LONDON (RNS) — The British government said Nov. 2 that same-sex couples will be allowed for the first time to use churches to seal their civil partnership vows, starting in December. But the directive added that no religious group will be…

Many caught in the worst monsoon-fed flooding to hit Southeast Asia in 50 years will receive relief supplies made possible through collaborative efforts of LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) and Lutheran partners in Thailand and Cambodia. Two initial emergency-relief…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Religious leaders and members of Congress this week are getting a firsthand taste of what it’s like to eat on $4.50 a day as part of the “Food Stamp Challenge.” In the challenge, participants try to live for…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — U.S. Catholic bishops dispatched their new point man on religious freedom to warn Congress on Oct. 26 that religious people risk being labeled as “bigots” without greater conscience protections. Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of a…

ASSISI, Italy (RNS) — Pope Benedict XVI hosted some 300 representatives of world religions here on Oct. 27 for an interfaith summit on justice and peace, with distinct changes made to the event first convened 25 years ago by Pope…

Concordia College — New York, Bronxville, N.Y., has planned two events featuring LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison. Beginning at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4, Harrison will host a Town Hall Meeting. He will be available to meet attendees and…

LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC) has made available a $10,000 emergency grant to help meet basic needs of survivors of the massive 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Turkey the afternoon of Oct. 23. The grant is already making possible…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Fall enrollment at the Synod’s 10 colleges and universities continues to climb, hitting an all-time high this year of 28,421 — an increase of 967 graduate and undergraduate students, or 3.5 percent. This marks the 19th consecutive year…

Higher Things — an LCMS Recognized Service Organization — is holding two retreats in November. The first of those, titled “Jesus: The Real Deal,” is set for Nov. 4-5 at Zion Lutheran church in Storm Lake, Iowa, for youth in Grades…

Concordia Theological Seminary is offering its annual Advent preaching workshop Nov. 8-9 on its campus in Fort Wayne, Ind. The workshop will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, and from 8…

High school sophomores, juniors and seniors considering church work vocations or interested in learning more about church professions are invited to attend the annual “Careers for Christ” weekend at Concordia University Chicago (CUC), River Forest, Ill. “Renewed Strength” is the theme…

ST. LOUIS — Some half-dozen direct descendants of the Rev. Dr. C.F.W. Walther — including a great-granddaughter — joined 160 others Oct. 23 for a special worship service at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church here to mark the bicentennial of his…

LONDON (RNS) — Scores of anti-corporate demonstrators invaded London’s historic St. Paul’s Cathedral on Oct. 16, but police who tried to stop them were told to leave by church officials. The protesters — who were targeting the global financial system as…

CARROLLTON, Ohio (RNS) — Arlene Miller’s 15-year-old daughter had just awakened her and her husband, Myron, saying that about a half-dozen Amish men were at the farmhouse’s back door asking for Myron. It was close to 11 p.m. on Oct. 4…

The Rev. Dr. Wilbert Kreiss, former president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church–Synod of France and Belgium, died in his sleep Oct. 24 in Moshi, Tanzania, East Africa. A funeral service was held Nov. 5 at the Protestant State Church in…

U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) told more than 100 people attending the 2011 KFUO Radio Founders Dinner Oct. 23 at the Forest Park Golf Course Clubhouse in St. Louis of his devotion to KFUO and the big part it plays…