Lutheran schools and their sponsoring congregations may order a variety of resources from LCMS District and Congregational Services — School Ministry to promote National Lutheran Schools Week (NLSW), set for March 1-7.  To guarantee delivery in time for that week,…

Rev. Andrew Mbugo Elisa, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan (ELCS) — an emerging Lutheran church body that works with LCMS missionaries and others — died Dec. 31 as the result of an aggressive glioma (tumor) in the…

Registration opens March 2 for the 33rd Biennial Convention of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), set for June 25-28 in Portland, Ore. The theme of the upcoming convention is “Look to the Hills … God Reigns” from Ps. 121:1-2…

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod President Gerald Kieschnick issued on Jan. 8 the following statement about the conflict in Gaza. It’s only 139 square miles in area, 25 miles long, and 4 to 7.5 miles wide –- a strip of land along…

By James Neuendorf Missionaries from all over Latin America and the Caribbean gathered Dec. 2-5 for the 2008 LCMS World Mission Regional Missionary Retreat.  It was the first LCMS World Mission retreat to include partner-church missionaries.  The gathering, which took…

Wheat Ridge Ministries of Itasca, Ill., announced that it is awarding more than $237,000 in grants to 14 congregations and to help seven new projects of other ministries.  The congregations include six in the Missouri Synod. Grants totaling $211,231 are going…

Dr. L. Dean Hempelmann — who was instrumental in forming the What a Way initiative to support recruitment and retention of Synod-rostered professional church workers — is now that initiative’s first director, on a part-time, deployed basis.   Hempelmann retired…

With the input of a small group of scientists, pastors, teachers, and church workers, the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) expects to gain input for a future report on Christian stewardship of the environment — plus ideas…

All 35 LCMS districts hold their triennial conventions this year — starting with North Dakota’s, Jan. 18-21 in Minot, N.D., and ending with Central Illinois’, July 5-7 in Springfield, Ill. Reporter plans to carry a summary story on each convention,…

Concordia Publishing House has donated 2,600 children’s Christmas books to the “Marine Toys for Tots” annual drive in St. Louis as part of the company’s “Give a Gift, Share a Gift” campaign. The books were delivered Dec. 19 by CPH…

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans announced Nov. 20 that Dr. Brad Hewitt has been promoted to senior executive vice president and chief operating officer.  Hewitt, 48, most recently served as Thrivent’s senior vice president of Fraternal Operations.  Prior to joining Thrivent…

Gerald B. Kieschnick, president of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, released a special Christmas message Dec. 12.  Following is the text of that message. “O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the…

The new home of Concordia University Texas, Austin — some 12 miles from its former 23-acre site — includes a nearly 250-acre nature preserve with wetlands, caves, and dense woods.  The preserve gives the university a unique character, say the…

The AALC/LCMS Commission on Fellowship finished work on the first of several planned operating agreements between The American Association of Lutheran Churches and The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod at a Nov. 11 meeting in St. Louis. The commission has seven members…

By Joe Isenhower Jr.  INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — As the economy continued to grab headlines and cause widespread stress and uncertainty, Missouri Synod leaders meeting here Nov. 21-23 emphasized that Christian leaders react differently —  because of their faith —…

The Board of Directors of the Central Illinois Lutheran Camp Association (Camp CILCA) is seeking an energetic person to serve as executive director for its outdoor ministries. For nearly 60 years Camp CILCA, located outside Springfield, Ill., has worked to…