Under the theme “Adopted in Christ,” Lutherans For Life (LFL) will hold its 2011 national conference Aug. 5-6 at the Sheraton Grand DFW Hotel in Dallas. Registration opens March 3 online at the LFL website, www.lutheransforlife.org, where other details about…

By James Heine St. John’s Lutheran Church, Yankton, S.D., was honored recently by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for its support of Guard or Reserve employees called to active duty. The congregation received the DOD’s Pro Patria Award at…

LCMS President Emeritus Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick began serving March 1 as presidential ambassador for mission advancement at Concordia University Texas, Austin. In the newly created position, Kieschnick will “nurture and expand” existing relationships with congregations, organizations, foundations and individuals…

ST. LOUIS — The Synod’s Board of Directors took several positive actions at its Feb. 17-18 meeting here — including endorsement of allocating to 28 projects of Synod units a total of $1,150,000 in funds anticipated from Thrivent Financial for…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — If President Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice no longer want to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) from challenges by gay rights activists, who will? Leading conservative law firms say they’re eager to defend…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The Obama administration announced on Feb. 23 it will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a nearly 15-year-old law that defines marriage as heterosexual unions. In a letter to Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder said…

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (RNS/ENInews) — Worshippers gathered outdoors on Feb. 27 after an earthquake ravaged New Zealand’s second-largest city, meeting in unfamiliar churches and next to damaged buildings to reflect, pray, mourn and give thanks. The death toll from the…

(RNS) — A federal judge on Feb. 22 dismissed a lawsuit filed by Christians who argue that President Obama’s health care overhaul violates their religious freedom. The Christians said they believe that God will heal them from disease and that…

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) — Mixing science and religion seems a good recipe for on-screen fireworks. Add politics and things will erupt off the screen, too. “The Genesis Code,” a film about college students trying to reconcile creationism and evolution,…

Lutheran school administrators and educators are invited to participate in a free live-stream webinar on Lutheran school branding and marketing March 1 at 4:30 p.m. Central time. Sponsored by Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), the webinar will be at LCEF’s…

(RNS) — Get ready for more undernourished infants, dangerously cold homes and disease-stricken communities in developing countries if proposed federal budget cuts become law. That’s the message coming from left-leaning religious advocacy groups, who’ve been rallying supporters and blanketing Capitol…

(RNS) — For the third time in three years President Obama’s proposed budget will attempt to reduce tax deductions for high-end charitable donors, and for the third time nonprofits and religious organizations are pushing back. Many religious nonprofits, which supplement…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Catholic bishops and Christian medical groups are “disappointed” that the Obama administration has rescinded Bush-era conscience clauses for health care workers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Feb. 18 issued its new guidelines,…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The number of Catholics in the world edged up 1 percent in 2009, the Vatican said, bringing to 1.18 billion the number of adherents of the world’s largest church. The statistics appear in the latest edition…

President Rev. Robert Erickson of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand (LCNZ) is asking fellow Lutherans to join in a day of prayer on Sunday, Feb. 27, for those affected by the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck on Tuesday, Feb. 22. There…

Higher Things — an LCMS Recognized Service Organization — is holding three retreats in March, including its first-ever in Canada. Starting with their titles and in chronological order, the retreats are: “Invocation: A Higher Things Day Retreat,” March 5 at Living Word…