By Paula Schlueter Ross Roman Catholic Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades told news reporters he was “really overwhelmed” when a group of some 250 people — mostly pastors and members of Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod congregations in the Fort Wayne, Ind., area —…

By Kim Plummer Krull Three days after a tornado slammed into Creston, Iowa, so fast that emergency management officials had no time to sound warning sirens, the Rev. Jonathan C. Watt said people are “so grateful that God had mercy and…

By Sarah Schafer Concordia Publishing House (CPH) received the 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award April 15, culminating an 11-year journey toward earning the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, process improvement, customer focus and visionary leadership. LCMS President…

The Synod’s two seminaries are offering continuing-education courses in various cities, beginning in April. The courses are designed for pastors, commissioned ministers and laypeople, and Continuing Education Units are available. Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., is offering 23 courses: April 24-26…

By Kim Plummer Krull The Rev. Gregory Brown spent part of Sunday morning, April 15, checking on members of Trinity Lutheran Church, Woodward, Okla., after a deadly tornado outbreak in the Midwest that caused at least five reported fatalities in Woodward and…

By Kim Plummer Krull Sharing of plans to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 was among the many updates addressed when representatives of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) gathered March 27-29 in…

The fourth triennial National Lutheran Hispanic Convention will be held June 19-22 at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich. The theme for the convention is “Celebrating Our Vocation.” The “family friendly” event — which will be conducted primarily in Spanish — includes…

Under the theme “Equipping the Saints For Life” (based on Eph. 4:11-12), Lutherans For Life (LFL) will hold its 2012 national conference Aug. 3-4 in Chicago. Registration is open now at the LFL website at www.lutheransforlife.org. The event is open…

By Kim Plummer Krull As Dave Ricks, a member of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Arlington, and the congregation’s Disaster Care committee, checked on congregants the day after the powerful April 3 tornadoes in North Texas, he came across a man sitting…

The Lutheran High School Association in St. Louis has received a grant of nearly $400,000 from the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis for the purpose of starting a “one to one” technology initiative beginning with the 2012-13 school year at…

Released in 2011, Concordia Publishing House’s newest and best-selling children’s Bible, The Story Bible, has been selected as a finalist for the 2012 Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Christian Book Award in the category of “Children’s Books.” Out of hundreds…

TRENTON, N.J. (RNS) — As part of a survey to understand why they have stopped attending Mass, a few hundred Catholics were asked what issues they would raise if they could speak to the bishop for five minutes. The bishop would…

(RNS) — At this point in 2011, 22 state legislatures had either passed or were considering bills to prohibit judges from considering either Islamic law, known as Shariah, or foreign law in their decisions. What a difference a year can make. The…

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) — For nearly a century, the stained-glass portrait of St. Patrick looked down on parishioners — as if from the heavens — from the massive nave of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. But the Irish saint, as well as…

(RNS) — A new movie confronts a controversial topic by highlighting two words that don’t typically go together: “abortion” and “survivor.” “We didn’t know there was such a thing,” said Jon Erwin, who wrote and co-directed “October Baby” with his brother,…