The LCMS
Confronting mental illness

I was pleased to see the Family Counselor column, “Confronting Suicide,” in the August 2008 Lutheran Witness. Thank you for covering so sensitive an issue. As one who suffers from severe major clinical depression with suicide ideation, I applaud the answer that Theresa Shaltanis gives. Families suffer along with their loved ones who have a
Shedding Some Light

Text Me? During Lenten family devotions, we shared with our grandchildren the story of Jesus’ appearance before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Our son led the devotion, and he included the story of Pilate washing his hands before the crowd and saying he wanted nothing more to do with Jesus. During discussion time, Cory, age
Defining parameters

I greatly appreciate Rev. Kevin Palmer’s letter (August 2008) in which he acknowledges “the first time [he could] remember seeing a pastor prominently displayed [on the magazine cover] wearing the full Eucharistic vestments.” Rev. Palmer went on to applaud the accompanying comment of the featured pastor, Rev. Dien Ashley Taylor, “on the need for a
Gospel: One Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures

by Rev. Terence Groth The old saying proposes: “One picture is worth a thousand words.” True enough. At the same time, some words of Scripture are so rich that it may take a thousand “pictures” to display their richness and depth. The word Gospel, the shorthand term for Scripture’s teaching of what God has done
Seven brides!

Audrey Kletscher Helbling’s “Something Old, Something New” (June/July 2008) brought back memories of our wedding dress. However, our dress never had “something new.” Our dress remained the same for all of our weddings. When Mom and Dad Brandt bought the dress, they never dreamed that it would be worn seven times! … by Evelyn (Brandt)

Those Who Labor Among You

What a blessing it is when those who labor among us and those among whom that labor is accomplished live and work peacefully among one another.
World Mission Includes the U.S.

Distinctions between U.S. and international missions are diminishing, says Dr. Robert Scudieri, LCMS World Mission associate executive director of National Mission. “In the 21st-century, we should be thinking about this as a circle, with immigrants to the United States reaching back to their homelands and then receiving gifts of talents and treasures for their work here.”

Click here to read the story and further explore this concept.
So, this is sainthood?

I read with interest “So, This Is Sainthood?” (Searching Scripture, August). August 29, the beheading (martyrdom) of St. John the Baptist, is Sept. 11 on the Julian calendar. My paternal grandmother’s family is from the Carpathian Mountain region of present-day Slovakia, where that calendar is still used for liturgical dates. This date (Gregorian, Aug. 29/Julian,
Signs for these times

In the June/July Lutheran Witness article, “How Good Is Good Enough,” the sign posted by Shepherd of the Hills in San Antonio, Texas, got my attention. It speaks to the doubts so many have and addresses with clarity why faith in Christ is what is necessary for our eternal salvation. There is so much misinformation
“With the Cross of Jesus”

by James Heine While a raging Cedar River may have forced Harlan and Marge Ketelsen to abandon the home they have lived in for 50 years, it has not dampened Ketelsen’s determination to continue producing the little walnut crosses he has been distributing for 25 years. “Harlan’s crosses have traveled around the world,” says Rev.
Katrina, Midwest Floods Revisited

Three years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, Lutheran volunteers are still making a difference; and after devastating Midwest floods, Christian faith and love sustain families.

Scroll to Top