The LCMS

A Mother’s Touch; a Mother’s Heart

by Cindy Steinbeck Newkirk Barbara Amelia Matthes wrote an incredible memoir of her life journey before she died. My mind’s eye travels with her as her family journeyed from Germany to Illinois to California in the 1800s. The joys and hardships she recounts in this short memoir condense 95 years of vibrant life to a

Lutherans? Reformed? A Thumbnail History

by Dr. Albert B. Collver In John 17:11, Jesus prayed to His Father that the Church “may be one, even as we are one” (ESV). Yet, already in the early Church, St. Paul writes, “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you” (1 Cor. 1:11). From the earliest

The Forgotten Holiday

When we say the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed, we confess, ‘He ascended into heaven.’ Apart from this brief mention, few Christians today give the Ascension much thought.

Distance Education Fosters Ministry to Hmong People

by Sandy Wood Dr. Lang Yang’s story highlights how a flexible, non-traditional route to ordination is expanding the ethnic diversity within the LCMS and supporting the leaders of immigrant churches in using their knowledge of language and culture to spread the Gospel. Yang, 42, is of Hmong origin. He was born in Laos and immigrated

Equipped for Hawaiian Ministry

by Sandy Wood Becoming a pastor of a church in Hawaii was not what Rev. Joshua Schneider had in mind when he decided to pursue a degree in biology and chemistry in college. But God had a plan. “By the last half of my senior year in college, through a variety of influences including my

A timely reminder

I was encouraged after reading Ed Szeto’s article in the March Lutheran Witness: “2010 March for Life—a Reflection.” I sometimes feel we LCMS Lutherans, as well as Christians all over America, have become desensitized to the destruction of our little ones in the 37 years of legal abortions. Mr. Szeto’s mention of assisted suicide laws

Melanchthon—A Horologist?

The February article about Philip Melanchthon by Dr. Robert Kolb reminds us again how important Melanchthon is to us as Lutherans. While we see him as a brilliant theologian, others think of him as a “horologist”—a collector and admirer of watches and clocks. Many individuals, businesses, and governments gifted him with a clock or a

Concerning grief

Thank you, Dolores Hatfield, for bringing some much needed practical attention to the subject of grief in your February letter to the editor. Everything stated in “Grief Doesn’t Run on Schedule” should be understood and brought to the attention of well-meaning friends and pastors. Until a person experiences a loss that changes your life forever,

Easter and the Promise of Life

How joyous it is to recall that above all else, Easter, the festival of our Lord’s resurrection, gives us the assurance of eternal life in Jesus Christ and the certainty of our own resurrection.

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