By Roland Lovstad Principal gift officers representing LCMS ministries and Lutheran World Relief (LWR) met Feb. 11 to coordinate their activities for building support of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative (LMI), a major effort to end malaria deaths on the African continent.  The…

Nine Lutheran educators have been named as recipients of Lutheran Education Association’s (LEA) 2011 awards.  They include Dr. Steven Arnold of St. Paul, Minn., a retired teacher and director of Christian education (DCE) who is receiving the Christus Magister (Teacher…

College students who are looking for something to do during their “spring break” might want to consider serving in Haiti. LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) is working with Lutheran Church Charities in Addison, Ill., to offer five weeklong…

New posters and a banner designed to promote the Missouri Synod’s new “Witness, Mercy, Life Together” emphasis are available from Concordia Publishing House. The emphasis, according to an LCMS website (www.lcms.org/?17740), “illustrate[s] how the church lives and works together to…

(RNS) — Drew Dyck didn’t lose the Christian faith of his childhood when he became an adult, but he noticed that lots of others did. Dyck, an editor of online publications for Christianity Today, talked to some of those who’ve…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The pending repeal of the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay members will not change policies related to chaplains, the Pentagon stated Jan. 28. “There will be no changes regarding service member exercise of religious beliefs, nor…

(RNS) — In the wake of public spats between the Catholic hierarchy and health care executives, the Catholic Health Association (CHA) publicly acknowledged that bishops — not doctors or hospital ethicists — have the final say on questions of medical…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Vatican has reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue with the Muslim world, despite an Egyptian university’s suspension of talks to protest statements by Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious…

(RNS) — Anglican archbishops concluded their six-day summit in Ireland on Jan. 30 by issuing statements on a host of international issues, including violence against women in Africa, political chaos in Egypt, and the murder of a gay rights activist…

“Live Love(d)” is the theme for the next National LCMS Youth Gathering, set for July 1-5, 2013, in San Antonio. Based on 1 John 4:9, that theme “will provide the thematic and theological focus for the Gathering program,” according to…

“Thanks be to God that the cyclone did not cross the coast at a highly populated area.” That’s the good news reported by Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) Queensland District President Noel Noack after Cyclone Yasi roared across northern Queensland…

Free resources are available to help congregations celebrate Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) Sunday on Feb. 6 or an alternate date.  The theme of this year’s materials is “We are witnesses of these things,” from Acts 5:32. This year, to support…

Camp Lutherhaven, Albion, Ind., offers its facilities in northeastern Indiana free of charge Monday through Friday for anyone interested in taking a personal retreat. The “Day Away” retreats can last a few hours or a few days, with “no strings…

The Seventh Annual Lutherans in Medical Missions (LIMM) Needs and Resources Forum will be held April 1-2 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan. LIMM is an LCMS Recognized Service Organization that assists the Synod by linking qualified health…

St. John Lutheran Church and Concordia University Nebraska — both in Seward, Neb. — are sponsoring a July 27-29 national worship conference at their facilities. The conference is open to all interested pastors, musicians and laypeople. To register online and…