By Joel Gehrke WASHINGTON — LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison joined representatives of the Roman Catholic, evangelical Christian, and Jewish traditions in Washington, D.C., Feb.16 to testify before Congress on the threat to religious liberty posed by the contraception…

Dr. Viji D. George, president of Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y., since 1999, says he plans to step down from the position June 30, 2013.  “Periodic changes in leadership breathe new vision and direction into the life of an institution,” George…

By Adriane Dorr LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison spoke in defense of religion and conscience before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in a Capitol Hill hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Feb. 16. Expressing concern over…

The presidents of three American Lutheran synods offered papers at the Fifth Annual Emmaus Conference Feb. 9-10 at Parkland Lutheran Church and School in Tacoma, Wash. Parkland Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. LCMS President Rev. Dr.…

By Adriane Dorr LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison will take part in a Capitol Hill hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Washington, D. C., on Thursday, Feb. 16. The hearing will focus on the…

LONDON (RNS) — Britain’s powerful media advertising watchdog has banned a Christian group from claiming on its website and brochures that God’s cure-all powers can heal a string of medical ailments. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the independent regulator of advertising in…

JERUSALEM (RNS) — The U.S. State Department is advising visitors to Jerusalem to dress modestly when visiting certain neighborhoods, or to avoid the areas entirely, in hopes of not provoking local sensitivities. The State Department guidance did not specify which neighborhoods…

Free materials are available from the Concordia University System (CUS) to celebrate “Concordia Sunday,” a recognition of the 148-year history of the Synod’s 10 universities and colleges. The date of April 29 is suggested, but congregations may select any Sunday for…

Registration is open for LCMS Youth Ministry’s National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference (also known as “NATIONAL”) — set for July 12-15 at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio. NATIONAL provides leadership training for volunteer and professional youth workers in Synod…

The Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus, speaker emeritus of “The Lutheran Hour” radio program, will be the keynote speaker at the second synodwide “Training and Equipping Conference for Prison and Jail Ministry” to be held Sept. 29-30 in St. Louis, at…

By Kim Plummer Krull Seven months after the Souris River flooded a quarter of Minot, N.D., devastating some 4,100 homes, the great majority of the families affected by the flood still live in FEMA trailers or with friends and relatives,…

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) — From Maine to Arizona to southern Louisiana, Catholic churches across the country echoed with scorn for a new federal rule requiring faith-based employers to include birth control and other reproductive services in their health care coverage.…

CAIRO (RNS) — From her home, Samia Ramsis holds a key chain bearing the face of the Virgin Mary as visitors outside come to look upon the spot where Egypt’s Coptic Christians believe Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus found…

(RNS) — North American Muslims are more than satisfied with the secular legal system and do not want a set of parallel courts for Islamic law, according to a new study of U.S. and Canadian Muslims by a Washington-based think…

By Kim Plummer Krull In a statement issued Feb. 3, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison staunchly opposed the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS)  ruling requiring religious employers to cover contraceptives, including controversial…