with Barbara A. Below Following is the first in a series of Reporter columns that will provide information about the next LCMS national convention. As the 65th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod approaches, this Reporter column will…
Harrison, CPS, Karner respond to health-care ruling
By Adriane Dorr The Supreme Court of the United States June 28 ruled largely to let stand the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the controversial health-care reform legislation. The 5-4 ruling on the individual mandate leaves intact two prominent pieces…
SELC delegates elect Krueger to sixth term
At the LCMS SELC District’s 16th convention, June 21-24 in Oviedo, Fla., delegates re-elected by acclamation the Rev. Dr. Carl H. Krueger of Cudahy, Wis., to his sixth three-year term as district president. Krueger and the following vice-presidents — also elected…
New missionaries prepare for global service
Twenty-three new career and short-term missionaries and educators, along with their spouses and children, began a 13-day orientation in St. Louis June 24 to help prepare them for service abroad later this year. The annual event, held at the International Center,…
Wildfires take LCMS members' homes, force evacuations
By Sarah Schafer At least three LCMS families in Montana and Colorado are known to have lost their homes to wildfires and others are facing that possibility. On Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation, two families at Circle of Life Lutheran Church in Lame Deer are among…
Hennings re-elected in Texas
Delegates to the LCMS Texas District convention, meeting June 21-23 in Lubbock, Texas, elected the Rev. Kenneth M. Hennings to his third term as district president. Hennings, 64, is a resident of Pflugerville, Texas. He was elected on the first…
Iowa West returns Sieveking to office
LCMS Iowa West District President Rev. Dr. Paul G. Sieveking of Fort Dodge, Iowa, was elected to his fifth term by delegates to the district’s 38th convention, June 24-26 at Camp Okoboji in Milford, Iowa. Also re-elected under the convention theme…
Northwest delegates re-elect Linnemann president
Delegates to the June 21-23 LCMS Northwest District convention in Portland, Ore., re-elected the Rev. Paul A. Linnemann of Portland as district president. Linnemann’s election to his second three-year term in that office came on the first ballot. The theme of this…
Mid-South elects Paavola as new president
The Rev. Dr. Roger C. Paavola was elected president of the LCMS Mid-South District by delegates to the district’s 18th Regular Convention, June 22-24 in Memphis, Tenn. He was elected on the fourth ballot. A resident of Cookeville, Tenn., Paavola, 64, has…
Walton re-elected by acclamation in Florida-Georgia
Delegates to the LCMS Florida-Georgia District’s 31st Regular Convention elected district President Rev. Gregory S. Walton to his second term. Walton, 50, of Orlando, Fla., was elected by acclamation on the first ballot. He was unopposed. The convention met June 22-24…
Santa Monica park displays banned after atheist dispute
(RNS) — The city council of Santa Monica, Calif., has voted to halt unattended, private displays in a public park after a fight last year between atheists and Christians who had erected Nativity scenes for decades. The June 12 vote came…
Atheists challenge tax exemption for religious groups
(RNS) — How much money does the U.S. government forgo by not taxing religious institutions? According to a University of Tampa professor, perhaps as much as $71 billion a year. Ryan Cragun, an assistant professor of sociology, and two students examined…
Hutterites blast 'exploitative' show on National Geographic Channel
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Hutterite bishops say a new National Geographic reality series that follows the members of a rural Montana colony gives a “distorted and exploitative version” of life inside a little-known Christian sect. The controversy led Hutterite bishops to issue…
Church leaders release open letter on religious liberty
By Adriane Dorr In the aftermath of the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) contentious mandate regarding religious organizations’ coverage of contraceptive services, more than 20 religious leaders have signed their names to a letter — drafted by…
Catholic hospitals reject Obama's birth-control compromise
(RNS) — In an unexpected blow to the Obama administration and a major boon for America’s Catholic bishops, the influential Catholic Health Association (CHA) June 15 rejected White House proposals aimed at easing faith-based objections to the contraception mandate. “The more…
Southern Baptist membership continues decline
(RNS) — For the fifth year in a row, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has seen a drop in its total membership. The denomination’s membership in 2011 was 15,978,112, a drop of nearly 1 percent from the 2010 figure of 16.1…
