73rd CNH District Convention
The 73rd CNH District Convention will be held May 15 – 17, 2025 at Hilton Sacramento Arden West, 2200 Harvard Street, Sacramento, CA. The theme for the Convention is “Fruitful Branches” (Pruned for Growth) based on John 15: 1-3.
Keynote Speaker: Jeff Cloeter
Jeff Cloeter, the Senior Pastor of Christ Memorial Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri, will be the keynote speaker at the 73rd CNH District Convention. The Convention will be held May 15-17, 2025, at Hilton Sacramento Arden West, Sacramento, CA. The event will begin with dinner and opening worship at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Rocklin, CA, on Thursday evening, May 15.
Jeff has worked in youth ministry, church planting, and senior leadership in his congregation. He has served on the board of directors for the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis, and the founding board of Momentum Academy, a charter school movement in the City of St. Louis. He founded and serves as director of The Harbor Leadership Collective, raising up young Christian leaders through a regional internship model. He currently serves on an ecumenical council called Oikos, with the Archbishop of St. Louis and eight other pastors from the region.
Jeff is the author of Loved & Sent, and blogs at sixthgen.com. More importantly, he is married to Bobbi and father to Bella, Joshua, Emily, and Jacob.
2025 Convention Documents​
Nominations for President and First Vice President must be sent to the District Secretary by Friday, November 15, 2024
Please read the information on this page carefully, taking note of the deadlines.
A dual parish is to be represented by the pastor and one lay delegate who represents both of the congregations involved. Two or more congregations served by the same pastor are a parish. In addition (as amended by the 2019 convention and ratified by a vote of the congregations of the Synod), a congregation that is part of a multi-congregation parish, other than the congregation supplying the voting lay delegate, may elect and depute an advisory lay delegate (2023 Synod Handbook, pg. 17, Article XII, 10. a, b). (Advisory Lay Delegate form is available here.)
Please refer to your copies of the 2023 Handbook, LCMS, and CNH-LCMS Bylaws, May 2022 Edition, for the citations indicated.
Circuit Visitors
Nominations for Circuit Visitor must be sent to the congregation’s current Circuit Visitor by Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
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Congregations may nominate two from among the active or emeriti pastors in their own circuit.
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The one with a majority of the votes is elected by the circuit.
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If no election, the secretary sends a new ballot with the names of the two clergy receiving the greatest number of votes (more if there is a tie)
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If no pastor receives a majority, the delegates from that circuit must caucus and vote at the convention.
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Circuit Visitors will be selected at the Circuit forum and ratified at the District Convention. (Refer to the 2023 Handbook page 203 – Section 5.2.2.)
The results are submitted to the District Secretary on a Certificate of Election Form.
Delegate Reporting Form
Each of the parishes/congregations of the District (a multi-congregation parish being considered as a congregational unit) shall be represented by one (1) pastor and one (1) lay delegate, duly elected by the congregation. Plan for a delegate election and return the delegate reporting form to the District Office no later than Friday, February 14, 2025. This form should be printed out, signed by the congregational representatives, and mailed or emailed to the District Office (per Synod Bylaws 4.2.2[a]). In addition to having voting privileges at the convention, lay delegates may be appointed to serve on a convention floor committee.
Convention Assessments
The District Board of Directors approved the 2024 Convention Assessment rate of $2.30 per
communicant member. The Convention Assessment receipt is used to support the direct operation costs for the District and Synodical Conventions such as: AV rental, voting device rental, banquet, Synodical Convention Assessment and travel expenses for District Voting Delegates and Advisory Delegates to attend the Synodical Convention. The request of your Congregation Assessment will be sent to you soon. Please send in your payment upon receipt of the request.
District Reports
All officers of the district (president, vice-presidents, circuit visitors), executive district staff, and BOD service boards are to submit a written report on the last triennium. These reports are included in the convention workbook. All reports are to be returned to the district office by Thursday, March 6, 2025 in an editable format, using Times New Roman 12pt. (Do not use pdf format.)
Overtures
Congregations also have the privilege of submitting overtures (proposed resolutions) to the convention, as do official conferences of the circuit and district. Overtures are due to the district office by Thursday, March 6, 2025, in an editable format, using Times New Roman 12 pt. (Do not use pdf format. Click here for an Overture template.) Overtures are a very important part of convention business, providing a helpful indicator of what floor committees are needed and how our time is structured during the convention.
Feel free to contact the District Secretary, Rev. John Standley, or Glenna Sanlis, if you have questions.
Nominations
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The CNH District’s Nominating Committee is requesting nominations for the slate of candidates
to be presented to the CNH District Convention, held May 15 – 17, 2025.
Nominations are needed for the following positions:
Regional Directors (Lay) for the Board of Directors. The Regions:
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Hawaii (Circuit 11)
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Nevada (Circuits 10, 20)
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Northern (Circuits 4, 12, 13, 14, 19)
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Pacific (Circuits 1, 2, 8, 18)
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Southern (Circuits 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 16)
Secretary (must be from clergy roster)
Treasurer (Lay)
Commissioned Minister for the Board of Directors
2028 District Convention Nominating Committee (one pastor, one commissioned minister, and two lay persons)
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Nominees should be brothers and sisters in Christ who are active in their own congregations, who demonstrate a mature Christ-like attitude and servant heart, who exhibit a special sensitivity for the mission of Christ, and who have demonstrated talents and abilities consistent with the position for which you are suggesting the nomination. Prayerfully consider and discern if God is nudging you to submit your name or the name of someone you know who would be willing to serve the Lord in one of the positions.
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Nominations are still needed. Contact Nominating Committee member, Dan Hahn, at info@cnh-lcms.org, with your nominations.
Contact Rev. Clarence Eisberg, Chair, District Nominating Committee, if you have any questions.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
- John 15:1-3