PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) — Future generations could be stripped of mutations like hereditary blindness or maternal diabetes, after a breakthrough study at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). But the new technique is also one short step from genetic design of…
Billy Graham faces backlash over Mormon 'cult' removal
(RNS) — The Rev. Samuel Wynn admired Billy Graham and his evangelistic association for decades, joining its spiritual crusades and urging fellow Christians to do the same. But no more. “I will never again support anything by the Billy Graham Evangelistic…
'Being present' most important for disaster response
By Kim Plummer Krull ST. LOUIS — Sporting his U.S. Army uniform, the Rev. Rod Armon looks like he’s prepared should a disaster hit anywhere near Doniphan, Neb., the community where he serves as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church.…
George to continue as Concordia, Bronxville, president
Concordia College — New York in Bronxville, N.Y., announced Oct. 24 that its president for the past 13 years, Dr. Viji D. George, has agreed to continue in that post and that the college’s board of regents has terminated its…
South Carolina diocese defecting from Episcopal Church
(RNS) — The Diocese of South Carolina announced Oct. 17 that it has disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church, escalating a long-running skirmish and setting the stage to become the fifth diocese to secede from the denomination. South Carolina said the split…
Judge: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association didn't discriminate
(RNS) — A North Carolina judge has ruled the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) did not discriminate against a former black employee. Kimberly McCallum worked for the Charlotte, N.C.-based BGEA from 2003 to 2007 and filed suit in 2009. While working on…
Washington gay marriage fight has money, 'daunting' odds
SEATTLE (RNS) — In the headquarters of Washington United for Marriage, a large collage displays a list of the high-powered sponsors backing the ballot-measure campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. They include such iconic businesses as Amazon, Google and…
Report: Knights of Columbus, allies are leading funders of anti-gay-marriage drives
(RNS) — The Knights of Columbus, a wealthy and influential Catholic charitable organization, is a leading funder in the push to make same-sex marriage illegal in four states that have ballot measures on the issue this fall, a coalition of…
KFUO supports planned St. Louis classical station
The Synod’s KFUO Radio and the Radio Arts Foundation of St. Louis (RAF) are entering a cooperative arrangement that begins with KFUO sharing its extensive classical music library with RAF. RAF plans to launch a new FM station serving the…
111 network at second LCMS prison-ministry conference
By Joe Isenhower Jr. ST. LOUIS — Participants in the second LCMS prison- and jail-ministry conference here Sept. 29-30 say they are grateful for the opportunities it provided them for networking, gathering information and inspiration. From 25 LCMS districts, the 111 registrants’…
Pope marks 50th anniversary of Vatican II with warnings of spiritual 'desert'
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Benedict XVI Oct. 11 urged Catholics to confront the spiritual “desert” of today’s secularized world and to rediscover “the truth and beauty of the faith.” Benedict celebrated a solemn Mass in St. Peter’s Square to mark…
Are ministers and musicians allies or rivals?
(RNS) — Eileen Guenther, the national president of the American Guild of Organists, reveals behind-the-scenes church struggles in her new book, Rivals or a Team?: Clergy-Musician Relationships in the Twenty-First Century. Guenther, an associate professor of church music at Washington’s Wesley…
Adventists call actions to allow women's ordinations ''mistakes''
(RNS) — Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Oct. 16 said recent decisions by two regional bodies to allow ordained female pastors were “serious mistakes,” and women who are ordained won’t be recognized — at least for now. “They directly challenge…
Letters to the Editor (November 2012)
‘Conscience’ Bible study Pastor Bryan Wulfmueller’s “Collision of Conscience: A Bible Study” (on Page 2 of the October Reporter’s “Religious Freedom” insert) is most helpful. He writes that, in view of Genesis 1:27-28, we can “surmise that family planning is…
Official notice: LCMS schools (November 2012)
The colleges, universities and seminaries of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the college, university or…
LCMS salary information (November 2012)
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH–MISSOURI SYNOD Salary Information The Synod’s policy of full financial disclosure provides for making available to members of the Synod (congregations, pastors, teachers and others on the roster), on written request, the salary grid scales of all Synod…
