Four more “outreach centers for the blind” — in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Daytona Beach, Fla.; Detroit, Mich.; and Maplewood, Mo. — have opened in recent months, bringing to 28 the number of centers opened Synodwide since 1999. The outreach centers,…

In their quest to make western Europe Ablaze! with the Gospel, missionaries from Lutheran church bodies in Germany and Slovakia are planning to attend the Missouri Synod’s Mission Planters Institute this month in Orlando, Fla. The institute, sponsored by the…

Rev. Eugene L. Reddel, chief of chaplain service and clinical pastoral education supervisor for the Department of Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, has received the VA’s “Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Chaplaincy.” The award, the highest given to a VA…

LCMS World Mission has filled two of its four new regional director positions.Dr. Jorge Groh and Rev. John Mehl began work in January as regional directors for Latin America and Eurasia, respectively.  Their responsibilities include working with LCMS mission partners…

The India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) today has more than 50 new and re-established congregations and preaching stations, thanks to a challenge issued three years ago asking seminary graduates to start their own churches. Graduates of Concordia Seminary in Nagercoil,…

Examples of how a successful mission “alliance” is formed — and explanations of why such alliances are necessary today — were shared at this year’s conference of the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies (ALMA), Jan. 9-11 in St. Louis. The…

LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick says that continuing questions related to participation of Atlantic District President David Benke in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, “A Prayer for America” at Yankee Stadium led him to send a recent memo to all Missouri Synod…

In two new installments of “Board Briefs,” the Synod’s Board of Directors continues to address questions related to the outside legal opinions regarding the Board’s authority that it obtained last year.  It also discusses “executive sessions” of the Board and…

The temperature was warmer than usual and the mood upbeat, according to an organizer for 40 Missouri Synod Lutherans who joined 100,000-plus pro-life supporters for the Jan. 22 “March for Life” in Washington, D.C. This year’s march observed the 31st…

Officials of President George W. Bush’s administration commended Synod human-care work in remarks at the Jan. 19 inauguration of the new deaconess program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. “The President is interested in results as they help poor people,”…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. “Nancy,” the Missouri Synod Lutheran in Montreal who for the last three years has faced the threat of being deported from Canada to Iran, where she could be persecuted or killed for her beliefs, is now…

By Joe Isenhower Jr. Although a New Year’s Eve van crash in North Carolina took the life of a basketball player at a Centereach, N.Y., Lutheran school and injured others, its aftermath has “brought out the best in people,” says…

A traveling exhibit from Germany with more than 100 copies of items associated with Martin Luther has upcoming engagements on the campuses of the Missouri Synod’s two seminaries. The exhibit, titled “Martin Luther: The Reformer,” features “high-quality facsimiles and copies”…

“Building Blocks for Today’s Great Commission Congregations” is the theme for the fourth annual Outreach Leadership Institute, to be held July 29-31 at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minn. The institute is a training event for those “who have a heart…

Twelve Lutheran college fairs are planned this winter and spring at locations around the country.  A fair in Phoenix took place too late for this issue of Reporter. Representatives of the schools — the Synod’s 10 colleges and universities and those…

The Center for Liturgical Art at Concordia University, Seward, Neb., is inviting artists whose work has religious themes and is meant for worship settings to submit information for a database of liturgical artists that the center is assembling for its…