'Isaac' slams Dominican Republic, Haiti; Lutherans tally damages

By Sarah Schafer LCMS partner churches in Haiti and the Dominican Republic report property damage, injuries and widespread flooding as a result of Tropical Storm Isaac. In Haiti, an already fragile country struggling to rebuild after the 2010 earthquake, four people lost…

Items wanted, available (September 2012)

Note: Reporter cannot accept notices about items offered for sale or that people wish to purchase. Items described as “Wanted” or “Available” are sought or may be obtained for shipping costs only. Notices may be sent to Jennifer Duffy at…

Official notice: convention reports and overtures (September 2012)

The deadline established by bylaw for the submission of reports and overtures to the 2013 convention of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is March 2, 2013. Boards and commissions of the Synod are asked to submit their reports to the convention…

Call for nominations: president — LCMS Foundation (September 2012)

The Board of Trustees of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Foundation herewith calls for nominations for the position of president of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Foundation.  The president reports to the Board of Trustees of the Foundation and relates to the…

Positions (September 2012)

The following institutions of the Concordia University System (CUS) are seeking candidates for positions: Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., seeks to fill the following positions: Academic Resource (ARC) director; GST coordinator/FYE faculty; computer science program director and instructor. Concordia University,…

Official notice: requests for reinstatement (September 2012)

KEITH CLARK FOX, San Antonio, Texas, has applied for reinstatement to the Ministers of Religion–Ordained roster of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.  LISA GAYE LESSING (nee RADKE), St. Louis, Mo., SONJA RUPPEL, Palatine, Ill., and SHERRIE SMITH, Justice, Ill., have applied…

Pressure Points (September 2012)

This month’s column is in response to the July “Pressure Points” concerning spiritual warfare. To read the July column online, go to http://reporter.lcms.org/?20138. One reader responded to that column with what follows. I think your answer covered a lot of…

Report shows 5,000-plus 'multisite' churches

(RNS) — The number of congregations that host worship services at more than one physical location has grown to more than 5,000 in the last decade, according to a new report. Researchers say these “multisite” churches, which may share worshippers across…

Law firm fights atheists' suit over cross at 9/11 museum

(RNS) — A lawsuit that was filed by the group American Atheists to keep a revered cross out of the National September 11 Museum is being challenged by a conservative law firm that defends the public display of religious symbols. The…

Professor says he was fired over evangelical beliefs

(RNS) — A professor who was fired in July by the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) says the Atlanta consortium of black seminaries discriminated against his conservative Christian views. The Rev. Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, an African-American expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls, filed…

Ridley installed as Lutheran Housing Support CEO

Calling her “the right person at the right time,” LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison performed the rite of installation for Nicole Ridley as chief executive officer of the LCMS National Housing Support Corporation Aug. 22 at the Synod’s…

Registration opens Sept. 15 for 'UNWRAPPED'

Registration is set to open Sept. 15 and run through Nov. 15 for “UNWRAPPED” — the first Synod-sponsored national campus-ministry conference in 10-plus years. To register for the conference and for more information about it, go to the Synod’s campus-ministry…

Hymnwriters Conference set for Jan. 27-29

To foster LCMS members in their love of faithful hymnody and in an effort to cultivate and develop aspiring writers, the LCMS Worship Department, under the auspices of the Office of National Mission, will host a Hymnwriters Conference Jan. 27-29…

Pioneering housing in Brooklyn continues to open doors

By Kim Plummer Krull In the early 1980s, a member of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., was bound, gagged, raped, doused in gasoline and left for dead as her house burned in an area infamous for crime and…

Convention Corner (September 2012)

With Barbara A. Below With less than a year to go until the 2013 LCMS convention, there has already been a lot of work toward putting in place its basic structure. The electronic voting system that will be used at…

LHM Float Committee announces coloring contest

A coloring contest for students in preschool through eighth grade is being sponsored for the third consecutive year by the Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) Float Committee. Each year the committee plans, designs, raises funds for, promotes and decorates — along…