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…

Lutheran Education Association’s (LEA) 11th triennial convocation is set for Oct. 24-26 at the Delta Center convention facility in downtown Milwaukee. This 2013 convocation of the LCMS Recognized Service Organization is expected to draw more than 2,500 educators in Lutheran ministries…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Vatican criticized a Jan. 16 ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that affirms employers’ right to limit the expression of religious beliefs in the workplace when it conflicts with equality laws. In an interview…

(RNS) — Four decades after Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, many opponents of the decision are in a celebratory mood while those backing abortion rights are glum, feeling that momentum is turning decisively against…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Each January in the four decades since the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion in 1973, Nellie Gray marshaled tens of thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators for the March for Life rally. Now, after Gray’s death in August at…

In a new Epiphany video message to the church, LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison encourages members to focus on loving and supporting their pastors and their families. “It’s not easy being a pastor. In fact, it’s extremely difficult. You…

Every congregation’s makeup is multigenerational, by nature. But, what they may not be — and should look at how they can be — is intergenerational in their activities, including youth ministry. That was the bottom-line message of the two speakers —…

The latest issue of Missio Apostolica, the journal of the Lutheran Society for Missiology, is available as a PDF for free downloading. The publication is published twice a year, typically in May and November, “to promote discussion of thoughts and issues…

CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — The European Court of Human Rights on Jan. 15 ruled that equality laws trump personal religious beliefs, rejecting three of four appeals filed by British Christians who were fired or disciplined for expressing religious beliefs in…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Anti-abortion groups from 20 different countries have launched a petition to ask the European Parliament to recognize that life begins at conception. The “One of Us” initiative is the first of its kind in Europe and…

The Rev. Dr. Norbert H. Mueller Sr., who served 17 years at Concordia Theological Seminary, in Springfield, Ill., and in Fort Wayne, Ind., in various positions — including as interim president — died Jan. 10 in Dallas. He was 86.…

By Paula Schlueter RossWith more than a dozen robberies and incidents of vandalism in the past year — resulting in the loss of computer equipment, gift cards, musical instruments, copper wiring and food-bank items — St. Johns Lutheran Church in…

(RNS) — The seven deadly sins have new partners in crime. Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride still attract a lot of attention. But as the Internet and other media invade American life, our vices have also gone virtual,…