President Harrison’s Video on the Newtown, Conn., Statement of Unity and Pastoral Letters “LCMS President Matthew C. Harrison summarizes the events following the Newton, Conn., tragedy that involved Christ Lutheran Church, the LCMS congregation in Newtown, and her pastor, the Rev. Robert Morris. Harrison offers his personal apology for the way the matter was handled, which brought negative national media attention to the congregation and pastor of Christ Lutheran Church as well as to The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. The video mentions several documents.” President Harrison on the Newtown, Conn., Statement of Unity and Pastoral Letters

["A Statement of Unity" and "Pastoral Letters on the Newtown Tragedy" today have been issued by Pastor Rob Morris, District President Timothy Yeadon, and Synod President Matthew Harrison. I will post below, in full, "A Statement of Unity." To read the pastoral letters from President Harrison and President Yeadon, follow the link. A statement from Pastor Morris and his congregation is linked also. I encourage everyone to read all of these statements in full. And I rejoice over, and give thanks to God for, the peaceful resolution that these fine men have brought to this matter. CH] A Statement of   More…

The national media have picked up on LCMS President Matthew Harrison’s response to the participation of Pastor Robert Morris in an interfaith prayer service in Newtown, Connecticut. The interfaith service took place on December 16, a letter from Pastor Morris regarding his participation was issued on January 31, and a letter from President Harrison on his handling of the situation was issued on February 1. Now, in the last 24 hours, an article by Caleb Bell of Religion News Service (RNS), “Lutheran pastor apologizes for praying at Newtown vigil,” has appeared in the Washington Post and other news outlets. And   More…

Found on MercyJourney by President Harrison:   It is certainly not an accident that in the modern world the church year and the secular year, which at the time of Luther still coincided, have moved further away from each other. When we today celebrate the beginning of a new church year there is a hint of the fact that the church has a different division of time than the world has. The church lives in the world and there the law of the creator is in force expressed in the Old Testament in the great words: “There is a time   More…

LCMS President Matthew Harrison is one of 25 religious leaders who have signed an “Open Letter on Religious Freedom” in protest of the recent Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate restricting religious liberty. Other Lutheran signatories are WELS President Mark Schroeder, ELS President John Moldstad, NALC Bishop John Bradosky, and LCMS Concordia Deaconess Conference President Cheryl Naumann. What follows is first President Harrison’s cover message, and then the letter itself. CH – – – – – – – – – - Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and the Life. In response to   More…

Here are Lenten Greetings from our Synod President Dr. Matthew Harrison.   You can download the Litany in pamphlet form here; print it double-sided to one 8.5×11 sheet you can fold in the middle to have a pamphlet. If you have a double-sided printer and this prints the second side backwards, print this version. A version formatted for 8.5×11 can be be found here. Another resource for Lent is available from Pastor Scheer here.

There are some confessional Lutherans who have expressed their criticism of various things that President Harrison has done or not done.  After this past few weeks, I will say that I have found a new level of patience due to what I think is an unprecedented task that our Synod President has to deal with.  No – I am not talking about restructuring.  No – I am not talking about renegade districts doing as they please regardless of how it affects our Witness, Mercy, or Life Together.  I am talking about the unprecedented offensive of Caesar upon the Church in   More…

Harrison defends freedoms before House committee By Adriane Dorr LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison spoke in defense of religion and conscience before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in a Capitol Hill hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Feb. 16. Expressing concern over the Jan. 20 U.S. Health and Human Services ruling regarding health-insurance plans and the recently required coverage of contraceptives, Harrison said, “We confess there are two realms: the church and state. They shouldn’t be mixed. The church is governed by the Word of God, the state by natural law and reason, the Constitution.” Harrison   More…

Video: Harrison Speaks Before House Committee Transcript: Transcript of LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison’s Feb. 16 Testimony before House Committee on Government and Oversight Article including transcript: Missouri Synod President tells House Committee: LCMS ‘religiously opposed to supporting abortion-causing drugs’ ST. LOUIS—February 16, 2012—The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of the St. Louis-based Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, was one of several witnesses to give testimony today during the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s hearing, “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?” Following are   More…

February 3, 2012 A Statement on Recent HHS Decision and Religious Freedom We are deeply distressed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent decision to require nearly all private health plans, including those offered by religious employers, to cover contraceptives. This will include controversial birth-control products such as “Ella” and the “morning after” pill, even though the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that such drugs can cause the death of a baby developing in the womb. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) objects to the use of drugs and procedures that are used to take   More…

Found on the Office of the President section of the LCMS website, here. In his September message to the Synod, President Harrison emphasizes how vital it is for the church to help families keep their children in the faith.

Found on CPH at this link is a new page giving Matthew Harrison’s Bio and links to books, videos, Recommended reading, and other sections. One of the videos found on this section of the CPH website: And the Bio: Dr. Matthew C. Harrison is the 13th person to serve as president of the 2.3-million-member Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Based in St. Louis, the Missouri Synod is the second-largest Lutheran church body in North America. Upon his election, Harrison asked for prayers and said he would “work as hard as I possibly can for unity around the clear and compelling Word of   More…

Several people have written comments on this website and elsewhere, “Where can I order Little Book of Joy?” .. well, as found on Cyberbrethren, it is now available from CPH! I have it on good authority that “At Home in the House of My Fathers”, another searched-for book from President Harrison, will also be out from CPH in a few months.   President Matthew Harrison wrote a great book in 2009 titled A Little Book on Joy: The Secret of Living a Good News Life in a Bad News World. It proved extremely popular and after he was elected president   More…

I found this on email list TableTalk from Cat41 (send an email to: TableTalk-on@CAT41.org to subscribe). BJS posted information on it prior to the conference here and on the Lutheran Calendar here. Pastor Randy VanMehren talking: I just returned from an interesting conference in WA. The presenters were the presidents of the LCMS, WELS & ELS. First time they’ve held a Free Conference together since early the Sixties. Kieschnick invited WELS and ELS to consider resuming conversations but was summarily turned down. Guess he didn’t realize the depth of his sin in blessing Benke in his sin. The three Presidents   More…

Found on Witness, Mercy, Life Together blog; this video is well worth a listen.     Partners in the Gospel Rev. Seltz and LCMS President Harrison Meet Face-to-Face The President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and the Speaker of The Lutheran Hour radio program are two of the most influential positions throughout the Christian world. The two new men who have moved into these positions within the past year, Rev. Matthew Harrison and Rev. Greg Seltz, got together at the world headquarters of Lutheran Hour Ministries in early March to welcome each other to their new positions, share stories about their   More…