Letter of peaceful release

I recently received a letter of peaceful release and termination of membership. Are there any guidelines for letters to submit for their release? A proper procedure in handling this matter is what I guess I am in need of.

As I am not entirely sure what information you are seeking, I’ll try to cover both sides of such a letter: the sender and the receiver.

If individuals wish to leave one of our congregations and join a church outside our fellowship, membership cannot be transferred. Membership transfers take place only among congregations of our fellowship. In a situation where individuals of our congregations wished to join a church outside our fellowship, the WELS congregation would release the individuals from membership. Because circumstances vary, there is no template or form letter for such letters of peaceful release. (Nor is there a template or form letter for individuals to request a peaceful release of membership.)

The individuals who were released from the WELS congregation could use that letter of release to inform their new church where they last had membership.

I hope this is the kind of information you were seeking.