By Linda C. Hoops The 2011 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), meeting Aug. 15-19 in Orlando, Fla., adopted a social statement on genetics and a series of resolutions from an ELCA task force charged with…

(RNS) — An Illinois judge has ruled that the state can terminate adoption and foster care services with Catholic Charities, saying the church-run agency has no “recognized legal right” to a state contract. Circuit Judge John Schmidt ruled Aug. 18…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) — Alabama religious leaders have filed statements in federal court expressing their concern that a new immigration law would interfere with the practice of their religion and Christian mandates to minister to all people. Bishops in the…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Catholic priests at World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations in Madrid will be specially empowered to lift the excommunication of anyone who seeks forgiveness for having undergone or assisted in an abortion. The special authorization from Cardinal…

More than 30 million children live with a stepparent in so-called “blended families,” according to Concordia Publishing House.  Although each blended family has a unique set of circumstances, each also faces similar challenges: Where should we live? Should we change…

The Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI) is holding an “information meeting” from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis. The meeting — which includes a light meal and beverages — is free and…

The Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. will be installed as the 16th president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., during the Opening Service for the seminary’s 166th academic year on Sunday, Sept. 11. The service will take place…

“Adopted in Christ” was the theme and primary focus as nearly 200 pro-life Lutherans gathered Aug. 5-6 in Irving, Texas, for the 2011 national Lutherans For Life (LFL) conference. Irving is between Dallas and Fort Worth. Registrants came from across…

Karen Roemer, LCMS missionary and regional business manager for Eurasia, died Aug. 14 in Germany after a long battle with cancer.  She was 55. A funeral service is planned for 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, at the cemetery in…

BERLIN (RNS) — It’s not the first time the choice of a royal spouse has caused a stir. But it might be the first such case where gay men, guns and German Catholic groups have played such an intertwining role.…

(RNS) — Members of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) have elected an Ohio pastor as their new head bishop, making him the first non-provisional leader of the year-old denomination. The Rev. John Bradosky was elected Aug. 11 by 800…

(RNS) — A federal judge ruled Aug. 11 that the public transit system in Little Rock, Ark., violated the free speech of local atheists by refusing to run their advertisements on city buses. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright…

Darin Storkson and the Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill began serving July 1 in new positions with the Synod’s Office of International Mission. Storkson, 45, who has served since 2005 with LCMS World Relief and Human Care — most recently as…

For the 16th consecutive year, Concordia Publishing House reached out to its South St. Louis neighbors — many of whom have limited incomes — by giving away food, drinks, gifts and warm (with the temperature over 100 degrees!) smiles. Operation…

The registration fee for the 2013 National LCMS Youth Gathering — July 1-5 in San Antonio — will be $295 per registrant. A 12-member Gathering executive team set the fee at a July 17-20 meeting in San Antonio. That team…

By Kim Plummer Krull After seeing firsthand the suffering as starving Somalis pour into the Dadaab refugee camps, the Rev. Dr. Walter Obare, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), is requesting additional financial support to meet urgent…