Thanks to President Kieschnick for his article in the May issue of The Lutheran Witness regarding the critical need for more pastors to serve our congregations. What is not mentioned, however—and I imagine that it is due to space limitations—is that there are any number of qualified and experienced pastors on candidate status who are
Placing a full-time missionary does not just happen. It takes planning, and it takes money. Our missionaries are reaching people with the Gospel thanks to LCMS individuals and congregations who have been part of Fan into Flame, the first Synodwide capital campaign in more than two decades.
Thank you for Edie Sodowsky’s article in the May issue of The Lutheran Witness (“When at Last I Near the Shore”). I have seen what she so touchingly describes happen countless times as I have engaged in the ministry of visitation. Sagging heads,vacant stares, unresponsive minds drawn briefly and joyously back into a precious moment
I would like to commend The Lutheran Witness for the cover of the May issue. It is the first time I can remember seeing a pastor prominently displayed wearing the full Eucharistic vestments. Pastor Taylor serves as a wonderful example of pastoral ministry and the ability to reach today’s largely non-Christian, cynical generation without sacrificing
You highlighted 50 lives changed by compassionate Christian action (“50 Faces of Mercy,” March). Captivated, I read each and every story. Well done. Paul KochBowie, Md. 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
In the May article on Hiruy Gebremichael, Roland Lovstad describes Gebremichael as being on the periphery when he was a teacher in a Lutheran school. This denigrates the teaching ministry of the church by suggesting that the pastoral ministry is a “higher” calling rather than a different calling. In Romans 12, Paul declares that we
Thanks for including that deeply moving, faith-filled article by Edie Sodowsky about her mother’s mind and body slipping away, and their last time together. It’s the kind of story to which almost all of us can relate. So please give us more. Arthur SimonBowie, Md. Read More Letters to the Editor Send letters to
Thank you for Chaplain Schroeder’s “Lifeline” story, “They Will Place Their Hands on Sick People,” in the May Lutheran Witness. Jesus commissioned His followers to preach, teach, and heal. While Luther valued all three Gospel outreaches, the LCMS often seems ambivalent about Jesus’ ministry of healing. If, after reading Chaplain Schroeder’s article, some would like
We are living in a time of anxiety, conflict, and concern. People are anxious today about employment and job stability; about the price of gas, other fuels, and food; and about the future leadership of our country.
A Minnesota LCMS family honors a wedding-day tradition born out of both taste and economics.
Books on Luther and Paul, or on the history of Pauline interpretation, are often quite technical (and often in German). However, here are a few possibilities for further reading that are relatively accessible and provide broader background for the topics touched on in my story that appears in this issue of The Lutheran Witness.
Recently, in a Sunday School class I was visiting in an LCMS church, someone asked a question—and the pastor answered—regarding “degrees of glory.” Is this something the Lutheran Church teaches? I have been a Lutheran Christian all of my life and don’t recall ever having heard about “degrees of glory” before. Or have I just