NEW YORK (RNS) — Did leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) hurt their missionary cause by opting not to change the denomination’s name to something a bit more, well, marketable? Maybe, but as the advertising executives of Madison Avenue here…

LONDON (RNS) — A controversial Oxford University professor billed by many as the world’s “most famous atheist” now says he is not 100 percent sure that God doesn’t exist — but just barely. In a 100-minute debate with Archbishop of Canterbury…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — It took 83 years to build the iconic Washington National Cathedral, but a rare East Coast earthquake last summer took just seconds to send carved stone finials tumbling from the heavens to the ground below. Now, six months…

(RNS) — A federal court on Feb. 22 struck down a Washington state rule that requires pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill even if it violates their religious beliefs. Religious liberty advocates cheered the decision. They have decried the 2007 state…

WILMINGTON, N.C. (RNS) — As the only Southern state without a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage, North Carolina is the next battleground, with religious groups on both sides bracing for a high-stakes fight on May 8. Against a recent string of…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) — A bill in Alabama would allow churches or ministries to teach a religion class to public school students off campus, so long as parents and school boards give permission and the churches are responsible for transportation…

By Sarah Schafer A group of 17 members from St. Paul Lutheran Church, Cincinnati, gathered after worship Sunday, March 4, and traveled half an hour to help homeowners in Clermont County, Ohio, clear debris left by a March 2 tornado…

ST. LOUIS — The heads of the three Synod-owned international schools in Asia met together for the first time with the church body’s Board of Directors in an hour-and-a-half session during the Board’s Feb. 16-17 meeting here.  They are Kevin M.…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Addressing some two dozen black LCMS pastors Feb. 7 in Selma, Ala., LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison said his office is “ready to move” on a search to find a candidate to serve as a…

Tucked away in a former classroom on the campus of Concordia College, Selma, Ala., is a one-room testimony to Dr. Rosa J. Young — the LCMS teacher, missionary, lecturer and fundraiser who traveled the South in the early to mid-1900s,…

LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison has issued a proclamation announcing “National Lutheran Schools Week” March 4-10. The annual observance recognizes the contributions of Lutheran education through the Synod’s 2,400 early childhood centers, elementary schools and high schools nationwide. Synod schools…

By Sarah Schafer “I’m standing in a parking lot here in Marysville and in every direction I look, there’s not a single house or building that hasn’t been damaged somehow,” LCMS Indiana District President Rev. Dr. Daniel P. May said Monday,…

By Sarah Schafer According to early reports Saturday, March 3, LCMS congregations and members were spared by the severe storm system Friday that produced dozens of tornadoes across 10 states, killing 35 in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama, and resulting…

Editor’s note: At this writing (6 p.m. Central on Friday, March 2), LCMS Disaster Response staff have contacted congregations in Alabama, Indiana and Kentucky. About half of them have confirmed no major LCMS damages or fatalities from March 2 storms…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. and Elizabeth M. Truong  ST. LOUIS — The LCMS Boards for National and International Mission heard reports of priorities from Synod mission executives and continued their primary work of developing policies during their Feb. 3-4 meeting…