council, attend all meetings of the Council and especially the annual meetings to prepare and present the financial accounts, give in beforehand their own accounts, and help to decide when any important matter is to be determined or adopted.

10. And inasmuch as church offices and ministrations in the country, although before God weighty and important, are yet considered contemptible by the ignorant and evil-minded, and are therefore exposed to many unfavorable criticisms and suspicions, when administered as God's Word directs; therefore, no complaint against Pastors, Trustees, Elders or Vorsteher shall be entertained, unless sustained by two or three credible witnesses, I Tim. 5:19. If, however, real offenses and transgressions, as Gal. 5:19-21; 6:1, become evident in the case of one or the other, which may God avert, the whole Church Council shall appoint an impartial committee, and through them examine the case, and pursue the grades of admonition, as Christ has commanded, without respect of persons.