A conference on “Gospel Outreach and Early Childhood Ministry” will take place Aug. 2-4 at Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon.  The conference is sponsored jointly by the Open Arms Institute, an LCMS Recognized Service Organization in Loveland, Colo., and the university’s…

Dr. Jaroslav J. Pelikan, a 1946 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and a well-known Yale historian and theologian, died May 13 of lung cancer at his home in Hamden, Conn.  He was 82. A Lutheran who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy,…

By James Heine Concordia Publishing House has introduced a new Sunday school curriculum that emphasizes biblical literacy, the worship life of the church, and opportunities for entire families to study and discuss God’s Word at home. The new curriculum, Growing…

The International Lutheran Laymen’s League (Int’l LLL) 89th annual convention is set for July 6-9 at the Holiday Inn Grand Mountain and Billings Hotel, Billings, Mont. Its theme is “Glorify the Lord,” based on Psalm 34:3.   Registration, open to anyone…

Dr. Arthur T. Kuehnert, a former three-term president of the LCMS Central Illinois District (CID) and assistant to LCMS President Emeritus Ralph A. Bohlmann, died of complications from prostate cancer April 7 at his Albuquerque, N.M, home. A memorial service…

Jeff Van Beaver has a suggestion for outreach-focused congregations: Try a “random act of kindness” this summer.  It will probably make people smile and will provide a witnessing opportunity to boot, he says. And, it doesn’t have to be a grand…

Delegates to the Wyoming District convention, May 4-6 in Casper, elected Rev. Richard Boche on the first ballot to his first three-year term as district president. Boche, 58, has been senior pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Cheyenne, since 1988. …

The Lutheran Witness and Reporter, the Synod’s two official periodicals, won a combined total of seven awards in this year’s Associated Church Press (ACP) and Evangelical Press Association (EPA) religious journalism competitions for written work done in 2005.  The awards…

Meeting April 28-29 in Norman, Okla., delegates to the 45th convention of the Synod’s Oklahoma District elected Rev. Paul A. Hartman of Oklahoma City, Okla., to his first full term as president. Formerly the district’s first vice president, Hartman became…

“The Lutheran Hour” radio program with speaker Dr. Ken Klaus may be heard every Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on XM’s Family Talk Radio 170.  The program, produced by Lutheran Hour Ministries in St. Louis, began airing April…

The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod seeks candidates for the following two positions: Vice President, Products and Services for Concordia Plan Services.  Concordia Plan Services administers the benefit programs and the Trusts by which programs are funded for full-time workers of The…

Lutheran congregations, schools, and organizations have until Sept. 15 to apply for a total of $5.5 million that the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation will give in its Charitable Gifting Initiative grant program for 2006. The initiative is a “a…

Delegates to the 47th convention of the Alberta-British Columbia District of Lutheran Church–Canada April 22 elected Rev. Donald Schiemann to his third term as district president.  The convention took place April 21-24 in Red Deer, Alberta, under the theme “Proclaiming…

“Love Completes the Mission” is the theme for this year’s “Armed Forces Sunday” observance on May 21, and resources still are available to help congregations remember military families and support the Synod’s ministry to the armed forces. Nearly 45,000 Lutherans…

KEVIN T. MEYER, Berne, Ill., has applied for reinstatement to the Minister of Religion-Ordained roster of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.  SUSAN (LISCH) ADER, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.; LAURA J. DONNELLY, Baltimore, Md.; MONICA EHRHARDT, Houston, Texas; SOPHIA (CHUTE) GARCIA, Tucson, Ariz.;…

Telephone survey will query church workers about indebtedness The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is conducting an in-depth study on the indebtedness of LCMS clergy and church workers and its impact on their lives.  The results of this nationwide research will be…