The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod has issued a statement in response to the health-care reform legislation signed into law March 23.  The statement follows. ST. LOUIS, March 23, 2010–As most are aware, Sunday night the U.S. House of Representatives passed the…

‘Educated’ response to loss The March commentary by Mark Blanke titled “An ‘educated’ response to membership loss” was a welcomed read. I have thought for a long time now that it is the hours spent in fellowship and Sunday adult…

Dr. Richard C. Dickinson is the recipient of the first “Lifetime Achievement Award” given by the Synod’s Black Clergy Caucus.  The award was presented by caucus members Feb. 4 at Dickinson’s home in St. Louis. Dickinson, 85, served the Synod…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Three LCMS missionary families stationed in Jos, Nigeria, and members of the Lutheran Church in Nigeria are reported safe after attacks that killed some 200 people in the West African nation. According to Synod Missionary Dr.…

By Kim Plummer Krull In the 30 years that Laborers For Christ has helped LCMS congregations and organizations tackle their own construction projects and build within their budgets, Dan Baker says he has “never seen a more economical time to…

Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill., announced that the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has conferred “National Recognition” on the university’s graduate programs in educational leadership through its College of Graduate and Innovative Programs. The recognition…

Dr. Mark Larson of Aurora, Colo., and Paula (Polly) Faszholz Gregali of St. Louis have been named to new positions at St. Louis-based Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM). Larson began serving Jan. 4 as director of LHM’s United States Ministries division,…

Church organists of all abilities will have opportunities to improve their skills during workshops offered this summer at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. The workshops are designed for organists who are already playing, whether they have years of experience…

The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League has produced “Faith Talk,” an interactive, DVD-based workshop that is designed to encourage women to share their faith with others. In addition to the DVD, the “Faith Talk” outreach program includes a participant’s guide of…

Concordia Publishing House is offering a Starter Kit and a “Super Duper” Starter Kit for Planet Zoom, its 2010 vacation Bible school program. In the weeklong program, children are introduced to “Scout,” a bee in the Planet Zoom hive, and…

By Linda C. Hoops The man known as “the father of Lutheranism in Haiti,” Dr. Doris Jean Louis, was murdered March 12 at his home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, during an attempted robbery. Dr.  Louis, who received his M.Div. through colloquy…

By Elizabeth Mowery Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick shared time with leaders and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti (ELCH) as he visited the disaster-struck nation March 1-2. While in Haiti, Kieschnick brought words of…

By Roland Lovstad While the institutional church wrestles with worship forms, a new generation is just as likely to consider “church” to be coffee at Starbucks or a breakfast gathering with members of their tight-knit Christian community. Those emerging Christians seek to…

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick has written a book about the LCMS titled Waking the Sleeping Giant: The Birth, Growth, Decline, and Rebirth of an American Church. “People in our church body have a right to know what’s…

Concordia Publishing House is inviting its customers to help send up to 20,000 children’s religious books to Haiti. Every $10 donation received in CPH’s “Help for Haiti” campaign — now through April 11 — will be used to provide a…

Linda Hartke began serving Feb. 22 as president and chief executive officer of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) in Baltimore. Hartke most recently served as executive director of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland, an international network of…