Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., have scheduled free visitation events for prospective students: “Contemplate” is the St. Louis seminary’s structured visitation event designed for men interested in the pastoral ministry and women considering deaconess…
'Lutherans want to help' in flooded Iowa
By Kim Plummer Krull A university student living in a mold-infested mobile home and congregation members struggling to clean up preschool classrooms are among the people an LCMS disaster-response team met while assessing damages from central Iowa’s severe flooding. “People…
Age-old Amish experience 21st century boom
ELIZABETHVILLE, Pa. (RNS) — Paul “Chubby” Chubb cranks up the engine of his big Dodge pickup and sets off on his daily rounds, running errands for the Amish, taking them shopping, delivering goods and making friends along the way. “People…
Study: Religious hospitals provide better care
(RNS) — Catholic and other church-run health care systems in the U.S. are more efficient and provide higher quality care than their secular counterparts, according to a new Thomson Reuters study. The study looked at 255 health care systems and…
Church of God: women can be leaders, not bishops
(RNS) — The Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) has decided to permit women to serve on local church councils but has maintained its rule that they cannot be ordained as bishops. By a narrow vote during its recent General Assembly,…
Priest at London cathedral blasts 'glitzy' weddings
LONDON (RNS) — A top priest at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in 1981, says fancy, multi-million-dollar weddings are now posing “a threat to marriage itself.” The Rev. Giles Fraser told BBC Radio’s…
Russians pray for rain as churches collect aid
MOSCOW (RNS/ENInews) — The Russian Orthodox Church is praying for relief from the heat and drought that has gripped Russia for two months, as one archbishop condemned some retailers for profiteering from the extreme weather conditions. “That air conditioners sell…
CPH distributes 400-plus backpacks, school supplies
Undeterred by heat approaching 100 degrees, Concordia Publishing House employees handed out 433 backpacks filled with school supplies and Christian books to neighborhood children and their families during the publisher’s “Operation F.U.N. [For a United Neighborhood] — Tools for Schools”…
Fort Wayne seminary achieves 10-year accreditation
By Adriane Dorr For some, the word “accreditation” brings to mind piles of paper, endless guidelines, and stacks of audits. But for Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS), Fort Wayne, receiving a 10-year accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) for…
Open Arms offers training for child care ministry
The Open Arms Institute is offering two fall training events related to child care ministry: A conference, “Church Planting and Gospel Outreach through Child Development Ministry,” will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Bloomington, Minn. Lodging and most sessions will…
LCMS responds to Pakistan flooding through LWR
By Linda C. Hoops As monsoon rains in Pakistan continue to cause widespread flooding that so far has killed 1,600 and affected nearly 14 million Pakistanis, LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) is responding through its inter-Lutheran partner Lutheran…
Calif. judge permits gays to marry Aug. 18
(RNS) — Same-sex couples can begin marrying in California again on Aug. 18 after a federal judge lifted a stay on his recent ruling that struck down California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. “Based on the trial record, which establishes that…
Wanted: Mercy Medical Team volunteers for Haiti
By Kim Plummer Krull LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) is organizing a Mercy Medical Team (MMT) to serve in October at the first of four new medical clinics preparing to open in Haiti. The clinic is located in…
Closer to heaven, workers repair steeples, lives
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (RNS) — When William Thornton goes to work in the morning, all he can see is a cross lifted against the sky as he swings around the steeple of First Methodist Church 100 feet above the petty concerns…
Aid group 'wants to stay' in Afghanistan despite killings
(RNS/ENInews) — The International Assistance Mission (IAM) has rejected Taliban claims that 10 staffers from the Christian aid agency who were killed in Afghanistan had been trying to convert Muslims. “Our faith motivates and inspires us, but we do not…
LCMS convention news
News from the 64th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is still available. To read the status of resolutions, sorted by floor committee, click here. To read news stories, sorted by day, click here. To read Bible studies, view videos,…
