LEROY W. MASON, Browns Valley, Calif., has applied for reinstatement to the Ministers of Religion-Ordained roster of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. CORINNE M. BIELENBERG, Willmar, Minn.; KYLE BRYAN CHUHRAN, Shelby Township, Mich.; and LINDA N. ERKKINEN, St. Louis, Mo., have…

(RNS) — If you stacked all the Bibles sitting in American homes, the tower would rise 29 million feet, nearly 1,000 times the height of Mount Everest. More than 90 percent of American households own a Bible, and the average…

(RNS) — The Crystal Cathedral, the gleaming Southern California megachurch known for its “Hour of Power” television broadcast, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors. Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman on Oct. 18 said in a statement that…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Islam is a valid religion that is entitled to constitutional protection, said a U.S. attorney who stepped into a debate about a proposed mosque and Islamic center in Tennessee. “To suggest that Islam is not a religion…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Little things can make big differences — especially when it comes to preventing malaria. That’s the message of one of those “little things” — a 32-page children’s book from Concordia Publishing House that’s written by Dr.…

Contributions to mark LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) Sunday Nov. 21 will benefit the Synod’s “Soldiers of the Cross” fund, which is currently depleted. Since 2004, LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) has awarded Soldiers of the…

The second edition of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation’s (LHF) popular Spanish-language Bible with Small Catechism  — titled Santa Biblia in Spanish — is available from the Synod Recognized Service Organization. After the first-edition inventory of 20,000 copies printed in 2008…

As in past years, Lutherans are invited to join the annual “March for Life,” Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C., which includes the offer of free lodging for travelers in the homes of Washington-area Lutheran church members. The march — next…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Total enrollment this fall in all programs at the Synod’s two seminaries combined is down — from 1,028 last year to 962 this year, a drop of 66 students, or 6 percent. Total ordination-track enrollment at…

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (RNS) — Harvard University scholar Robert Putnam has earned a reputation as an expert on the threads that hold America’s social fabric intact. His 2001 bestseller, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, drew national attention…

WARSAW (RNS/ENInews) — Roman Catholic bishops from across Europe have set up an organization to defend the rights of Christians and monitor prejudice across the continent. “Our first task will be to provide people around Europe with objective and reliable…

(RNS) — Nearly eight in 10 respondents to a Christianity Today International survey said convicted sex offenders should be welcomed in church pews. The vast majority of survey participants — pastors, church leaders and staff members and active Christians —…

(RNS) — Two federal courts have issued strong defenses of religious expression in two separate decisions, one involving a teenager’s nose piercing and the other a license plate. Ariana Iacono, a freshman at Clayton (N.C.) High School, was allowed to…

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) — If a group of Orthodox Christians meeting in Salt Lake City Oct. 14-16 has its way, future generations of Greek, Serbian, Russian and other ethnic faithful all will worship together in a single American church.…

Registration opens Nov. 1 for three Higher Things youth conferences next summer — July 5-8 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; July 12-15 at Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal; and July 19-22 at Emory University, Atlanta. Under the theme…