Delegates to the LCMS Texas District convention, meeting June 21-23 in Lubbock, Texas, elected the Rev. Kenneth M. Hennings to his third term as district president. Hennings, 64, is a resident of Pflugerville, Texas. He was elected on the first…

LCMS Iowa West District President Rev. Dr. Paul G. Sieveking of Fort Dodge, Iowa, was elected to his fifth term by delegates to the district’s 38th convention, June 24-26 at Camp Okoboji in Milford, Iowa. Also re-elected under the convention theme…

Delegates to the June 21-23 LCMS Northwest District convention in Portland, Ore., re-elected the Rev. Paul A. Linnemann of Portland as district president. Linnemann’s election to his second three-year term in that office came on the first ballot. The theme of this…

Delegates to the LCMS Florida-Georgia District’s 31st Regular Convention elected district President Rev. Gregory S. Walton to his second term. Walton, 50, of Orlando, Fla., was elected by acclamation on the first ballot. He was unopposed. The convention met June 22-24…

The Rev. Dr. Roger C. Paavola was elected president of the LCMS Mid-South District by delegates to the district’s 18th Regular Convention, June 22-24 in Memphis, Tenn. He was elected on the fourth ballot. A resident of Cookeville, Tenn., Paavola, 64, has…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Hutterite bishops say a new National Geographic reality series that follows the members of a rural Montana colony gives a “distorted and exploitative version” of life inside a little-known Christian sect. The controversy led Hutterite bishops to issue…

(RNS) — The city council of Santa Monica, Calif., has voted to halt unattended, private displays in a public park after a fight last year between atheists and Christians who had erected Nativity scenes for decades. The June 12 vote came…

(RNS) — How much money does the U.S. government forgo by not taxing religious institutions? According to a University of Tampa professor, perhaps as much as $71 billion a year. Ryan Cragun, an assistant professor of sociology, and two students examined…

By Adriane Dorr In the aftermath of the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) contentious mandate regarding religious organizations’ coverage of contraceptive services, more than 20 religious leaders have signed their names to a letter — drafted by…

Delegates to the June 11-14 convention of the LCMS Montana District re-elected the Rev. Terry R. Forke as president and passed resolutions emphasizing their commitment to protecting human life. Forke, 56, will serve his third term as district president. He is…

By Linda C. Hoops The 72 career missionaries who serve The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod by sharing the Gospel message with people in countries around the world have another task: Telling the story of their work — and God’s work — to…

(RNS) — For the fifth year in a row, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has seen a drop in its total membership. The denomination’s membership in 2011 was 15,978,112, a drop of nearly 1 percent from the 2010 figure of 16.1…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is urging pastors to seek a common moral ground by uniting under a consistent code of ethics. NAE leaders said the new code will provide uniform guidance to church leaders across the…

(RNS) — In an unexpected blow to the Obama administration and a major boon for America’s Catholic bishops, the influential Catholic Health Association (CHA) June 15 rejected White House proposals aimed at easing faith-based objections to the contraception mandate. “The more…

BEIJING (RNS) — A pregnant woman who was dragged to a hospital by authorities and forced to have an abortion has enraged Chinese and sparked an online flurry of debate over whether it is time to end China’s draconian one-child…

The Rev. Dr. Chris C. Wicher of Cheektowaga, N.Y., was elected to his second term as president of the LCMS Eastern District at the district’s 97th Regular Convention, June 15-16 in Amherst, N.Y.  Wicher, 55, was re-elected on the first…