Building Use and Wedding
Policy Templates

Greetings in Christ!

Below you will find two policy templates approved and recommended by the Iowa District East - LCMS Board of Directors for use by district congregations. The language of these Building Use and Wedding policies has been reviewed by our attorneys and it is not recommended that it should be changed.
 

Building Use Policy

Download the Building Use Policy Template
 

Please Note:

• If a congregation allows any of its buildings to be used by outside groups with few or no ties to the congregation or its activities, our attorneys believe that it could be viewed as a place of public accommodation by Iowa law. Once it is deemed “public accommodation,” the congregation cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation.
• The opinion of the IDE Board of Directors and our attorneys is that implementing this policy will remove the use of buildings as a “public accommodation” and deem it “private” by ensuring the church maintains control over the usage (requiring congregation member involvement, etc.).
• The IDE Board of Directors does not recommend changing the language except to insert the congregation name, mission, etc. (These insert statements appear in blue on the template.)

Wedding Policy

• Our attorneys believe that we have a very strong position if we limit our weddings to this policy.
• Churches may alter some of the language, but they should keep items #2 and #4 in their entirety without altering any of the language. These are critical paragraphs.

 
Please review these recommended policies and forward them on to your church council for consideration.

Any questions regarding these policies can be directed to the District Office.