When you picture “a Lutheran,” whom do you see?

The Lutheran Church is certainly not ‘short on saints,’ for in the wider sense, we are all saints together by God’s grace.

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.

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.

by Diane Strzelecki Nate Predoehl, a lifelong Lutheran, first heard about Mission Central from his mother, who had seen Gary Thies speak at an LWML event. He later met Thies at his church, Good Shepherd Lutheran, in Gretna, Neb., after Thies’ presentation there. “After he learned that I was a corporate pilot, Gary asked right

by Paula Schlueter Ross Brenda Johnson (at right in above photo), the head cook at Camp Restore, New Orleans, invites just about every volunteer group at the camp to stop by her house, which had five-and-a-half feet of floodwater post-Katrina and now “is gorgeous,” she says. Thanks to Lutheran volunteers, Johnson got back into her

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.

by Roland Lovstad It’s fair to say no two ministries–or congregations–in the LCMS are alike. They may be small churches in rural America, “megachurches” in the suburbs, or historic congregations in urban settings. Surrounding these congregations are wonderful opportunities to bring God’s Word to immigrants, ethnic groups, blind or deaf people, families, children, military personnel,

by Roland Lovstad Graduating seminarians anticipate seminary “Call Day” as a time to move from preparation to active ministry. At the same time, congregations like Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Hampton, Va., anticipate the day when their hopes will be met with a new pastor. “Here we are going into 2008 after four years without a permanent

by James Heine Because we focus on pastoral recruitment, education, and support in the May issue of The Lutheran Witness, we asked our clergy contributors this question: Who first encouraged you to consider the pastoral ministry, and what effect did that encouragement have on your life and on your desire to become a Lutheran pastor?

by Rev. Timothy C. Cartwright I am a great advocate of outreach and evangelism. As with my current congregation, Grace Lutheran in Ashland, Org., and with all the congregations I have served, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hudson, Ohio, where I first met Leo Mehl and his wife, Marjorie, (see the print edition of

by Paula Schlueter Ross All six of Rev. Arlo Pullmann’s children–ages 14 to 22–left their home in Laurel, Mont., to attend Saint Paul Lutheran High School, halfway across the country. Pullmann, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Laurel, and first vice president of the LCMS Montana District, and his wife, Nanette, attended Saint Paul back