Video: Missionary Service of Sending – 2014

The February 2014 new missionary orientation culminated in a special Service of Sending Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, at The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) International Center in St. Louis. During the service, the new missionaries received certificates of completion for LCMS Missionary Orientation, and they, their spouses and families were prayed for.

Feeding the hungry at Antsirabe blind school

See photographs from the Antsirabe blind school on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, in Madagascar. LCMS President Matthew C. Harrison visited the school, which was the recipient of an LCMS emergency grant after the Rev. Dr. Albert Collver, LCMS Director of Church Relations, learned that the children were malnourished due to budget cuts from European partners when he toured the school last October.

President Harrison visits Madagascar

See photographs of LCMS President Matthew C. Harrison as he visits a Lutheran church near Antsirabe, Madagascar, on Feb. 5, 2014. Harrison addressed the opening of the Fiangonana Loterana Malagasy synodical convention.

Seminary dedication in Ghana

See photographs from the dedication of the Lutheran Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in Greater Accra, Ghana. LCMS President Rev. Dr . Matthew C. Harrison and ELGC Bishop Paul Fynn lead the ceremony. Photographs by Erik M. Lunsford, staff photojournalist in LCMS Communications.

Feast of the Purification of Mary

Pastors, this is one of the feasts that (sadly!) tends to be mostly observed only when it falls on Sunday, as it does this year. That means that many are tempted to speak the unfamiliar Proper Preface. If you’d like a little practice learning to sing it, listen here to Pr. Sean Daenzer as he sings it for you.

Touring the Old Latin School in Wittenberg, Germany

Members of the International Lutheran Society of Wittenberg meet at the Luther Hotel in Wittenberg, Germany, tour the reconstruction work at the Old Latin School in the city center, and visit the Luther House. Photographs by Erik M. Lunford, staff photojournalist at the LCMS.

Karner and Tobias discuss the sanctity of life

Maggie Karner, director LCMS Life and Health Ministries, and Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, talk to KFUO about the sanctity of life and the 2014 March for Life.

Maggie Karner discusses need for Mercy Medical Team volunteers

Maggie Karner, Director of the LCMS Life and Health Ministries, talks about the need for volunteers for the Mercy Medical Teams in 2014. She discusses service opportunities for medical professionals and laity overseas in this program. The geographical areas of service and how the program assists LCMS missionaries and partner churches on the field were also explained.

A Light in the Darkness-Typhoon Haiyan Relief

See the effects of a devastating typhoon in Leyte province, Philippines, and watch how the LCMS responds with witness, mercy and life together.

Typhoon Haiyan: A report from the Philippines

The Rev. Ross Johnson, director of LCMS Disaster Response, provides a report from the Philippines as the church provides immediate relief and begins planning to assist with the long-term recovery.

Typhoon Haiyan Update: Report from the Field

The Rev. Glenn Merritt, director of LCMS Disaster Response, reports from Tacloban City, the Philippines, that conditions remain dire 10 days after one of the strongest storms in recorded history tore through the island nation. Listen to his stark report which Merritt was able to make upon finding a clear cell signal while on his search for fuel for the vehicle carrying the LCMS relief-assessment team.

Pastors: Learn to chant the prefaces for Advent and Christmas

Listen as Pastor Sean Daenzer of Trinity Lutheran, Great Bend, N.D., and Peace Lutheran, Barney, N.D., chants the Advent and Christmas prefaces. Listen a few times through and you will have them down in no time!

Midwest Tornadoes Photo Gallery

Savage tornadoes tore through the Midwest Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, taking at least five lives and demolishing hundreds of homes, churches and businesses in Peoria, Ill., and other cities in several Midwestern states. LCMS Disaster Response is preparing to assist those affected by the tornadoes.

LCMS Team Heads to Philippines

In this Skype report from the Detroit airport, Deaconess Pamela Nielsen of LCMS Communications talks with two of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) disaster response team members who left Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, for the Philippines — the Rev. Ross Johnson, director of LCMS Disaster Response, and the Rev. Michael Meyer, manager of LCMS Disaster Response.

Typhoon Haiyan update with Pres. Cerdeñola

The Rev. James Cerdeñola, president of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP), shares this update in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which wreaked havoc across the Philippines on Friday, Nov. 8. Rev. Cerdeñola has been in contact with LCP officials, Mindanao District officers, as well as the local ALERT team (Active Lutherans Emergency Response Team) as they mobilize in the Philippines to extend the mercy of Christ.

The Impact of LCMS Servant Events

For more than 30 years, thousands of Lutheran youth have participated in LCMS Servant Events, learning that serving others can make a difference because of Jesus Christ. LCMS Servant Events equip God’s people to grow in their faith through serving, sharing Christ and developing relationships.