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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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) — 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…

LONDON (RNS) — A proposed “Covenant” aimed at ensuring unity across the worldwide Anglican Communion appears to have failed, leaving the world’s third-largest Christian body facing an uncertain and likely fragmented future. The covenant, born of an idea in 2004 to…

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (RNS) — The men burst into the church classroom and ordered the 15 teens in the youth group to the floor. They covered the teens’ heads with pillowcases and bound their hands. One man waved an unloaded gun, and…

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…

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) — Tim Tebow is Howdy Doody in a helmet. No, he is Opie Taylor running for touchdowns — while reciting Bible verses, stopping to find a lost dog, visiting sick children in a hospital and helping a…

(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,…

By Annalisa Musarra  WASHINGTON (RNS) — Even as membership remains relatively stable in U.S. churches, the effects of the recession have caused contributions to drop by $1.2 billion.   According to the 2012 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, the almost $29…

The spring 2012 issue of Higher Things magazine is a first in two respects.  For the first time, its online version at http://higherthings.org is cost-free and its focus on apologetics marks the first completely topical edition of the quarterly magazine…

By Kim Plummer Krull “People are anxious to help.” Although the Rev. Larry Courson, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church, Ann Arbor, Mich., was talking about response to the March 15 tornado that damaged more than 200 homes in the suburb of Dexter,…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Aaron Likens has come a long way since he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome some nine years ago, at age 20. Since then, he’s started a blog, written a book and become a spokesman for TouchPoint…