By Roland Lovstad With a Witness, Mercy, Life Together emphasis, the coordinative services that the Synod will provide to districts and congregations and its mission work around the world will be carried out by two offices — National Mission and International…

by Kim Plummer Krull Historic flooding in Minot, N.D., has forced evacuations for scores of LCMS families from their homes and some 70 residents from the Minot campus of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch — a Synod Recognized Service Organization. …

LONDON (RNS) — The Church of England has issued a set of “legal guidelines” that pave the way for openly gay clergy to become bishops — so long as they are and promise to remain celibate. Details of the internal…

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) — Even before the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) elected the Rev. Fred Luter to national office, there was already widespread speculation that Luter is poised to become the denomination’s first African-American president. Representatives of 16 million Southern…

(RNS) — United Methodists (UMC) will begin a trial June 21 against a Wisconsin minister who’s accused of breaking church rules by celebrating a same-sex marriage and being in a lesbian relationship. The Rev. Amy DeLong, 44, of Osceola, Wis.,…

Rev. David A. Muench of St. Louis has accepted a call to be director of Ministerial Care for Concordia Plan Services (CPS), a new position he has filled since May 15. An LCMS clergyman and licensed marriage and family therapist,…

Four days before the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole as the first pick in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, Orange Lutheran High School’s former star pitcher was watching his sister graduate and catching up with his former principal in…

By Adriane Dorr Heavy rain in the Midwest and above-average snowmelt out West have caused flooding in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and now also Missouri. As rivers continue to rise, Lutheran families and LCMS churches in the…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Taeryun Lee, a native of Seoul, South Korea, believes God has a plan for her. Lee was not Christian when she arrived in the United States in 2005 to study at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. …

By Sarah Schafer Participants indicated that a series of mercy conferences in Latvia, May 17-23, opened doors to new ministry opportunities between The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and its partner church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (ELCL). More than 100…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. ST. LOUIS — The LCMS Board for National Mission (BNM) and Board for International Mission (BIM), meeting here June 3-4, individually approved their self-governing policies and reviewed with Synod President Dr. Matthew C. Harrison his work on…

The Synod’s Indiana District will hold the second annual Midwest retreat for retired LCMS church workers, or “Veterans of the Cross,” Sept. 13-15 at the Lindenwood Retreat Center, 35 miles west of Valparaiso, Ind.  Dr. John Saleska, retired professor from…

(RNS) — Southern Baptists (SBC) on June 15 called hell an “eternal, conscious punishment” for those who do not accept Jesus, rebutting a controversial book from Michigan pastor Rob Bell that questions traditional views of hell. Citing Bell’s book Love…

(RNS) — Southern Baptists (SBC) meeting in Phoenix adopted a plan June 14 to try to boost minorities in their top leadership posts as they face continuing reports of stagnant baptism rates and declining membership. Members of the nation’s largest…

(RNS) — The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is siding with Jews and Muslims in opposition of a proposed ban on infant male circumcision in San Francisco. “Jews, Muslims and Christians all trace our spiritual heritage back to Abraham.  Biblical…