WASHINGTON (RNS) — Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa has concluded a three-year probe into alleged lavish spending at six major broadcast ministries, and asked a prominent evangelical group to study ways to spur “self-reform” among religious groups. Since 2007, Grassley,…

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (RNS) — A federal judge ruled that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield must bow to the altar of historic preservation in a dispute over who controls the fate of shuttered church buildings. The diocese sued the city…

LONDON (RNS) — The British branch of the YWCA has dropped “Christian” from its official name because it “no longer stood for what we are or what we do,” the women’s charity has announced. After 155 years, the Young Women’s…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Facing a backlash from conservative groups, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has ordered changes to a proposal to remove the terms “mother” and “father” from records of overseas births. “With Secretary Clinton’s input, we will be revising…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The government of Egypt recalled its ambassador to the Vatican on Jan. 11 to protest a demand by Pope Benedict XVI that it better protect the country’s embattled Christian minority. The Egyptian foreign ministry said in…

By James Heine Synod President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison was installed Jan. 9 as assistant pastor at Village Lutheran Church, Ladue, Mo. The rite of installation took place during Village Lutheran’s 10:45 a.m. service. LCMS Missouri District Circuit Counselor Rev.…

This year’s Lutheran Services in America  (LSA) Annual Conference will offer “something for everyone in Lutheran social ministry,” the registration brochure for the May 3-6 conference in Milwaukee states. Added to the array of activities for conference registrants this year…

Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, president of Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS), Fort Wayne, since 1996, has announced his intention to retire.  Wenthe, 66, said he plans to step down from the post when his successor is installed. The process to name…

By Kim Plummer Krull One year after a catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, nearly 1 million people still live in tents, 95 percent of the rubble remains and cholera has killed more than 2,500, according to news…

By Linda C. Hoops The students at Christ Community Lutheran School (CCLS) can truthfully say they helped build a school 8,000 miles away without ever leaving their campuses in Kirkwood, Webster Groves and Crestwood, suburbs of St. Louis. During the…

(RNS) — Janine Winkler loves reading books to her 2-year-old grandson Judah, but instead of sitting on her lap at her home in Michigan, he’s usually half a world away in Nigeria, where his father works for Wycliffe Bible Translators.…

(RNS) — Seven in 10 Americans say religion’s influence on the country is waning, and 61 percent say they belong to a church or synagogue, equaling the lowest number since Gallup began asking the question in the 1930s. Opinions about…

BANGALORE, India (RNS) — Church officials in Pakistan say the assassination of Salman Taseer, an outspoken critic of Pakistan’s blasphemy law, is a “setback” for the campaign to overturn the law that makes it illegal to speak against Islam. “This…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — A federal appeals court ruled Jan. 4 a veterans’ memorial featuring a 43-foot cross on California’s Mount Soledad is unconstitutional. “The use of such a distinctively Christian symbol to honor all veterans sends a strong message of…

LCMS President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison has released a new video in which he extends new year and Epiphany blessings and offers a message of hope for the future of the church and the country. “I don’t know what this…

Lutheran schools and their sponsoring congregations may order a variety of resources from LCMS School Ministry and Concordia Publishing House to promote National Lutheran Schools Week (NLSW), set for March 6-12.  This year’s NLSW theme, “Securing Each Child’s Future —…