Kollbaum named Missouri Synod’s ‘Rural and Small Town Mission’ director

The Rev. Todd E. Kollbaum has accepted the call to serve as director of Rural and Small Town Mission for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). He will begin serving in this role April 1.

LCMS sponsors first hymnwriting conference

By Adriane Dorr When it comes to the Church’s song, “Vivid imagery and fresh language can help the worshiper see a truth about God in a new way,” noted the Rev. Dr. Stephen Starke, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church,…

CTCR to release ‘framework’ for addressing immigration

By Adriane Dorr A hot topic both in the nation’s capital and in the mainstream media, immigration is on the minds of many Americans. But it is also pertinent to discussions within the church. In mid-February, The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod’s…

Brazil nightclub fire victims include Lutheran students

By Laura J. Seaman The recent tragedy in Santa Maria, Brazil, has hit home for families of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod partner church there, the Igreja Evangelica Luterana do Brasil (the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil – IELB). Santa Maria is…

Kollbaum to direct LCMS Rural and Small Town Mission

By Vicki Biggs The Rev. Todd E. Kollbaum of Cole Camp, Mo., has accepted the call to serve as director of Rural and Small Town Mission (RSTM) for The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. He will begin serving in the position April…

First Life Conference encourages LCMS to speak out, serve

By Sarah Schafer   ARLINGTON, Va. — Marking the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion for any reason, more than 240 Lutherans — adults and youth from coast to coast — gathered at the…

Record 350-plus Lutherans join 2013 'March for Life'

By Sarah Schafer   WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 350 people from across the nation donned neon-green hats reading “March for Life with the LCMS,” braving snow and freezing temperatures for the national “March for Life” here Jan. 25. A…

Worship, study central as 425 gather for 'UNWRAPPED'

By Joe Isenhower Jr. ST. LOUIS — The Synod’s Jan. 3-5 ‘UNWRAPPED’ campus-ministry conference here Jan. 3-5 got high marks from those attending it, and planners said that the final registration count of some 425 participants from more than 90 campuses…

'LCMS U' launches to boost campus ministry synodwide

By Joe Isenhower Jr. ST. LOUIS  — With a burst of applause, some 400-plus students, campus ministers and others at the closing session of the Synod’s Jan. 3-5 “UNWRAPPED” campus-ministry conference on Saint Louis University’s campus here greeted the unveiling…

Fiedler named president of LCMS Foundation

David Fiedler, executive director of LCMS General Services since November 2005, will begin serving Feb. 12 as president of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Foundation.   The LCMS Foundation — based at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis — is…

LCMS Life Conference complements March for Life activities

By Laura J. Seaman Even below-freezing temperatures and intermittent snowfall couldn’t stop hundreds of thousands of people from joining the national “March for Life” in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Jan. 25.   The following day, Jan. 26, many Lutherans who…

Humanists slice and dice the world's sacred texts

(RNS) — Thomas Jefferson is back in Washington — in the form of a new edition of the “Jefferson Bible” distributed to politicians by a national humanist organization. The American Humanist Association (AHA) has delivered electronic and paperback copies of Jefferson’s…

Fewer Americans view homosexuality as a sin

(RNS) — Americans’ acceptance of gays and lesbians is continuing to grow, with a new poll showing that just over a third of Americans view homosexuality as a sin, down from 44 percent a year earlier. The finding from LifeWay Research,…

Website offers photos, videos from life march, conference

Lutherans are marking the 40th anniversary of legalized abortion by taking part in the national “March for Life” on Jan. 25 in Washington, D.C., and attending the first-ever LCMS Life Conference Jan. 25-26 in Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C., area). The…

LEA announces eight 2013 award recipients

William “Bill” Cochran of St. Louis and the Rev. Robert “Bob” Riggert of Manning, Iowa, have been named to receive Lutheran Education Association’s top honor, the Christus Magister Award. They are among eight educators to receive LEA’s education awards for…

Birner accepts post at Concordia Wisconsin

The Rev. Dr. David Birner, a longtime LCMS missionary and mission executive, plans to begin work Feb. 18 as executive director of International Education at Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis. Since October, Birner, 61, has served as associate executive director for…