By Joe Isenhower Jr. A new cadre of synodical “reconcilers” is being trained this year in six-day class sessions at the Synod’s International Center in St. Louis. Four reconcilers from each of the 35 LCMS districts — nominated by circuit counselors and…

In a brief item headlined “Rating Tsunami Relief,” the Jan. 17 issue of Newsweek magazine lauds Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, for its A+ grade as a charity. The magazine lists several U.S.-based relief agencies that have received grades, from A+…

More than 50 LCMS leaders, including 10 parish pastors and five school principals, met in St. Louis Jan. 20-22 to explore ways to advance the vision for the Synod summarized in the words “One Mission, One Message, One People.” Synod President…

Response to the South Asia tsunami disaster and a new system for receiving gifts on the Synod’s Web site have led to a dramatic increase in online giving to LCMS ministries, says the manager of online giving for the LCMS…

In a December mailing to LCMS congregations, the Synod’s Board of Directors said that now “is probably not the time for congregations of the Synod to affirm a change to the Constitution of the Synod.” The mailing spoke to “Constitutional Amendment…

“God has exceeded our small expectations,” says LCMS missionary Sue Pfeil in Kyrgyzstan, who reports that more than 650 men, women, and children were involved in Lutheran worship services, Sunday schools, Bible studies, confirmation classes, and cell groups by the…

Despite a weekend storm that dumped up to two feet of snow over much of the East Coast and Midwest, an estimated 100,000 people — including a delegation from Lutherans For Life (LFL) — took part in this year’s “March…

Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, is urging Lutherans nationwide to contact their senators and President Bush to voice their support of two tsunami-related issues: Extending the charitable-deductions deadline for 2004 — The tsunamis struck on Dec. 26, giving donors just…

LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick is urging Missouri Synod Lutherans to consider opportunities for donating toward disaster relief in the wake of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami in South Asia, and to pray for “those so deeply devastated by this…

Thanks from Florida On behalf of Grace Lutheran Church, Pensacola, Fla., and Circuit 10 of the Southern District, I would like to thank all who have responded and will respond to the needs of fellow Lutherans in the Florida panhandle. For years,…

Rev. David P. Schmidt retires Jan. 3 after serving as senior vice president of Capital Funding Services (CFS), a Synod-based fund-raising organization that is part of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund. In 1992, Schmidt helped found CFS, which has worked with…

The Synod’s Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support (CMGS) is reissuing a call for nominations for an executive director. The executive director reports to the commission and to the Synod president, and is responsible for providing principal leadership in promoting the…

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) in December received a check for $5.137 million from the “Matching Grant Program” funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement. The grant funds help refugees and those…

Dr. David C. Jacobson, provost at Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y., since 2000, died Dec. 5 at a Valhalla, N.Y., hospital of complications from pancreatic cancer. A memorial service was held Dec. 11 at the college. Jacobson, 59 at the time of his…

The online “Mission and Ministry Giving Catalog” at http://catalog.lcms.org launched in 2002 has been redesigned by the LCMS Foundation to make it easier to use. Through the Giving Catalog, visitors to the Synod’s Web site can make secure financial contributions to…

The Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, chorus released in November a new compact disc of music for the Advent, Christmas and Epiphany seasons. Titled “Gentle Stranger,” the CD was recorded in the seminary’s Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus over the…