Registration is open for Concordia Seminary, St. Louis’, 15th theological symposium, Sept. 21-22, with the theme, “The Challenge of Homosexuality — The Church Responds.” The seminary has sent a brochure with a registration form and information about the symposium to all pastors,…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Even though her grandmother was Christian, Ting, 29, never heard about Jesus in her homeland of China. “She never passed the Word of Jesus to me,” said Ting, whose parents are not Christian. It was only after she came…

Richard “Dick” Blatt of Chicago is the recipient of the Lutheran Education Association’s (LEA) Christus Magister (Christ the Master Teacher) Award for 2004. Blatt received the award from LEA Executive Director Jonathan Laabs during a June 13 worship service at St.…

Rev. Mitri Raheb, pastor of The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, has written a book about his experiences as a Palestinian pastor living and working in a war zone. In Bethlehem Besieged, Raheb begins his story with the Israeli siege…

Delegates to the national convention of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC), meeting June 7 in Nagercoil, India, elected Rev. S. Rajagambeeram as president. The election marks a new beginning for the IELC, according to Dr. Herbert Hoefer, area director…

Delegates to the General Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church–Synod of France and Belgium, meeting May 21-23 in Paris, adopted a resolution commending The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod for its “love and enthusiasm” for missions, particularly the ambitious Ablaze! initiative, and…

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is giving a $1,424,600 grant this year that will fund 18 projects of Synod boards, commissions and other national ministries. Amounts allocated from the grant range from $6,000 for meetings of Synod leaders who prioritized the…

“Lectionary at Lunch,” a Web resource from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, that provides audio files to help pastors prepare sermons, offers a new discussion-group feature.  At www.csl.edu/lection.htm, pastors can hear seminary faculty members translating the Old Testament and Gospel lessons…

The president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) praised President Bush last month for his “commitment to refugee resettlement” but voiced concern about the level of funding for refugees in the administration’s 2005 budget. LIRS President Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr.’s…

By Paula Schlueter Ross Why let something like a lack of funding stand in the way of a perfectly good ministry?  So say two Missouri Synod pastors, who are continuing to train deaf pastors and evangelists in Ghana, West Africa, even…

LCMS World Mission plans to mail to congregations and other mission partners in August a new CD-ROM that includes a variety of resources designed to help them get involved in the Ablaze! effort, including a new “kit” of prayer resources. In…

By David L. Mahsman This year’s LCMS convention will be Rev. Neil Hayen’s third in a row as a voting delegate.  He says that the amount of pre-convention mail he has been getting doesn’t seem any greater than before, but it…

Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) has launched a three-month project to collect health and school kits for children in Iraq. In the project, titled “Iraqi Children — Precious in His Sight,” Synod members are encouraged to assemble the kits and mail…

By Paula Schlueter Ross The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod welcomed 94 new congregations in 2003 — 10 more than the previous year and the most in at least 15 years, according to Dr. Robert Scudieri, associate executive director, National Mission Team, for…

Pentecost 2000/Pentecost 2000+, LCMS World Mission’s initiative to encourage the start of 1,000 cross-cultural ministries in the United States, has met its goal. As of this writing, the P2K Web site at www.pentecost2000.com lists 1,008 new ministries, according to Director Marie Biesenthal. “What’s…

By Paula Schlueter Ross LCMS World Relief is providing $15,000 to help fund a bone-marrow transplant for a recently ordained pastor with the India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC). Rev. R. Johnson, who is in his late 20s, was diagnosed with…