By Kim Plummer Krull One year after a catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, nearly 1 million people still live in tents, 95 percent of the rubble remains and cholera has killed more than 2,500, according to news…

Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, president of Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS), Fort Wayne, since 1996, has announced his intention to retire.  Wenthe, 66, said he plans to step down from the post when his successor is installed. The process to name…

This year’s Lutheran Services in America  (LSA) Annual Conference will offer “something for everyone in Lutheran social ministry,” the registration brochure for the May 3-6 conference in Milwaukee states. Added to the array of activities for conference registrants this year…

By James Heine Synod President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison was installed Jan. 9 as assistant pastor at Village Lutheran Church, Ladue, Mo. The rite of installation took place during Village Lutheran’s 10:45 a.m. service. LCMS Missouri District Circuit Counselor Rev.…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — A federal appeals court ruled Jan. 4 a veterans’ memorial featuring a 43-foot cross on California’s Mount Soledad is unconstitutional. “The use of such a distinctively Christian symbol to honor all veterans sends a strong message of…

BANGALORE, India (RNS) — Church officials in Pakistan say the assassination of Salman Taseer, an outspoken critic of Pakistan’s blasphemy law, is a “setback” for the campaign to overturn the law that makes it illegal to speak against Islam. “This…

(RNS) — Seven in 10 Americans say religion’s influence on the country is waning, and 61 percent say they belong to a church or synagogue, equaling the lowest number since Gallup began asking the question in the 1930s. Opinions about…

(RNS) — Janine Winkler loves reading books to her 2-year-old grandson Judah, but instead of sitting on her lap at her home in Michigan, he’s usually half a world away in Nigeria, where his father works for Wycliffe Bible Translators.…

Stronger mutual understandings of doctrine, mission and charity among member churches of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) are among the challenges formulated by Rev. Hans-Jörg Voigt, who has assumed responsibilities as chairman of the confessional Lutheran association. Voigt is bishop…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Roy and Erna “Sue” Nolting, longtime members of Concordia Lutheran Church in Kirkwood, Mo., did not expect the New Year’s Eve storm headed for suburban St. Louis to endanger their lives. Roy, 98 and on oxygen…

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is sponsoring a March 12 workshop designed to help facilitators learn how to use the “Prepare/Enrich” program with premarital and married couples. Prepare/Enrich is a program based on a set of five “inventories” that examine major…

Editorial Concordia, the Spanish division of Concordia Publishing House, has produced a new vacation Bible school program that is available in Spanish and bilingual (Spanish-English) formats. The one-of-a-kind program, Operación rescate — Jesús renueva la vida (“Operation Rescue — Jesus…

Lutheran schools and their sponsoring congregations may order a variety of resources from LCMS School Ministry and Concordia Publishing House to promote National Lutheran Schools Week (NLSW), set for March 6-12.  This year’s NLSW theme, “Securing Each Child’s Future —…

LCMS President Rev. Matthew C. Harrison has released a new video in which he extends new year and Epiphany blessings and offers a message of hope for the future of the church and the country. “I don’t know what this…

(RNS) — The International House of Pancakes has dropped its suit against the International House of Prayer after claiming the Missouri-based church had infringed on its trademarked IHOP acronym. Patrick Lenow, spokesman for IHOP Restaurants, said the suit was dismissed…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Benedict XVI denounced the “vile and murderous” New Year’s Day killing of 21 Egyptian Christians, and was rebuked by Egypt’s top Muslim cleric for an “unacceptable interference in Egypt’s affairs.” Benedict made his remarks on…