WILMINGTON, N.C. (RNS) — As the only Southern state without a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage, North Carolina is the next battleground, with religious groups on both sides bracing for a high-stakes fight on May 8. Against a recent string of…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) — A bill in Alabama would allow churches or ministries to teach a religion class to public school students off campus, so long as parents and school boards give permission and the churches are responsible for transportation…

By Sarah Schafer A group of 17 members from St. Paul Lutheran Church, Cincinnati, gathered after worship Sunday, March 4, and traveled half an hour to help homeowners in Clermont County, Ohio, clear debris left by a March 2 tornado…

ST. LOUIS — The heads of the three Synod-owned international schools in Asia met together for the first time with the church body’s Board of Directors in an hour-and-a-half session during the Board’s Feb. 16-17 meeting here.  They are Kevin M.…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Addressing some two dozen black LCMS pastors Feb. 7 in Selma, Ala., LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison said his office is “ready to move” on a search to find a candidate to serve as a…

Tucked away in a former classroom on the campus of Concordia College, Selma, Ala., is a one-room testimony to Dr. Rosa J. Young — the LCMS teacher, missionary, lecturer and fundraiser who traveled the South in the early to mid-1900s,…

LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison has issued a proclamation announcing “National Lutheran Schools Week” March 4-10. The annual observance recognizes the contributions of Lutheran education through the Synod’s 2,400 early childhood centers, elementary schools and high schools nationwide. Synod schools…

By Sarah Schafer “I’m standing in a parking lot here in Marysville and in every direction I look, there’s not a single house or building that hasn’t been damaged somehow,” LCMS Indiana District President Rev. Dr. Daniel P. May said Monday,…

By Sarah Schafer According to early reports Saturday, March 3, LCMS congregations and members were spared by the severe storm system Friday that produced dozens of tornadoes across 10 states, killing 35 in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama, and resulting…

Editor’s note: At this writing (6 p.m. Central on Friday, March 2), LCMS Disaster Response staff have contacted congregations in Alabama, Indiana and Kentucky. About half of them have confirmed no major LCMS damages or fatalities from March 2 storms…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. and Elizabeth M. Truong  ST. LOUIS — The LCMS Boards for National and International Mission heard reports of priorities from Synod mission executives and continued their primary work of developing policies during their Feb. 3-4 meeting…

The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod’s Ministry to the Armed Forces is one of 15 organizations named as a 2011 “Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award” nominee for the St. Louis area. The award is the highest recognition given by the U.S.…

Glenn Mahnken, former senior vice-president of marketing and customer support with the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), has joined Concordia Plan Services (CPS) as its chief marketing officer. In his new post, he is responsible for the oversight of CPS education,…

Becca Jones and Tom Buuck began filling two leadership positions with the Lutheran Church Extension Fund’s St. Louis office in early January.   Jones became senior vice-president, Marketing and Customer Support, on Jan. 4, in the post that became vacant when…

LCMS churches and members in Kansas, southern Missouri and Illinois seem to have escaped major damages in a deadly Feb. 28-29 storm that killed 12 people and injured more than 100 others. The Rev. Glenn Merritt, director of LCMS Disaster Response,…