Kurt Buchholz began serving Aug. 1 as interim executive director of LCMS World Mission. Buchholz succeeds Dr. Thomas R. Zehnder, who stepped down July 31 after serving 21 months in the post — as interim executive director from November 2008…

(RNS) — Two new books challenge Christians to restore their faith to its true mission and forsake a consumerist mentality that some churches adapt in a bid to meet members’ needs. “Churches can better shape the faithful by recovering a…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Six months before she was scheduled to be released on drug charges, Marilyn Shirley was raped in 2000 by a guard at the Texas prison where she was serving time. “I am still haunted by the words…

By Kim Plummer Krull A university student living in a mold-infested mobile home and congregation members struggling to clean up preschool classrooms are among the people an LCMS disaster-response team met while assessing damages from central Iowa’s severe flooding. “People…

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., have scheduled free visitation events for prospective students: “Contemplate” is the St. Louis seminary’s structured visitation event designed for men interested in the pastoral ministry and women considering deaconess…

Helen Morris, who served as president of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League from 1975 to 1979, died Aug. 14 at St. John’s Lutheran Home in Albert Lea, Minn.  Mrs. Morris, 92, had suffered from congestive heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease.…

Dr. Douglas L. Rutt of Fort Wayne, Ind., began work July 30 as director of the International Ministries division at Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM). As director, Rutt will oversee the International Ministries division in St. Louis, as well as the…

The installation of those elected at the Synod’s national convention — including the president, vice-presidents, other officers of the Synod and members of all boards and commissions — will be streamed live on video, beginning at 10 a.m. Sept. 11. …

By Kim Plummer Krull Earthquake survivors in Haiti and Tennessee families with flood damage are among the many people who will be assisted by a number of disaster grants awarded in August by LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC).…

By Linda C. Hoops Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated more than 90,000 square miles, killed nearly 2,000 and changed the lives and futures of countless people along the Gulf Coast, Recovery Assistance Inc. Ministries (RAI) continues to house and…

(RNS) — Catholic and other church-run health care systems in the U.S. are more efficient and provide higher quality care than their secular counterparts, according to a new Thomson Reuters study. The study looked at 255 health care systems and…

ELIZABETHVILLE, Pa. (RNS) — Paul “Chubby” Chubb cranks up the engine of his big Dodge pickup and sets off on his daily rounds, running errands for the Amish, taking them shopping, delivering goods and making friends along the way. “People…

MOSCOW (RNS/ENInews) — The Russian Orthodox Church is praying for relief from the heat and drought that has gripped Russia for two months, as one archbishop condemned some retailers for profiteering from the extreme weather conditions. “That air conditioners sell…

LONDON (RNS) — A top priest at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in 1981, says fancy, multi-million-dollar weddings are now posing “a threat to marriage itself.” The Rev. Giles Fraser told BBC Radio’s…

(RNS) — The Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) has decided to permit women to serve on local church councils but has maintained its rule that they cannot be ordained as bishops. By a narrow vote during its recent General Assembly,…

Undeterred by heat approaching 100 degrees, Concordia Publishing House employees handed out 433 backpacks filled with school supplies and Christian books to neighborhood children and their families during the publisher’s “Operation F.U.N. [For a United Neighborhood] — Tools for Schools”…