Lutherans advocate for anti-malaria support in D.C.

By Vicki Biggs In Africa, a child dies of malaria every 60 seconds. As part of the ongoing efforts of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative (LMI) to reverse this statistic, leaders from the LCMS, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and Lutheran churches…

Missionaries, children welcome retreat with others 'who understand'

By Kim Plummer Krull   Swimming in the pool. Eating yummy Thai food. Being with Dad, who travels to other countries for work.   Those are some things Emma Hanson, 12-year-old daughter of LCMS career missionaries Rev. Carl and Chenhsi Hanson, says…

New LHM Bible study tackles challenges of veterans

Americans who sign up to serve their country in the U.S. armed forces expect challenges — especially if their duty includes combat. But service members also encounter challenges far from the battlefield, after they come home. “Warriors of Faith —…

Analysis: Film revives questions about Lincoln's faith

(RNS) — There is a moment in Steven Spielberg’s masterful new film “Lincoln” when the 16th president asks the kind of big question usually tackled by religion: Why are we here? “Do you think we choose the times into which we…

Good Shepherd Institute plans conference, offers journal

The Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church, located on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., will hold its annual conference Nov. 4-6 on the theme “Shepherd of Tender Youth: Connecting Postmoderns…

Pope convenes bishops to confront 'tsunami' of secularism

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council revolutionized life inside the Roman Catholic Church, hundreds of bishops from around the world are gathered in Rome to confront an external threat: a mounting tide of secularization. The Synod…

'YM 13' event to explore youth ministry across generations

“Youth Ministry 2013” (YM 13) — a Jan. 7-8 symposium for all “who are serious about youth ministry” in the Synod — will explore how effective youth ministry “cuts across generational lines,” says the Rev. Dr. Terry Dittmer, director of LCMS Youth…

'Isaac' slams Dominican Republic, Haiti; Lutherans tally damages

By Sarah Schafer LCMS partner churches in Haiti and the Dominican Republic report property damage, injuries and widespread flooding as a result of Tropical Storm Isaac. In Haiti, an already fragile country struggling to rebuild after the 2010 earthquake, four people lost…

Registration opens Sept. 15 for 'UNWRAPPED'

Registration is set to open Sept. 15 and run through Nov. 15 for “UNWRAPPED” — the first Synod-sponsored national campus-ministry conference in 10-plus years. To register for the conference and for more information about it, go to the Synod’s campus-ministry…

LIMM Director Bobbie Lautenschlager dies

Roberta “Bobbie” Lautenschlager, executive director of Lutherans in Medical Missions (LIMM), died Aug. 18, surrounded by loved ones at her home in St. Louis. Lautenschlager, 68, died of non-smoker’s small-cell lung cancer, which was diagnosed in March. A memorial service is…

Homeschooling Lutherans learn, share at first conference

By Paula Schlueter Ross People always tell Lutheran homeschooler Jenny Luedeke that she “must have a lot of patience.” In reality, Luedeke — mother of five sons ages three months to 8 years — says her patience often wears thin.…

Higher Things youth conferences focus on 'Twelve'

More than 1,900 youth, chaperones and pastors gathered at four college campuses in North America for this summer’s four Higher Things Lutheran youth conferences that had the theme of “Twelve.” Participants’ comments indicate that the conferences were well received.    They…

94th Int'l LLL convention includes historic firsts

By Kim Plummer Krull When the International Lutheran Laymen’s League’s (Int’l LLL) outgoing President Mick Onnen passed the gavel to incoming Chairman Kurt Buchholz at the Int’l LLL’s 94th convention, the action represented one of several historic firsts for the…

Pastor perseveres despite autism diagnosis

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (RNS) — The Rev. Henry Clarke has always enjoyed solving puzzles. But until he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at the age of 45, much of his life was a puzzle he just couldn’t work out. Things like math,…

Convention Corner (July 2012)

With Barbara A. Below “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you…

Wildfires take LCMS members' homes, force evacuations

By Sarah Schafer At least three LCMS families in Montana and Colorado are known to have lost their homes to wildfires and others are facing that possibility. On Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation, two families at Circle of Life Lutheran Church in Lame Deer are among…