JOHN KIRCHHOFF, Sterling, Ill., has applied for reinstatement to the Ministers of Religion–Commissioned roster of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. SCOTT A. CALLAWAY, Georgetown, Mass., and EDGAR L. WILLIAMS, Farmington Hills, Mich., have applied for reinstatement to the Ministers of Religion–Ordained roster…

Concordia Publishing House says it will increase the price of Lutheran Service Book from $23 to $25, beginning Jan. 1, 2013. More than 86 percent of the Synod’s 6,100-plus congregations nationwide now use the hymnal, according to CPH. “Because fewer and fewer…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. and Elizabeth M. Truong ST. LOUIS — At their May 10-11 meetings in St. Louis, the Synod’s two mission boards established by the 2010 LCMS convention continued their primary work of developing policy. One of them…

By Kim Plummer Krull  Many special events commemorated the May 22 one-year anniversary of the deadly tornado that decimated Joplin, Mo. But Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin planned to continue doing what it started immediately after the catastrophe — serving…

Note: Reporter cannot accept notices about items offered for sale or that people wish to purchase. Items described as “Wanted” or “Available” are sought or may be obtained for shipping costs only. Notices may be sent to Jennifer Duffy at…

The Rev. Dr. Paul M. Heerboth, a longtime missionary and LCMS World Mission executive, died May 18 in St. Louis at the age of 90. A funeral service was held May 23 at Salem Lutheran Church in St. Louis. Heerboth was on the…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — One of the biggest growth areas in political activism around religion is coming from an unlikely source: the nonreligious. And it’s happening far from the marbled corridors of power in the nation’s capital. The Secular Coalition for America…

WILMINGTON, N.C. (RNS) — The sign outside the polling station at Devon Park United Methodist Church exemplified this state’s struggle with a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. “A true marriage is male and female and God,” the church marquee read.…

JERUSALEM (RNS) — Archaeologists have unearthed a trove of artifacts dating back to the time of the biblical King David that they say closely correspond to the description of Solomon’s Temple found in the Book of Kings. Hebrew University archaeologist Yosef…

DAMASCUS, Syria (RNS) — Hani Sarhan is a Christian who says none of his relatives works with Bashar Assad’s regime or has anything to do with it. “But what we heard from (the protesters) at the beginning of this revolution saying,’Christians…

(RNS) — When the Supreme Court ruled that a Christian student group could only be recognized at a small public law school if it accepted non-Christians and gays as potential leaders, some lawyers and campus advocates grew nervous. While the 5-4…

Nicole Ridley has been appointed chief executive officer of the LCMS National Housing Support Corporation, which does business as Lutheran Housing Support (LHS). Her appointment by the corporation’s Board of Directors was effective May 1. Ridley previously served as project director…

The Rev. Robert L. Jackson, who served as president of the LCMS Oklahoma District from 1988 to 1991, died May 15 at a hospice facility in Springdale, Ark. Jackson, 84, had recently been diagnosed with advanced cancer. A funeral service was held May…

LCMS First Vice-President Rev. Herbert C. Mueller Jr. received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree during the May 18 commencement at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. Mueller also served as commencement speaker at the 6 p.m. ceremony in the seminary’s Kramer…

By Kim Plummer Krull It was around 1997 when yet another family told the Rev. John Schmidtke that the lack of decent, affordable housing was forcing them to leave their crumbling inner-city North St. Louis, Mo., neighborhood.  “Where was this family…