The Lutheran Service Book includes a list of commemorations and festivals honoring God for His work through various people in Scripture and in the history of the Church. But one is different than all the others: St. Michael and All Angels.
A visit to our Concordia International School in Shanghai highlights the modern face of China and our education efforts there.
by Rev. Tim Pauls Ah, confirmation–a defining mark of Lutheran congregations. It’s supposed to be a good thing, the pastor preparing youth for communicant membership. Too often, though, it’s seen only as a necessary rite of passage to endure rather than a blessing to enjoy. For some reason, teenagers just don’t seem to enjoy memorizing
Our 11th National LCMS Youth Gathering makes a big impression on New Orleans.
by Sandy Wood From Chicago to Ghana and in between, a ministry carrying Christ’s love and a cushioned place to sleep is spreading to homeless people through Lutheran congregations and beyond. Each sleeping mat is approximately 3 feet by 6 feet, contains between 500 and 700 plastic bags, and takes approximately 35 hours to make.
We read and hear about homelessness on a regular basis, but encountering it can be an unsettling experience.
by Paula Schlueter Ross It’s been five years since the Aug. 29, 2005, landfall of Hurricane Katrina. And today–even with five years of restoration efforts involving millions of dollars and untold hours of volunteer labor–the parts of New Orleans that were damaged are still only “26 to 60 percent recovered,” according to Rev. Kurtis Schultz,
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
These words from the Book of Psalms have been spoken and sung frequently, especially after they were put to music by Amy Grant.
by Rev. Ken Lampe It’s popular today to talk about being spiritual but not religious. Some people want to be considered spiritual, but they are not sure they want to take a stand for Jesus. Other people tend to think about religion in terms of family or tradition. Children or spouses act as though someone
In the opening paragraph of your story on the LCMS’ Houston convention, you described Houston as the “fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States.” Unfortunately, you are misinformed. The fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, behind New York (19,069,796), Los Angeles (12,874,797), and Chicago (9,580,567), is Dallas–Fort Worth (6,447,615). Houston (5,867,489) comes in at
While I was not a delegate to the Synod convention, I was looking forward to action on the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance’s exhaustive study of the need for reorganizing the LCMS, as brought to the convention by Floor Committee 8. Now that the convention addressed only about 50 percent of
In response to your letters about organists at church I had to share this tidbit: While visiting in Canada a few years ago, we walked into a small church located just off the street. It was very hot and humid that morning and threatening rain. The pianist was playing the prelude when there was a