James H. Heine, editor of The Lutheran Witness magazine since 2007, is the new director of News and Information Services for the Synod’s Board for Communication Services (BCS). This month, Heine, 59, accepted an appointment from the board to the…

Lutheran schools and their sponsoring congregations may order a variety of resources from LCMS District and Congregational Services — School Ministry and Concordia Publishing House to promote “National Lutheran Schools Week,” set for March 7-13.  This year’s theme, “Securing Each…

By Linda C. Hoops As estimates of the loss of life and destruction in Haiti emerged following Tuesday’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake, LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) began responding, while members of LCMS congregations prayed for the safety of…

“The Creator’s Tapestry:  Scriptural Perspectives on Man-Woman Relationships in Marriage and the Church” is the title of a 76-page report adopted by the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations at its Dec. 10-12 meeting.  It is the commission’s latest…

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has given the Synod a $1.1 churchwide grant for Synod projects, programs, or events. Two representatives from Thrivent’s Heartland Regional Office in St. Louis were at the LCMS International Center Dec. 16 to present a check…

The Children’s Christian Concern Society, an LCMS mission organization, is starting new work in January in Cuba and Cambodia. “For 30 years, we depended entirely on the Lord, as we couldn’t officially function as a church,” said Rev. Ishmael Laborde,…

The Synod’s two seminaries — Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne — are making a collection of more than 1,100 educational videos available on their Web sites. The videos were originally part of the Distance Education Leading…

More than 30 people representing 18 LCMS mission agencies and congregational groups that sponsor mission work in Sudan, East Africa, met Dec. 14-15 in Omaha, Neb., to share information and better coordinate their efforts. The goal of the third biennial…

By Linda C. Hoops “We are committed to support this family, no matter what it takes.”  These are the words of Rev. Donald C. Porter, pastor of Mount Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Ind. The family he is talking…