MetroLutheran

What if a faith community approached ministry by going out into the community, finding excited and passionate people, and asking them, “How can we, the church, become relevant to you?”
Two distinct Lutheran-based, faith communities are exploring just that. Spirit of Truth, in St. Paul, and Project F-M, in Fargo-Moorhead, both have gone into their communities, read on ..

In Tanzania, less than 13 percent of graduates from the primary school system pass the national exam allowing entrance into secondary school, said Diane Jacoby, interim director of Operation Bootstrap Africa. “Many of the people who pass the exam do not go on to secondary school because they have nowhere to go,” Jacoby said.
Fewer of read on ..

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, recently announced its vote to call the Rev. Bradley Schmeling as its new senior pastor. He will join the Gloria Dei pastoral staff June 17, according to Claire Hoyum, congregation council president.
“Pastor Schmeling is an extraordinary pastor and an ideal match for our congregation’s needs,” Hoyum said. “He is read on ..

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, organized under the Commission on Special Ministries, will host a national convention August 4-5 at Living Hope Lutheran Church in Shakopee, Minnesota. The 2012 theme will be “Undiscovered Souls: Reaching Out and Spreading the Word of God to All.”
“I am convinced,” read on ..

Nostalgia can be a dual-edged sword for the church. If it means “remembering when times were good,” the trip down memory lane can be detrimental to the present. But that’s not the only option for commemorating what has come before.
“If we know our past, we know more about who we are in the present,” explained read on ..

It is the fall of 2009, and the National Council of Churches (NCC) began tracking a disturbing trend. Women’s ministries programs were being cut. Women’s desks were being eliminated in its member communions. Women in ministry were being laid off at an alarming rate.
Some pointed to the economic downturn as the cause. Others cited sexism read on ..

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will address the U.S. criminal justice system in the “Draft Social Statement on Criminal Justice,” a draft social statement released to ELCA members and to the public March 15. While commending positive aspects of the system, the draft presented by an ELCA task force addresses the urgent need read on ..

The Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS) will hold its 49th annual convention June 21-24 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. LWMS is a ministry of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Attendees will gather under the theme “Our God Reigns.”

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has been selected as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” for 2012 by the Ethisphere Institute. Thrivent Financial was named to the prestigious list as a result of its leadership in promoting ethical business standards as well as for introducing innovative ideas to benefit the public.

Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, will host five new soloists in the performance of the 131st Messiah Festival of the Arts, the longest running Messiah performance in North America. Soprano Karen Kness, mezzo soprano Sharon O’Connell Campbell, tenor John Wesley Wright, bass Weston Hurt, and bass baritone Danny Belcher will join the Bethany Oratorio Society read on ..

The Omaha World-Herald reported in its Sunday, March 11, edition a tentative purchase agreement for the Dana College campus in Blair, Nebraska. Dana College was a church college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America until it closed in 2010.

Lutheran Music Program announced its intention to partner with Concordia University, St. Paul, to provide a Middle School Choral Camp on the Concordia campus this summer from July 23 to 27, 2012. Dr. David Mennicke, director of choral studies and music department chair at Concordia University, St. Paul, will lead the five-day program.
For more than read on ..

In celebration of Holden Village’s 50th anniversary, alums and other supporters will join together in singing Holden Evening Prayer on Palm Sunday, April 1, in their home congregations or simply in their homes. Holden Village is a Lutheran-tied retreat center in the Cascade Mountains near Chelan, Washington, known for its education, music, and lifestyle programming.

Dawn. The Holy Land. A remarkable ritual.
The Sea of Galilee lies far below in half light. We are within the fallen walls of an ancient church, likely closed even before an earthquake destroyed this mountaintop city in A.D. 750. In the little church, under the altar — a place of great honor — was the read on ..

It sounds a bit crazy when you first hear about it: a group of people choosing to pay more for a gallon of gas than the price at the pump … through a voluntary tax … where the payers get to decide how the money is spent. But this is exactly what a couple of read on ..

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) invited leaders of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) to an initial discussion about the two Lutheran church bodies December 15-16, 2011, in St. Louis. Leaders from the two bodies discussed theological and ecumenical issues facing each church body, as well as potential areas of cooperative work.

Lucy Christianson, St. Stephen Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Bloomington, Minnesota, has been chosen as the winner of the 2011 National Church Library Association Erwin John Award.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) recently highlighted a program for young people looking for an opporunity to serve a neighbor in need.
Organized under the theme, “We are His Hands,” based on Ephesians 2:10, more than 100 LCMS youth volunteer opportunities, known as “Servant Events,” are planned for various domestic and international locations through the summer read on ..

The Board of Pensions (BoP) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began doing business as Portico Benefit Services in mid-November 2011. The organization is a separately incorporated ministry of the ELCA, headquartered in Minneapolis.
The trustees of the ELCA Board of Pensions approved the name change at their November meeting and recommended that the read on ..

Thirty-nine leaders of religious church bodies, including the Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and the Rev. John Bradosky, bishop of the North American Lutheran Church, have written an open letter addressing their concerns about marriage and religious freedom.
“As religious leaders across a wide variety of faith communities, we join together read on ..

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans announced that in 2012 it will fund the construction and rehabilitation of 142 Habitat for Humanity homes in 32 U.S. states through a $9.2 million contribution. Thrivent’s total seven-year support of Habitat for Humanity will surpass $160 million in 2012.
Habitat for Humanity’s relationship with Thrivent Financial brings the financial, volunteer, and read on ..

While many can picture the Church Basement Ladies holding a bake sale, professional fundraisers must have some different recipes. They are faced with annual budgets and capital campaigns for congregations, ministries, schools/colleges, camps, and more. Where do these people look for information and techniques for today’s fundraising challenges?
These professionals will be looking for answers in read on ..