This series comprises records related to the creation of the restructured Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America and its relationship to predecessor corporations in place to manage and administer the community's property and endowments inherited from the predecessor motherhouses. Record types include bylaws, articles of merger, and agreements. These records date from 1978-1986 and include the proposed, original, and amended bylaws for the restructure deaconess community, the articles of merger between the community and the corporation that controlled the property and assets of the Baltimore motherhouse predecessor, and the agreement between the community and the corporation that managed the property and endowments from the Philadelphia motherhouse. This corporation and the deaconess community did not merge in 1979 because there was an institution, the Mary J. Drexel Home for the Aged that was still in existence for which the corporation oversaw matters. Bylaws for the new community addressed among other matters, the purpose and membership of the community; its incorporation status and its official name, the functions of the community, and the principle governing entities of the deaconess assembly, the community board of directors; standing committees, and deaconess community staff. This series not only includes the original proposed and adopted bylaws, it also includes amendments approved in 1980, 1982, and 1986. These amendments address full-time and part-time service of deaconesses, absentee ballots for those deaconesses not attending the deaconess assembly, and the time of the meeting of the community's board of directors.
