By James Heine Japan is a nation of some 126.5 million people. It is one of the leading democracies in the Pacific Rim and a major world economic power. While it is well-prepared for natural disasters (perhaps better prepared than…
In an e-mail to the LCMS, Rev. Manabu Wakabayashi, a pastor of the Japan Lutheran Church (JLC), an LCMS partner church, said many people are still searching for loved ones and living without basic necessities in the wake of the…
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is making available an initial $200,000 to two Lutheran church bodies in Japan, to be used as they decide for disaster relief after the historic March 11 magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami that is resulting in rising death tolls…
“God gives us reason to hope and hold on to His promises, in spite of [it] all.” That’s what Dr. Jonathan Blanke, an LCMS career missionary in Japan, writes at the end of his family’s March 13 update on the…
Two LCMS missionaries serving in Japan were in Tokyo when the March 11 earthquake devastated the country’s east coast some 200 miles away. Career missionary Dr. Jonathan Blanke was working at his home on the campus of Japan Lutheran College…
In a March 12 e-mail sent to LCMS leaders, Rev. Yutaka Kumei, president of the Japan Lutheran Church (JLC), thanked the Synod for its “many messages of concern and support. We feel very comforted knowing that there are so many…
Initial contact with LCMS missionaries and partner church staff in Japan indicates that they are safe after the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the east coast of the island nation March 11. Also, no major property losses among Lutherans have yet…
Dr. Willy Gaspar, a 45-year-old dentist, was ordained and installed as the first pastor of the emerging Dominican Republic Lutheran Mission March 13 at Amigos de Christo Church in Las Americas, near the capital city of Santo Domingo. Gaspar, who…
By Roland Lovstad Craig Pankow refuses to accept the notion that his small-town congregation in North Dakota will close for lack of members. In fact, he wants to encourage other rural and small-town churches to visualize outreach as a viable…
With the elimination of the Synod’s Board for Black Ministry Services — a result of restructuring resolutions adopted at the 2010 LCMS convention — the LCMS Black Clergy Caucus is looking at ways to support black ministry in the years…
By James Heine For the first time in nearly a decade, the LCMS Council of Presidents met with its Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) counterpart. The meeting took place Feb. 21-24 in St. Louis. While the two groups shared reports and conversations,…
As Lent begins, LCMS President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison invites the church to join him in praying “The Litany,” profound words long prayed by Christians in times of need. “Lent is a time for serious repentance, a time to get…
Applications are being accepted for entry in the 2011 Fifth Triennial Art and Architecture Award program sponsored by the Architectural Advisory Committee of Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF). The award program recognizes exceptional religious art and architectural achievement in the…
By Paula Schlueter Ross It wasn’t an easy assignment, but Rev. Robert Flohrs says he’s grateful for the opportunity he had to minister to U.S. servicemembers within hours of the March 2 shooting at Frankfurt Airport. “I felt very honored…
(RNS) — Islam was the most frequent topic of religion news coverage in 2010, as the media doubled the amount of time and space devoted to religion compared to 2009. An analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public…
(RNS) — An Orthodox Jew has won a new trial after Maryland’s highest court ruled that a lower court erred when it denied his requests to suspend a trial so he could observe a religious holiday. Alexander Neustadter had argued…
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