San Antonio challenges its visitors to “Remember the Alamo” as they take in the legendary battle site there. But when 237 participants gathered in San Antonio July 12-15 for the Synod’s 2013 NATIONAL youth workers leadership-training conference, they heard the challenge…
Harrison voices concern and thanks to drought-affected members
Synod President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison expresses concern to drought-affected rural and small-town Synod congregations and their families and thanks them for their support for the church in a video message made available Aug. 15. At four minutes, 19…
Cholak, Zill, Pacey, Winters begin national mission work
The Synod’s Office of National Mission welcomed four new staff members in August. The Rev. Steven T. Cholak of The Woodlands, Texas, began serving full time Aug. 1 as project coordinator for Special Ministries. Cholak, former pastoral assistant and administrator for…
LFL conference participants get 'Equipped For Life'
By Linda C. Hoops More than 200 Lutherans from across the country gathered Aug. 3-4 in Itasca, Ill., for the 2012 Lutherans For Life (LFL) national conference — under the theme “Equipping the Saints For Life” (based on Eph. 4:11-12). In…
Survey: Most Americans keep faith private online
(RNS) — Meet the social media “nones.” A new survey finds that Americans, while mostly religious, generally do not use social media to supplement worship and mostly keep their faith private online. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey found about…
Pastor's bike ride raises $10,000 for campus ministry
By Melanie Ave The Rev. Kent Pierce spent much of his summer on a bicycle, pedaling for a higher purpose. Pierce, campus pastor at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and chairman of the Lutheran Campus Mission Association (LCMA), rode 3,671 miles across…
'Washington Post' carries op-ed piece co-written by Harrison
An op-ed article titled “HHS mandate: An attack on all people of faith” — co-written by LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison and the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference — appears in the…
Higher Things youth conferences focus on 'Twelve'
More than 1,900 youth, chaperones and pastors gathered at four college campuses in North America for this summer’s four Higher Things Lutheran youth conferences that had the theme of “Twelve.” Participants’ comments indicate that the conferences were well received. They…
In Helsinki, LCMS professors, pastors focus on Luther
By Kim Plummer Krull While members of Celebration Lutheran Church in St. Johns, Fla., might assume that the scholarly papers presented at the 12th International Congress for Luther Research in Helsinki, Finland, would have no impact on them, their pastor suggests…
LCMS members safe from Oklahoma wildfires
By Sarah Schafer LCMS-congregation members are safe after three dozen wildfires across Oklahoma torched more than 93,400 acres since they started Aug. 3. The LCMS Oklahoma District reported Aug. 7 that the only known loss among members is a barn…
2012-13 'Chapel Talks' available for order
The 2012-13 edition of Chapel Talks for Lutheran Schools is now available in a downloadable PDF format. Its focus for the year is “Live Love[d],” based on I John 4:9. That also is the theme for the 2013 LCMS National…
NLSA commission accredits 111 Lutheran schools
At its annual meeting July 25-26 in St. Louis, the National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA) commission accredited 111 Lutheran schools. That number is just three fewer than the record-number 114 Lutheran schools the commission accredited a year ago. Among those…
Lives saved as malaria-fighting commitments continue
By Kim Plummer Krull After learning about the Lutheran Malaria Initiative (LMI) at the LCMS Missouri District convention this summer, a pastor told his wife he planned to challenge his congregation to make a gift to stop the deadly disease…
94th Int'l LLL convention includes historic firsts
By Kim Plummer Krull When the International Lutheran Laymen’s League’s (Int’l LLL) outgoing President Mick Onnen passed the gavel to incoming Chairman Kurt Buchholz at the Int’l LLL’s 94th convention, the action represented one of several historic firsts for the…
Commentary: Witnessing our Christian faith in the halls of power
By Timothy S. Goeglein Tiny Woodstock, Va., is a mere 94 miles from giant Washington, D.C. It is a quiet, peaceful community. But it was the site of one of the most dramatic and effervescent Sunday morning sermons in the…
New Mercy Operations Group to coordinate U.S., international 'mercy' strategy
A new LCMS unit, the Mercy Operations Group, was launched July 1 to integrate the Synod’s work of mercy with its Witness and Life Together program ministries in the Offices of National and International Mission. According to its mission statement,…
