(RNS) — A Smithsonian museum is restoring the Jefferson Bible, a unique volume the third president cut and pasted himself — omitting lots of theology — from portions of the New Testament. Thomas Jefferson assembled the book in 1820 when…
'Of Gods and Men' traces murder, martyrdom
(RNS) — Rev. James Martin has seen a lot of religious movies in his life. But the Jesuit priest and author says a new film has sprung to the top of his list. Martin calls “Of Gods and Men,” a…
Christians question divorce stats
(RNS) — It’s been proclaimed from pulpits and blogs for years — Christians divorce as much as everyone else in America. But some scholars and family activists are questioning the oft-cited statistics, saying Christians who attend church regularly are more…
LCMS member in Fukushima gives KFUO interview
Cindy Charlton, an LCMS member living in Fukushima City — some 50 miles west of the damaged nuclear power plants — told KFUO Radio in a March 18 interview that she is not concerned about radiation levels, but about half…
Blanke shares more news, impressions from Tokyo
(Please note: The following article is a corrected version of a Reporter Online article posted Friday, March 18 which incorrectly identified the author of the e-mail cited in the story as Juli Blanke, the wife of LCMS career missionary Dr.…
LCMS gifts for Japan relief top $250,000
By March 18, donors had given more than $250,000 for The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and its partners in Japan to aid those affected by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck there March 11. Rev. John Fale, interim director of…
Missionaries grapple with leaving Japan
(RNS) — Wolfgang Langhans, a Tokyo-based field director for missionaries, calls the week since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan “the busiest and most stressful week of my life.” But when those twin crises created a third — the threat…
'We still have hope,' says Japanese pastor
According to Rev. Manabu Wakabayashi, “Our greatest concern is the nuclear power plant crisis in Fukushima.” Wakabayashi is pastor of Shirone Lutheran Christ Church in Niigata, Japan, and a 2002 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. Niigata is about…
Congregations ratify Constitution changes
Synod Secretary Dr. Raymond L. Hartwig announced March 17 that two amendments to the church body’s Constitution that were adopted by 2010 LCMS convention delegates have been ratified by the required two-thirds majority of Synod congregations that participated in the…
LCMS students join Japan relief efforts
Besides their homework after school this week, fifth- and sixth-graders at Martin Luther School in Joplin, Mo., baked cookies to sell to raise funds for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan. “The students were concerned about the people of Japan and…
Ohio Lutheran passionate about support for Japanese partners
James Domingo typically sits in the pew at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Solon, Ohio. On Sunday, March 20, he plans to stand at the front of the sanctuary and ask his congregation to join him in helping suffering Japanese through…
Leaders address timing for response to Japan
By Kim Plummer Krull Acknowledging the frustration of watching the growing crisis in Japan unfold, LCMS World Relief and Human Care Interim Executive Director Rev. John Fale said the LCMS must wait for the appropriate time to deploy LCMS disaster…
Collver provides Japan update in KFUO interview
In a March 17 interview on KFUO Radio, Dr. Albert B. Collver III, the Synod’s director of Church Relations — assistant to the president, provides an update on the LCMS response to the crisis in Japan. In the interview with…
World Mission relocates Tokyo missionaries
LCMS World Mission moved a career missionary family and three GEO missionaries and their spouses out of the Tokyo area March 17 as a precautionary measure. Temporarily out of Tokyo is career missionary Dr. Jonathan Blanke, his wife, Juli, and…
Michigan congregation reaches out to Japanese friends
By Kim Plummer Krull Printed e-mail messages and pictures from the congregation’s many friends in Japan cover the bulletin board outside the International Ministry office at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Walled Lake, Mich., updating how they are faring since…
Volunteers needed later, for 'long-haul' response in Japan
Thanking concerned volunteers for their many offers to serve in Japan, Maggie Karner, director of Life and Health Ministries with LCMS World Relief and Human Care, says the Synod’s response to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami differs from its…
