The Rev. Dr. Guido Merkens, a former LCMS vice-president and founding pastor of one of the Synod’s largest congregations, died Jan. 11 in San Antonio. A funeral service for Merkens, 84, was held Jan. 18 at Concordia Lutheran Church in San Antonio. Merkens founded…
Harrison signs letter supporting traditional marriage
LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison joined 38 leaders of some of the largest religious communities in the United States in signing an open letter to all Americans to voice their shared concern for protecting the traditional definition of…
Traveling repairmen help rebuild churches
MEMPHIS, N.Y. (RNS) — Brent Howard left his job as a home remodeler in Ohio in 2007, moved his young family into a trailer and began traveling to wherever he was needed. Over the past 4 1/2 years, he has helped…
Va. judge rules against breakaway Episcopal parishes
(RNS) — Seven congregations that broke with the Episcopal Church in 2006 over its liberal policies on homosexuality are not entitled to keep parish property estimated to be worth millions, a Virginia judge ruled on Jan. 10. The ruling by Fairfax…
Liberian church requests altar, pulpit fellowship
By Joe Isenhower Jr. “The entire room broke into applause” after Bishop Amos Bolay of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia (ELCL) requested altar and pulpit fellowship between the Missouri Synod and his church body during Dec. 31 discussions in…
Supreme Court sides with churches in employment fights
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 11 unanimously threw its support behind a church school that fired a teacher, using a widely watched church-state case to bolster a legal doctrine that exempts religious institutions from some civil…
Beloved hymns carried King through troubled times
(RNS) — At 87, the Rev. C.T. Vivian can still recall the moment, decades after the height of the civil rights movement. As he stood to conclude a meeting in his Atlanta home, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. joined his…
New White House staffers have Catholic, Jewish ties
(RNS) — President Obama on Jan. 10 named an immigration expert with longstanding ties to the Catholic Church as his top domestic policy official, continuing a campaign-year makeover of White House staff. The hiring of Cecilia Munoz, along with the appointment…
Appeals court: Oklahoma Shariah ban unconstitutional
(RNS) — Oklahoma’s referendum against state judges considering Islamic law is unconstitutional, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 10, upholding a lower court ruling that had blocked the measure. The ruling could affect more than 20 other states where…
LCMS President Harrison reacts to unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in support of Hosanna-Tabor
The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), issued the following statement in reaction to the United States Supreme Court historic 9-0 decision today in favor of an LCMS church and school in Redford, Mich.
Unanimous Supreme Court ruling supports Hosanna-Tabor
By Paula Schlueter Ross The United States Supreme Court Jan. 11 issued an historic 9-0 decision in favor of a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod church and school in Redford, Mich. The decision marks the first time the Supreme Court has ruled that federal…
Williamson installed as chief mission officer
The Rev. Gregory K. Williamson, a native of Walters, Minn., was installed Jan. 9 to a three-year term as the Synod’s first chief mission officer. Preaching at the installation service, held in the chapel of the LCMS International Center in St. Louis,…
First Operation Barnabas conference set for Feb. 15-16
The first-ever Operation Barnabas National Military Ministry Conference will be held Feb. 15-16 in Winter Haven, Fla. The conference is designed to provide an opportunity for Barnabas Chapter leaders from across the country to meet, share ideas and best practices,…
Hispanic roundtable discusses future efforts
By Elizabeth M. Truong On Dec. 8, the first Hispanic ministry roundtable group to gather in St. Louis in many years met at the LCMS International Center. Roundtable members discussed the possibilities for future Hispanic ministry in the St. Louis area and…
New from CPH: 'My First Hymnal' for kids
Concordia Publishing House has produced a hymnal that’s designed especially for children up to age 10. My First Hymnal features 52 hymns, including “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” “Amazing Grace,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Away in a…
LHF offers new translations in Swahili, Chinese
The Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF) recently announced that it began distributing in East Africa The Book of Concord translated into the Swahili language, and also that it has produced three versions of Luther’s Small Catechism in Chinese. In October, Bishop…
