A layman reflects as Synod anticipates Lutheran Service Book By James D. Lowitzer Ever since the 1998 Synod convention encouraged work to begin on a new hymnal for our church body, Lutheran Service Book has been in careful and loving…
Letters to the Editor (May)
Close(d) Communion An April Reporter story stated that the Southern Illinois District convention passed a resolution “asking the district president or his representative to visit Southern Illinois congregations to work toward uniformity in line with ‘our Synod’s doctrine of closed…
Items available (May)
Note: Reporter cannot accept notices about items offered for sale or that people wish to purchase. Items described as “Available” are sought or may be obtained for shipping costs only. Available Lutheran Worship hymnals, 250 copies; and eight large-print and…
Pressure Points with Dr. Bruce Hartung
Q: We are stuck. Let me explain. Several of us who are members of our Board of Elders want to add to the staff of our congregation by bringing on a director of Christian education. We are in an area…
Official notice: survey on church-worker debt
Telephone survey will query church workers about indebtedness The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is conducting an in-depth study on the indebtedness of LCMS clergy and church workers and its impact on their lives. The results of this nationwide research will be…
Requests for Reinstatement
KEVIN T. MEYER, Berne, Ill., has applied for reinstatement to the Minister of Religion-Ordained roster of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. SUSAN (LISCH) ADER, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.; LAURA J. DONNELLY, Baltimore, Md.; MONICA EHRHARDT, Houston, Texas; SOPHIA (CHUTE) GARCIA, Tucson, Ariz.;…
Materials available for `Armed Forces Sunday`
“Love Completes the Mission” is the theme for this year’s “Armed Forces Sunday” observance on May 21, and resources still are available to help congregations remember military families and support the Synod’s ministry to the armed forces. Nearly 45,000 Lutherans…
ABC Canadians re-elect Schiemann president
Delegates to the 47th convention of the Alberta-British Columbia District of Lutheran Church–Canada April 22 elected Rev. Donald Schiemann to his third term as district president. The convention took place April 21-24 in Red Deer, Alberta, under the theme “Proclaiming…
Thrivent now taking applications for grants
Lutheran congregations, schools, and organizations have until Sept. 15 to apply for a total of $5.5 million that the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation will give in its Charitable Gifting Initiative grant program for 2006. The initiative is a “a…
Positions (May)
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod seeks candidates for the following two positions: Vice President, Products and Services for Concordia Plan Services. Concordia Plan Services administers the benefit programs and the Trusts by which programs are funded for full-time workers of The…
Kieschnick among those supporting marriage-protection measure
LCMS President Gerald B. Kieschnick is among 43 U.S. religious leaders who have signed an open letter calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Declaring support for the…
LCMS, ELCA reps discuss military chaplaincy
Military chaplaincies received attention from leaders of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), meeting as the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation (CLC) on April 6 at the ELCA offices in Chicago. Reporting on behalf of both…
Grants help ease suffering after Mid-South tornadoes
By Joe Isenhower Jr. Rev. Carlos Hernandez, director of Districts and Congregations with LCMS World Relief/Human Care, says he often first learns about “the steady stream of disasters that have been occurring in recent months” from TV news coverage while at…
Pastors visit Lutheran AIDS orphanage in Kenya
By Kim Krull In a country with nearly one million AIDS orphans, the opening of a new Lutheran orphanage for 24 Kenyan boys may sound small. But it was a big day for these youngsters who once lived in a…
Mailings detail 'Lutheran Service Book,' companions
The Synod’s Commission on Worship and Concordia Publishing House (CPH) in late April mailed a comprehensive 40-page booklet about Lutheran Service Book and its companion editions to all LCMS and Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) congregations and others. This is the first…
Lutherans, Catholics discuss death, judgment, resurrection
As Lutherans and Roman Catholics continued to dialogue around the theme of “The Hope of Eternal Life,” LCMS participants described the meetings as thorough and careful ways to listen to one another. “It’s invaluable because we talk to one another,…
