by Rev. Dr. Greg Wismar The month of January brings a new start in many ways. New calendars are put up on walls. New pages begin datebooks and monthly planners. In short, personal decisions on how time should be spent are reconsidered at this time of new beginnings. Where and how are we going to

by Rev. Larry Vogel I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides Me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the Lord, and there is no

by Adriane Dorr A food shortage, lack of water, starving Somalian refugees and hungry Kenyan Lutherans: Each of these hardships, caused by the current drought in East Africa, is cause for the Rev. Walter Obare Omwanza, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), to pray. But Obare and the members of the

by Melanie Ave The Rev. Jeffrey Kuddes is a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) pastor of nearly 20 years who has developed an ongoing love for the people of Madagascar, a country 10,000 miles from his southeast Minnesota home. Kuddes currently serves a dual-parish, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran in Waltham, Minn., and St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran in

Thank you, Dr. Jerald Joersz, for addressingthe question on the certainty of God’s forgiveness in the November issue of The Lutheran Witness. I appreciated how you directed them to God’s Word and Sacrament and not to their feelings as the place to find theassurance of God’s grace. However, I alsowouldhaveencouragedthem totake advantage ofprivate Confession and

by Rev. Hans Fiene After Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow led his team to six, fourth-quarter/overtime comebacks this season, people have wondered, Since Tim Tebow is a devout Christian who isnt afraid to talk about his faith in public, is God responsible for these victories?  Does God want Tebow and his team to win?  But

My parents were married for 10 years and were sad that they were still childless. When they heard in 1930 that the orphanage in Fort Dodge, Iowa (“The Least of These,” November 2011), was opening, my grandmother and my mother went to visit that day and actually came home with a darling baby boy! There

by Rev. Tim Pauls I’m all for hearty praise, good feelings and new insight in worship, but if these are lacking, it doesn’t mean the service is a bust. I offer the hypothetical of a parishioner who is fighting cancer. Given his illness and the withering effects of chemotherapy, he’s low on energy of all

Thank you, Pastor Harrison, for your letter in the November Lutheran Witness. The first thing that came to my mind was Psalm 127. David C. LoomisAyrshire, Iowa Read More Letters to the Editor Send letters to Letters, c/o The Lutheran Witness, 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295; or send them via e-mail to

2011 was a year filled with disasters, but the Gospel and LCMS mercy work have made an impact around the world.